- Artist: Pastor Rich Doebler
- Title: 12-9-07 Message
- Length: 35:19 minutes (8.09 MB)
- Format: Mono 44kHz 32Kbps (CBR)
12-9-07 message by Pastor Rich Doebler
Ever have one of those weeks where things don't go the way you planned? This week my snow blower quit working AND my garage door opener snapped a chain and quit working. This week, when I needed them most, things I relied on let me down.
From time to time, we all have to deal with nuisance problems. Inconveniences. Minor bumps on the road. But then there are bigger things that come along that may cause us to worry or keep us up at night: a major illness—perhaps life-threatening; the possibility of layoffs at work; a child, a friend running from God; an elderly parent needing extra care; unexpected medical expenses; bills that can't be paid on time.
Do you ever struggle with worry? Do you tend to stew about things? Are you easily upset?
David was a man who had a lot of things to worry about. Despite all the good things that happened to him, things didn't always go his way. He had to face many disappointments and heartaches in his lifetime: family troubles, domestic strife in his home, rape and murder and rebellion by his own sons.
David was a man who had a lot of things to worry about—which makes Psalm 37 very interesting. This psalm was written by a man who knew what it was to have lots of troubles, to be weighed down with worries, to be overwhelmed with emotions. He wrote:
Psalms 37:1-8 (NIV)
1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
If ever a man had cause to fret, it was David! He had to deal with a lot of troubles and problems—many who tried to do him harm. Despite all his successes, victories, and loyal subjects, David also had enemies—many enemies. King Saul was David's enemy and tried to kill him. Once, even David's own men talked about stoning him. During his reign as king, he had Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Arameans for enemies. Absalom, one of his own sons, led an armed rebellion against him. Later, Joab, one of his commanders turned against him and joined another of Davd's sons, Adonijah, in a revolt.
And yet, despite all these troubles, David learned to say, "Do not fret."
"Don't worry about the wicked..." (Psalms 37:1, NLT).
"Don't bother your head with braggarts..." (Psalms 37:4, MSG).
"Don't be upset because of evil people..." (Psalms 37:1, NCV).
The word, "fret" in the original Hebrew literally meant "burn with anger." Sometimes it's translated as "kindled": "their anger was kindled against us" (Psalms 124:3, NASB). Other times it's translated as "burned": "Saul's anger burned against Jonathan" (1 Sam 20:30, NASB). Thirty-two times in the OT it comes across in English simply as anger; but fifty times it comes into English as burn or kindle.
To "fret" would be like having a smoldering fire inside your chest!
"That really burns me up!" is more than an expression. It's a reality. Getting all worked up over some situation or what someone has done, can destroy you. If you allow yourself to be continually upset, angry, bitter, resentful, or bothered by something, it's like stoking your fire. Fretting over others or stewing because something isn't fair can kill you.
Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when I borrowed Ken Anderson's motor home for a few days of camping in Scenic State Park. On the way back, I burned it up. Literally. We're talking plumes of smoke and fire and toxic fumes. I was sick about the whole thing. I didn't mean to do it. But one small problem had led to another: a hose broke, an engine overheated, a fuel vapor ignited, a fire extinguisher couldn't stop it...
That's what unresolved anger and upset can do to you. One unchecked emotion can lead to another. David discovered that fretting about bad stuff caused him nothing but trouble. And it won't do you any good either. Fretting overheats your engine. It starts burning deep in your soul until eventually your spirit will go up in smoke and fire.
Have you allowed someone to get under your skin? To irritate you? Did someone ever say something or do something that just really angered you so you stewed about it for days—or even longer? David tells us that it's not worth it. We should not allow other people to have that kind of control over us. We should not let them stoke a fire to smolder inside our heart. Lesson #1: Do not fret—put out the fire.
(v 2) David offers some perspective on how we can do this. He says these trouble makers are going to wither and dry up like grass in the fall. These problems aren't going to last. They're like grass that dries up at the end of summer. They're like flowers you cut and put on the table. They might look good for a short time, but they have no root, no substance. They cannot last.
(v 3) So instead of getting all upset about stuff that won't last, David says, we should trust in the Lord—depend on God fully and completely. Rely on him above all else. Lesson #2: Trust in the Lord—he will never fail.
Before I went to Africa last month I went to the doctor and he prescribed some anti-malaria pills. Then he said, "Of course, this is no guarantee that you won't get malaria. Even if you take these pills, you could still get malaria." I thought, You want me to pay $75 for pills that may or may not protect me? He said, "Even if you take the pills, don't let any malaria-carrying mosquitoes bite you."
There are very few guarantees in life. When you trust in the wrong things, they can let you down. If we trust in people, we will be disappointed. You get married because you trust the person you marry—but your spouse is only human. Your spouse will eventually disappoint you. But you can get married with confidence if you can trust in the Lord!
Nothing and no one in this world is perfect. There are flaws all around us. Others have let you down. Maybe it was a friend you thought you could trust with a secret. Maybe it was a son or daughter you thought would never abandon you. Maybe it was a spouse you thought would never cheat on you.
If our trust is only in people, we will be upset. When we trust in the wrong things—money, government, influential people, their own ability or intelligence—all these things will fail.
But Jesus never fails! David says we should trust in the Lord and do good!
(v 3) Then David says we should dwell in the land. In the original Hebrew, "dwell" means "to settle down" or "to camp."
