Verse: Psalms 37:7-9
Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret —it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
Devotion
If you’ve ever had a repeated situation in your life that tests your patience, this is a great verse. It’s hitting me hard this week. Isn’t that the way? I’m supposed to be writing a devotion on patience and mine is worn and frayed like an old rope.
I love that the instruction here is to be still before the Lord and wait for him. This act of patience is paired with warning against anger and fretfulness, which only lead to evil. And then on the other side of the verse, we are instructed to hope.
It has come to my attention that I am decent at being patient. Inso far as it works in my favor. There is a situation that has been playing on repeat in my life lately, and I ran out of patience with it just yesterday. Because you see, the patience I was displaying wasn’t yielding the result that I wanted. So it was conditional. I was all for being patient up until it stopped working for me. But I’m told here not to fret when people do the thing they aren’t supposed to do. Even when I’ve patiently explained why they shouldn’t do it.
What am I supposed to do? Wait on the Lord with patience, and hope in Him. Because indulging my anger will lead to evil. And He has what I need. It sounds simple. But this is not our natural tendency. But, if we can just take a minute, breathe, and lean in to God, remembering that we are told to wait. To be still while waiting. We can make new habits. I’m trying to do it. Try with me.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you knew what we would be up against, well before we did. Help us to wait patiently on you. To hope in you. You have what we need!
Author: Emily Costa
Recent Comments