“Don’t fret it”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, May 30, 2024
Psalm 37: 1-17 (Forward, p. 32) CEV p. 576
I think that today’s passage from the Psalms certainly applies to many of us, me included, for I am quite prone to be impatient or get ‘bugged’ by things or to begin to fret about things. The psalmist’s advice with regards to much of this is simply to ‘let it be’. And, why, we might ask, can we (or should we) do this? It is because God is in control, and, over the natural course of things, things will simply ‘work out’:
-those that do wrong, sinners, will soon disappear.
-with merciless people, their time will soon come.
-those who attack us will fall prey to their own weaponry.
-the wicked will lose all their power.
In other words, all their scheming, and all their maliciousness, will come to an end, and will be shown to be of no effect. Even their memory will be lost; they will be forgotten.
So, what is our part in this?
-we are not to be annoyed by them or envy them for their seeming
success or good favour. This will come to an end. Instead, we are
to be patient, to trust God and not get angry or furious about these
folks.
-we are to trust the Lord, and live right, do what is right. We will be
safe, enjoy the land, and receive our heart’s desire.
-we are to let the Lord lead us and then trust Him to help us.
This, then, sounds pretty good, so here Paul’s advice to the Philippians (Philippians 4:6-7) is rather sound: “Be anxious about nothing, but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [mount guard] over your hearts and minds [your emotions and your thinking] in Christ Jesus.”
Forward notes: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (v. 7).
“My training as a classical singer exposed me to a lot of religious texts, and I strongly associate some of them with their musical settings. One of the famous arias for mezzo-soprano from Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio ‘Elijah’ draws heavily on verses from Psalm 37, and every time the psalm is appointed, I seek out Janet Baker’s recording of “O Rest in the Lord.”
“In part due to its musical associations, Psalm 37 is one of my favourites, and I find that I always need to hear it. It is not my role to be outraged or to work myself into a fervor over injustice in the world. In other words, I need to ‘keep my eyes on my own paper,’ as we were told in elementary school. I am responsible for my own path, my own prayer life, and the way I live out my faith. Getting worked up is unhelpful at best, and at worst, leads to evil, but God is working in God’s own time to manifest God’s justice in the world.”
Moving Forward: “Are you focused on your own spiritual journey or craning your neck to see how everyone else is faring?”