by Kevin Rutherford

There is a tendency among Christians sometimes to look at those who are doing evil and wonder why their cause is prospering. We may look at those denominations which are growing rapidly. They are teaching doctrine that will cause souls to be lost, and yet so many of them seem to be growing by leaps and bounds. We may then look at our own situation and wonder why God has not blessed us.

David addressed this kind of worry when he wrote Psalm 37. By inspiration we are told that we are not to worry about the success of those who are doing evil, nor are we to be envious of them. In time they will be cut down.

Our job is not to worry about their success. Our job is to get on with those things that we know please God. David said we should trust and delight in the Lord. He also told us to commit ourselves to God and He will take care of us. We simply need to be busy doing the work of the Lord and let God take care of the rest.

In this same Psalm David told us to "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." God will take care of our problems in due time. When He is ready He will bless the righteous. When He is ready He will punish the wicked. Christians grow far too impatient in waiting for the blessings of God. God can see the big picture and He knows exactly when it is best to bless the righteous and punish the wicked. Simply trust in Him and wait patiently.

David is teaching us to be calm and at peace inside. He is teaching us that inward peace comes from complete trust in God and His abilities. Those who wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth. Things will go their way. God will see to that. When we put off worry, envy, and anger we shall become meek. The meek will win in the end. As David put it, the meek shall inherit the earth. How so? While the rest of the world is frantic in its desire to control everything that bothers them, those who trust God simply wait patiently for Him. In this sense the earth is ours. It is ours and under our control because we do not let our enemies and problems bother us.

Those who are righteous can put off worry, envy, and anger because we know God is watching us. God is watching us to bless us, and God is watching us to reward us. Someday we shall receive an eternal reward. This eternal reward is better than anything the wicked may achieve. All that the wicked achieve will pass away. A righteous man’s reward is eternity in heaven.

David was an old man when he wrote Psalm 37. From his experience through life he has come to these conclusions about trusting God. God is on our side. God will take care of us. We will win in the end. The wicked will perish in the end.

David concludes by saying, "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him."

Read Psalm 37