In David's time and in his part of the world, there were people who never really settled down. They were called nomads, wandering herdsmen who went from place to place, wherever they could find the water or the pasture for their herds. They didn't build permanent houses. They didn't plant gardens. They were constantly on the go. Wandering.
When David says we should "dwell" in the land, David is saying: Don't wander spiritually. Don't meander from one thing to another—flitting from this to that. From the last craze to the current fad. He says: Settle down in God's land. Dwell in the fullness of God's promises. Put down some spiritual roots. Anchor yourself to God's blessings. Live in a good place.
Lesson #3: Dwell in the land—put down spiritual roots. The irony is that some people who seem to be settled are still wandering in their souls. They seem to have it all together. They have nice houses. They appear to be dwelling in a very settled way, but they're spiritually adrift. They have no spiritual roots.
But when we settle down spiritually, David says we can enjoy "safe pasture"—not pasture out in the wild, where it's dangerous, but pasture in a civilized, cultivated area.
You can't grow a garden if you're always on the move. But when you settle down, you can plant something and cultivate it so it grows. We can "cultivate faithfulness" (NASB).
What's growing in your garden? Are you cultivating faithfulness? Is the Spirit of God developing spiritual fruit in your garden? It's only when we trust God and settle down in his land that we can begin to see growth in our lives—spiritual maturity.
(v 4) As we trust in the Lord and dwell in the land, David challenges us to delight ourselves in the Lord—that is, to find our greatest joy and pleasure in God. What does it mean to "delight" ourselves?
A mother delights in her baby—you can see her face light up when she begins talking to her little pride and joy. A hungry man delights in food—he smiles eagerly when you sit him down to the table. A snowmobiler delights in piles of fresh snow.
But there's even more to it than simply joy or pleasure. The word "delight" in the original Hebrew meant "to be soft, delicate, pliable." So how did the translators of the Bible get "delight" out of a word meaning "soft or pliable"?
Look at it like this: when you delight in something, you are shaped by it. A mother is shaped or affected by her baby. Her face changes when she is pleased with her baby. A snowmobiler is affected by the snow he sees outside—his actions are shaped by the snow.
If God is our delight, we will be shaped by him! Isaiah tells us that we are the clay and God is the Potter (64:8). When we find our supreme joy in God, our lives are shaped and affected by him. In fact, the more we delight in him, the more we will want him to shape us. Our joy increases when he shapes our clay, working in our lives, pushing, pulling, bending, forming us into his creation.
When you walk through a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, you leave footprints. The fresh snow takes the shape of your boot. Fresh snow is soft, delicate, pliable. You could say that fresh snow "delights" in your footprints. But hard-packed snow or ice doesn't change shape. It's hard and doesn't bend. It resists your footprints. It does not "delight" in your footprints.
We need to be like fresh snow—soft and shapeable. Will you allow God to walk through your life? Will you allow him to leave his footprints in your heart? Will you be soft, delicate, and pliable before him? Will you "delight" in the Lord? Lesson #4: Delight yourself in the Lord—let him shape you.
(v 4) If you delight yourself in the Lord, God promises to give you the desires of your heart. Wow! That's really something! But does that mean that God promises to be your genie in a magic lantern? Can you really get whatever your little old heart desires?
Or could it be that David is saying that if we let God shape our lives, if we delight ourselves in him, then our hearts will be shaped so our desires get in line with his desires? You see, I believe David links these two words together: our desires will be right when our delight is right; if we delight in the wrong things, then our desires will be wrong—and God does not promise to give us wrong desires.
We're at the height of the Christmas shopping season. The stores are hoping to turn a profit this year based on how well they do during Christmas shopping. Tis the season to be jolly...to be spending...
The big stores want this to be the season when we buy all sorts of stuff to meet our gift-giving obligations. Newspapers, TV, and radio want this to be the season when the big stores spend lots of money advertising their stuff so we can meet our gift-giving obligations.
So we're flooded with a barrage of images—new electronic gadgets, new video games, new toys, new designer clothing—all hyped up and presented to convince us these are things we actually need! Advertisers are trying to shape your desires. Do you want your wife to love you more? Every kiss begins with Kays. Whether it's diamonds or toys, someone is trying to shape your desires or your kids' desires.
But David says our desires should be shaped by the Lord in whom we delight. Our desires should not be shaped by Radio Shack or Best Buy or Target.
(v 5) So how do we allow God to shape us? How do we make him our delight? We must make a simple decision—we must commit our way to the Lord.
"Commit" in the original Hebrew meant "to roll away." In other words, "roll your life on to the Lord." Don't carry your burdens or troubles or worries. Roll all of them—all your ways—on to the Lord.
Commitment means you've given yourself over to the Lord. You're not doing your own thing any more. You're committed to God's thing. You've rolled everything over to him.
When I get on an airplane, I don't just get on halfway. I can't keep one foot on the ground and one foot on the plane. If have to give myself over to the plane. All of me. I have to roll all my weight on to the plane. The plane is going to carry me, so I don't have to carry myself. Where the plane goes, I go. Maybe my luggage won't go with the plane, but I go.
Lesson #5: Commit your way to the Lord—let him carry you.
That's what it means to be committed. You make a decision that God is going to be in charge of your life. You belong to him. Where he goes, you go. Where he turns, you turn. When he stops, you stop. Because you've given yourself over to him, because you're rolled everything on to him, he carries you. The Lord carries all your worries and troubles and cares.
So you don't have to fret. So your heart's desires will be his desires.