I have been reading one particular Psalm everyday for the last twenty days. Deep inside my heart, I needed to hear these words, over and over again. They have been a balm to me; healing places I did not realize were still broken inside me. Today I want to share them with you. Perhaps you need to be reminded that you can trust God, that He will take care of you, and that He loves you too.

Psalm 37

1 “Do not worry about the wicked.”

I realized how much I was worrying about the wicked: about the way our government is heading, people who walk into schools and shoot kids, and the world my children will soon inherit. But God says do not worry. He is still in control, even if everything seems crazy.

 

2 “Trust in the Lord and do good.”

“But God,” I would say, “what about…?” And He would bring this verse to mind: trust Him. My only job is to do good: to do what I can do, and leave the rest to Him. After weeks of dwelling on this verse, I am finding I am trusting God a lot faster, and looking for what good I can do in a situation, then letting go.

 

4 “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desire.”

Funny thing, I discovered that some of my heart’s desires have nothing to do in taking delight in the Lord. Rather, they have more to do with me delighting in myself. Yikes! What an eye opener! So I’ve been praying and thinking about what it means to delight in the Lord.

 

5 “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and He will help you.”

My writing, my family, my ministry, my life. It is not my own. And when I trust God (there’s that word again), He will help me.

 

7 “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.”

Anyone else have a hard time waiting? Yeah, me too. It’s hard to be still and wait for God to act. Sometimes I feel like the fidgety kid, glancing at the window, going, “Come on, let’s go!” I usually leap before I have taken the time to be quiet and ask God for wisdom. And most often I regret my hasty actions.

 

8 “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.”

I was angry. I had all these plans for the month of December, then I had to suddenly pack everything and move to a new house while dealing with a sick family. I was very disappointed and mad. Why did this have to happen at Christmas? So I grouched and complained. And it did nothing to help my family. When I read this verse, it really convicted me about hanging on to my anger.

 

16 “It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.”

I will confess, there are times I wish I had a little more money. I have been pinching pennies for as long as I can remember and a break would be nice, just once not to have to think about the impact a purchase will have on my family. But I would rather be poor and follow God the rest of my days, than to turn from Him and have all the wealth in the world. Money will never satisfy the deep places of my heart the way God does.

 

23 “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”

Really? Every detail? Yes, God delights in our lives. As a stay at home mom, there are times when I feel small and insignificant. I mean, what’s so amazing about changing diapers, doing laundry, and cleaning house? But God still delights in me, even when no one else notices me.

 

24 “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

There have been soul-crushing moments where I felt like life had bottomed out on me. Everything was so dark and bleak that I could no longer see God. But I could feel Him, His hand in my hand. He led me through those valleys and never let go, even when I was tempted to. We will suffer, and we will stumble. But God won’t let go of us. And that is a comforting thought.

 

There are so many other verses I would love to share. But instead, I want to encourage you to take a look at Psalm 37 for yourself and soak in what God has to say.

How about you? What verse or chapter from God’s Word has impacted you lately?