Today, Wednesday February 15
“Commit Your Way to the LORD”
Psalm 37:5-11
“Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
David gives us five things to do when we start thinking about and getting discouraged when it appears that the wicked and evil people in the world around us are getting by with their selfish, deceitful and violent deeds. First he tells us not to “fret” about it. And, he reminds of this several times in this chapter. David then gives us at least four positive things we should continuously be doing. We should “trust in the LORD”, “delight in the LORD”, “commit our ways to the LORD”, and we should “rest in the LORD”.
After we are trusting and delighting in the LORD, we are now ready to “commit our way to the LORD”. “Our way” would be referring to the direction in life that we are going. If you are going on a trip and you are “on your way”, you need to keep going in the right direction if you ever want to arrive at your destination. It seems like I’m driving long distances all the time to get somewhere. I’ve often told my wife that I noticed that if I keep my tires turning and keep the car pointed in the right direction, I’ll always eventually get where I’m going.
Where are you going in life? Solomon often talked about this in Proverbs. There really are only two ways. One is the right way and the other is the wrong way. Several times he reminds us that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). Just because it seems and feels right doesn’t mean it is the right way. The “right way” in life can only be found in the Word of God. The word “way” is found around 57 times in the book of Proverbs! Jesus said, “the broad way leads to destruction and many are on it, but only a few are on the narrow way that leads to life” (Matthew 7:13). And Jesus is the only Way (John 14:6).
To “commit” also means “to roll off your burden”. Peter said it this way, “Casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). This could be the burden of trying to figure out life and humanly dealing with the question about the prosperity of the wicked. We should remember that God doesn't take our burdens so that we can become irresponsible, but so we can serve Him better. Sometimes less care means we become careless, and that leads to failure.
What is the promise that goes with committing our way to the LORD? The promise is that He will "bring it to pass". This means that eventually God will vindicate His servants who have been slandered by God's enemies (v. 6, see vv. 28, 32-33). Your “right living” will be displayed in the light of truth for everyone to see, and you will have “justice” in the middle of it all! (v. 6)
Then we are also encouraged to “rest in the Lord” (vv. 7-11). The verb “rest” here means "to be silent, to be still." It describes calm surrender to the Lord (Psalm 62:5). Creative silence is a rare commodity today, even in church worship services. People cannot tolerate silence. A silent radio or TV screen invites listeners and viewers to switch to another station or channel. But unless we learn to wait silently before God, we will never experience His peace.
For us to get upset because of the evil schemes of the ungodly is to doubt the goodness and justice of God (vv. 7, 12, 32). To “rest in the LORD” is a spiritual discipline we need to learn and then practice every day! We can do this by taking time to meditate on His promises in the Word and spending a “quiet time” with Him in communion and worship. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (James 4:8).
LORD, please help us today to “commit our way” to You and take time to “rest” in You and Your Word, before we begin our day in this busy noisy world!
God bless!