SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1249

“Trust, Delight, and Commit”

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. – Psalm 37:3-6

David prefaces our reference Scripture with the exhortation to not be angry about or jealous of those who live in sin apart from the Lord.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! – Psalm 37:1

In this world it seems that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, and that those who embrace a life of sin prosper while those who seek to follow God’s Word are denied worldly pleasures. It is easy for Satan to kindle anger and envy in us by appealing to the desires of our flesh. This Psalm outlines a three-part ‘prescription’ as the antidote to the anger (fret) and envy that we can sometimes feel.

Trust in the Lord.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5

Our trust in God must be with ALL our heart. A divided heart is weak, lukewarm, and ineffective against the attack of the enemy.

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. – Psalm 86:11

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. – Matthew 6:24

When we trust in the Lord we are at peace and without fear of worldly circumstances.

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. – Psalm 112:7

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutor – Psalm 31:14-15

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock – Isaiah 26:3-4

It is difficult to trust someone you do not know. The foundation of trusting in the Lord with all our heart is to know Him on a personal level – to have a continual personal relationship with Him through His Living Word, prayer, and worship.

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. – Psalm 9:10

Delight yourself in the Lord.

In the original text the Hebrew word used here carries the meaning of being soft, delicate, or dainty. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, we are thoroughly relaxed, soft, and pliable. There are no tense muscles or tension headaches from the cares and worries of the world. We are truly experiencing His peace.

Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. – John 14:27

But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. – Psalm 37:11

The enemy seeks to sow seeds of discontent. We are blessed and yet we desire more. We get more and remain dissatisfied. Solomon declared this to be foolish striving after the wind.

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 1:14

But godliness with contentment is great gain – 1 Timothy 6:6

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, we are seeking first His kingdom and righteousness, not the pleasures of this world.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:33

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5

When we delight ourselves in the Lord the desires of our heart change from the carnal to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal. We gain the mind and heart of Christ.

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” – Psalm 40:8

In the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. – Psalm 119:14-16

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. – Psalm 119:33-35

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, we experience true joy. Not happiness, which deals with circumstances, but rather the joy of the Lord despite our circumstances. This is the same joy that had Paul and Silas singing hymns while in prison.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. – Philippians 4:4

Commit your way to the Lord.

In the original text, the Hebrew word translated ‘Commit’ literally means to roll a burden away from you. Picture yourself trying to prepare the soil to plant a garden. There is a large rock that must be removed. After much digging you can get underneath an edge to start to lift it up to roll it away. Once you start, you are committed to continue or else the rock will roll back on you. That is the level of commitment alluded to in this Scripture.

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. – Proverbs 16:3

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. – Psalm 37:5

Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” – 1 Kings 8:61

 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men – Colossians 3:23

Trust, Delight, and Commitment work together to equip us with the full armor of God to defend against the attack of the enemy and to provide a solid foundation upon which to stand as we live in this world with an eternal perspective of our heavenly citizenship through faith in Jesus Christ.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9