The Light on a Dark Path

Last week, we had a tough day as we continued the job search and experienced quite a setback. The day ended with discouragement at a high level. Neither of us could sleep very well. So in the middle of the night I got up and went to the Bible and I was quickly reminded that "the word of God is living and active" (Hebrews 4:12).

I turned to the Psalms because David often experienced deep frustration and anxiety as he fled from King Saul. I knew I would find comfort and solace in his words, especially because so many Psalms start with exasperation (where I was) and end with praise (where I needed to be).

So I opened up Psalms and was quickly led to Psalm 37. I read the first verses:

"Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of evildoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and
enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you desires of your heart.

Commit your ways to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act . . .

Be still before the Lord, and wait
patiently for him;
do not fret . . .

Do not fret - it leads only to evil . . .
but those who wait for the Lord
shall inherit the land."

There before me was a light path in the dark night, a way to deal with the anxiety and confusion of the day:

• Do not fret - this is a hard one for most of us, especially when things are uncertain
  
  
• Have the right perspective - this is what David reminds us when he discusses the fate of evildoers. Last time I checked, we all have the same fate. Just like us, our problems are really temporary.
  
  
• Trust in the Lord - again not easy, but very necessary
  
  
• Take delight in the Lord - in one of our classes, we discussed his verse as taking delight not just in the Lord's crown but also in His cross
  
  
• Commit your way to the Lord
  
  
• Trust in him - this is the second time this one has come around. Must be important.
  
  
• Be still before the Lord - in 2007? Its hard to be still while you're microwaving popcorn. But the only way to send the anchor deep enough is to stop the boat for a while.
  
  
• Do not fret - Second time
  
  
• Do not fret - Three's a charm. This time we are told that fretting leads only to evil. So the person at the beginning of the psalm fretting about evildoers will eventually become an evildoer if he continues fretting. Why? Because it is impossible to fret with faith.
  
  
• Wait for the Lord - A second reminder that God will act, but only in His time. Therefore we must wait.

Later in the Psalm are two of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture:

"The steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord;
and he delights in his way."

"I have been young, and now
am old,
YET I have not seen the righteous
forsaken
or their children begging bread."

In the darkness of the night, I found such a clear word of encouragement from the Living Word. Next time, maybe I won't let so much time pass before I let God's living word provide the light onto a dark path.