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 carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (7-11)
The Psalms are filled with comforting promises from God. We often delight in looking at certain blanket statements and taking them to heart. Yet, we also tend to pick and choose which promises to hold on to and which conditions to ignore. In the verses above, for instance, there are promises like “the wicked man will be no more,” and the “humble will delight in abundant prosperity.” Of course, these promises must be understood within the context of the author David, and then we can make specific applications to our own lives. However, several essential conditions should be noted as we cling to these promises from God.
First, we are told to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. That is a lot harder than it sounds. It is easy to cling to God’s promises of deliverance and abundance but much harder to wait for those things to happen in His time. We are good at asking for His help, but we are rarely good at waiting patiently and trusting Him to come through no matter how dark things become. Notice the statement that follows; “do not fret….” Anxiety seems to be prolific in every segment of our society. It is the number one problem this current generation faces, yet God says, “don’t worry.” Fretting only leads to evildoing, the text says. Even more troubling, the Lord says we should “cease from anger and forsake wrath.” How many of us are impatient, anxious, and angry, but we still expect God to solve all our problems?
When considering the promises of God, remember that His ways and His thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. His promises are sure, but His timing is His own. Our job is to rest in Him and patiently wait for Him. Our job is to stop fretting and forsake anger and wrath. Does God care for His children? Of course. Does He always keep His promises? Certainly, however, His grace comes in His time and in His way, usually when you least expect it and in a form you never imagined. Be careful about forcing God into the box of your own understanding. He is in charge, and the battle belongs to Him, but He is more concerned with your holiness than your happiness. Sometimes He lets us sit in our circumstances until we have learned what we need to learn.
