“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of one who is successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.”
~~ Psalm 37:7~~
REST IN THE LORD
The Hebrew word for rest is <damam> and it means: to be silent; to be still; to be quiet; to cease; to stand still. “REST” packs a wallop!!! It’s so all-encompassing, addressing our WORDS, ACTIONS and EMOTIONS!! Check this out.
WORDS
“Be silent” – To be silent is to be speechless. To make no protest or outcry. To be free from sound or noise. Exodus 14:14 says, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be silent”. “Need only to be silent” <ḥāraš> is a command meaning to be silent, to exhibit silence. If I exhibit something, it means I display it publicly for purposes of demonstration. So for GOD’S power to be on display, I need to …
JUST SHHHHHHH.
God doesn’t need our advice.
God doesn’t deserve our complaining.
God is God, and we are NOT!
ACTIONS
“Be still” — To be devoid of or abstaining from motion. Be subdued. Be calm.
PAUSE TO PONDER Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” The phrase “be still” <râphâh> means to slacken. Think about walking a dog who is pulling against the leash, wanting to go where the master isn’t going. The dog needs to <râphâh> and know He’s not the master.
“To cease” — Bring an activity or action to an end. In the dictionary definition, an obsolete definition of “cease” is to become extinct : die out.
PAUSE TO PONDER. If an animal is considered extinct, it means that it is no longer in existence. So apply the concept of “extinction” to <damam> “rest in the Lord”. It means that I have died to the flesh with its thoughts and desires, and that I am now alive to Christ and things of the Spirit.
“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him,
in order that our body of sin might be done away with,
so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
~~Romans 6:6, 11~~
EMOTIONS
“Be quiet” — To enjoy in peace and relaxation. To make secure by freeing from dispute or question.
PAUSE TO PONDER. Jesus died to give me His peace. How insulting to Him that I would choose thoughts and emotions that would rob me of the peace that cost Him so dearly. Oh my, that truth is powerfully stinging.
“Peace I leave you, My peace I give you;
not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.”
~~John 14:27~~
(Rest) in the Lord <Yehovah>: the Self-Existent One, the Eternal One. Think with me. What happens if I separate the “what” (resting) from the “Who” (the Lord) – I will not find rest.
The “Who” makes all the difference.
I am called to rest IN THE LORD. The Self-Existent One. The Eternal One. The All Sufficient One. If I try to “rest” without truly grasping and acknowledging the mightiness of my God, I will fail to find rest. God is God and I am not. I need to get out of the way, relinquish the perceived control I have, and let Him so wonderfully execute His plans.
Spurgeon writes, “To hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of Providence—that is what every gracious heart should aim at. A silent tongue in many cases not only shows a wise head, but a holy heart.”
WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM
To wait patiently, <chuwl> in Hebrew, means to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), i.e. (specifically) to dance; to wait; to be submissive, avoiding petulance and murmurings, anger and rash doings.
PAUSE TO PONDER this with me. To “wait” is to remain stationary in readiness or expectation, while “patiently” denotes calmness or without complaint or hurry in spite of delays, difficulties, tedium, etc. Take a moment and do some internal examination.
- Do you avoid petulance (rude speech or behavior)?
- Do you avoid murmurings (a half-suppressed or muttered complaint)?
- Do you avoid anger (a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of actively expressed opposition or hostility)?
- Do you avoid “rash” doing (marked by or proceeding from undue haste or lack of deliberation or caution) ?
- Oh my….can you say “ouch!”? I know I can…a lot.
“Time is nothing to God; let it be nothing to thee.
He is worth waiting for.”
~~Spurgeon~~
DO NOT FRET
The Hebrew word for fret <charah> means to glow or grow warm; figuratively (usually) to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy: to fret oneself or to be angry.
PAUSE TO PONDER the phrase “to fret oneself”. Worded this way denotes that “fret” is something you do to yourself. It’s not just something that happens. The dictionary defines “fret” as to affect something as if by gnawing or biting : to feel or show irritation, annoyance, or distress or worry : mentally troubled or concerned : feeling or showing concern or anxiety about what is happening or might happen.
PAUSE TO PONDER the fact that the definition of “fret” includes either “feeling” OR “showing”. With that in mind, the fact that I cling to the excuse that I don’t “show” my irritation doesn’t cut it with God. I’m fretting if I allow something (or in some cases, someone haha) to “grate” on my nerves. Just wow…and oh my. You find the same factor in the definition of angry as well – a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of actively expressed opposition or hostility,
The end of verse seven gives us two examples of things that we are commanded not to fret about – “Because of him who prospers in his way” and “because of the man who carries out wicked schemes”.
PAUSE TO PONDER how you feel when you see someone appearing to get ahead by being underhanded and dishonest?
Personally, I <charah> (it really gnaws at me), when I observe that kinda thing. God shed some perspective for me about the times when people use sinful ways to get what they want. He directed me to Numbers 32:23. When people “sin against the Lord” in how they choose to conduct their lives, “be sure (their) sin will catch up with (them).”
If you’re like me, my initial reaction to reading this verse was “HA! You will get what’s coming to you!” Well, the Spirit of God quickly realigned my attitude about that by telling me that my attitude about someone “getting theirs” is just as sinful as the sinful thing the other person did.
Acknowledging that God sees all things – from someone’s evil choices to my sinful reaction to their evil choices, and He is the only just Judge, handling things in His way and in His time – is the way to be obedient to “do not fret because of Him who prospers in his way.”
“There is no good, but much evil, in worrying your heart about the present success of graceless plotters: be not enticed into premature judgments—they dishonor God and they weary yourself. Determine to let the wicked succeed as they may, that you will treat the matter with indifference, and never allow a question to be raised as to the righteousness and goodness of the Lord. What if wicked devices succeed and your own plans are defeated, there is more of the love of God in your defeats than in the successes of the wicked.” (Spurgeon)