Be All About the LORD

This morning I am in Psalm 37 and am seeing the glory of the LORD manifest for those who are connected to Him. The thing that stood out to me this morning is that I have to be all about the LORD and give myself fully to Him and work to bring glory to Him always.

“³Trust in the Lord…

⁴Delight yourself in the Lord…

⁵Commit your way to the Lord…

⁷Be still before the Lord…

³⁴Wait for the Lord…”

— Psalm 37:3, 4, 5, 7, & 34 (ESV)

These are all there in God’s Word for me to meditate on. I am not just to accept salvation from the LORD, I am to be all about and all in with Him. Justification is gained once one has accepted salvation and the fact that Jesus came and paid the price for my sin in this world that I may not die of my sin. He came for that I would not have to experience the wrath of the Father as He took on the consequence of my separation from the LORD.

Being all about the LORD and all in with Him is a move to Sanctification as I work to remove the power of sin in my life. I will be judged as righteous when I trust, delight, commit, am still, and wait for the LORD. When I surround myself with the LORD and dwell in Him I will keep myself working for, in, and with Him and my focus will not wander into the temptation of sin. I am devoted to the LORD and His work and do not have the time or thought of anything else.

Every day I am tempted by the evil one to wander off from the LORD. Even as a child of God, I am drawn to sin and sinful ways. I am secure in my salvation thanks to the justification I have gained through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. My sanctification is the ongoing struggle as I work to overcome the power of sin. It is in my all in and all about the LORD where I will find relief from the power of sin as I find peace in Him.

What is your view of your relationship with the LORD? Are you content in your justification? What if you were to be all about the LORD and fully trust, delight, commit, are still, and wait for Him to avoid the power of sin that continues?

Desire the LORD

My recent study of the word “desire” has yielded that desire creates difficulty and that we have to rule over desire. This morning I am continuing the study and found that we should be desiring the LORD. If desire is difficult and I have to rule over it, then my immediate question is as to why would I accept desire for the LORD.

Well, here we go. Desire is hard and I have to rule over it, but I also have to remember the saying, “anything worth having is worth fighting for”. The LORD is certainly worth having and therefor He is worth fighting for. In fact, the LORD is the only desirable that gives back unconditionally. What He offers us is Love and salvation in return for our love and devotion to Him. He will provide all that we need in all situations and once we have completed the tasks He has for us, we will be granted rest.

“¹⁴They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.” – 2 Chronicles 15:14-15 (ESV)

What is an oath? Merriam-Webster Online defines an oath as: a (1): a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says (2): a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one’s words b: something (such as a promise) corroborated by an oath

An oath being a sincere commitment to action is just what the people of Judah were doing. They were fully committed and desired the LORD. They gave themselves fully to Him and the action of finding Him. And because of this oath and desire, they found Him and were rewarded with rest once they did.

When we desire things of this world, we may find them, yet they are limited in what they give us in return. What is the fight for if there is nothing to be had in return. Well with the LORD, we receive a return for the work done. The fight yields a result that is fully worth having, rest and glory in heaven.

I choose to desire the LORD. I will fight for Him. I will work for Him. I will love Him. I am fully committed to Him. I will spread His word, regardless of the consequences in this world. My reward is not of this world and is fully worth it all.

What do you desire? Are you fully committed to the thing that you desire even knowing that the reward is minimal and not much if anything will be received in return? What if you desired the LORD and committed yourself to Him for the reward of rest and glory that comes when you are united with Him?

The Way of the Righteous

Just what is the way of the righteous?

“⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.”

— Psalm 37:5 (ESV)

And there you have it. The way of the righteous is to commit to the Lord and to trust Him.

As a christian, the way of the righteous is the way that I should be going. I have to strive to be righteous in hopes that I will measure up when the time comes for me in the presence of God and the judgment. I am to be committed to the LORD and trust that He leads me in the path He would have me go. I have to remember and understand that it is His will, not mine that takes we there.

“⁶for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.”

— Psalm 1:6 (ESV)

There are different paths to take in this world, and where they seem to lead to the good, it is not the way of the righteous. There is the path of positivism. There is the path of empowerment. There is the path of being good. Each of these can seem to get thing done and move you in the right direction. But, they will fade if they are not rooted in the LORD. Each of these when they come from us are simply not enough to overcome.

Now, I am not saying that it is not worth it to be positive, empowered, and good. It is certainly part of the will of God to be so. The thing that I have found in my study of God’s Word is that these are products of committing to the way of the Lord. These in and of themselves do not get us to the way of the Lord. These come from the way of the Lord. We cannot force ourselves into being righteous. I will also say that where we cannot force it, it is not a bad place to start.

When we are positive, empowered, and good we will see some results for sure. We will certainly move forward and things will fall in place for us. The thing is that it will not always fall into place and without being rooting in God, there will be limited if any staying power. As soon as things take a turn away from the direction you want them to go, there will be failure that is difficult to overcome.

The way of the Lord is full of staying power. I may get down when things do not go my way, but when I know that I can count on the goodness of God, I am able to keep going as everything is in His plan. I may not reach my destination when I wanted to, but the LORD knows that has I done so, I may have missed another opportunity that would make the destination just that much sweeter. I may experience loss as a result of life, yet I would be able to see the good that is because of it.

“The LORD knows the way of the righteous” and where I am not sure if I measure up, I have to continue to commit my “way to the Lord”. I am committing to leading a life with Him as my example. I am committing to the path He has for me. I am committing to all that comes. I have to remember that Jesus did not have it easy. He was persecuted way beyond anything any of us will experience. He worked daily to bring God’s Word to all even as He was spit on, beaten, and even killed. I may not be killed, but the way of the LORD will not be easy, yet it is worth it.

What way are you going? Are you taking the positive, empowered, and/or good way? What if you took the way of the LORD and allowed Him to provide the results?