be unhurried and unworried

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 37:7

This verse helps us have a faith filled and faithful perspective when we feel tensions that may cause us to doubt God is at work in the world. We are called into worshipful contemplation of God with the command to “be still before the Lord”. We are called into unhurried confidence in God with the call to “wait patiently for him.” Both are not easy when the observations of the world around us make it look like people sinfully succeed without God.

If we let our souls get hurriedly drawn into this world and drift from our worship we will worry. It seems the options are clear here: we can rest in faith or we can be restless and fret. And two situations that we observe can pull us quickly into hurry and worry.

The first observation is seeing the temporary, apparent prosperity of the wicked. The wealthiest sinners among us tend to demonstrate the worst traits and it seems unfair for them to enjoy what looks like “the good life” while living such a bad one! But that is a very limited perspective. In fact, many of the wealthiest, the famous, the celebrities, or the powerful in terms of earthly prestige are woefully unhappy. They find worship of success to be disappointing.

The second observation comes from experiencing the evil actions of others. It was true in David’s day that sin led to abundant wrong in the world. It is equally true today, whether it is criminal activity, or just the cruelty which which people selfishly treat one another, people carry out evil actions. And if we only focus on all the compounded badness, we will lose the peace of being still before God and the joyful reward of faithfully trusting Him.

Lord,

Although sinful people appear to prosper, I know better. My soul only prospers in You! And although sin is still all over my culture and I expect to see it there, I will not worry. Jesus is still saving souls from it, and He is the Righteous Judge!

Amen