“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7
Last evening I was reading a section in Matt Chandlers latest book, “Recovering Redemption.” Matt was writing about his personal experience with fear and anxiety. As I read through his description of the knee jerking moments, when the fear of what would happen to his wife and children if he died, I felt the weight of the gap between faith and reality.
Little did I know what awaited me in Psalm 37 and in Ezekiel 1. First Ezekiel 1, in this chapter we are introduced to a prophet who would have the dreaded task of sharing with hard-hearted people. His work would be with his own people and it would not be an easy work. Second, Psalm 37, in this chapter David deals with the need of trust in God’s path verses trust in the path of the wicked.
Think it through:
For Ezekiel there was given a vision of God in a way that is beyond description. Ezekiel would again and again come back to this vision as a source of comfort and trust as he walked through the years of his ministry.
For David, there was the daily reminder of this fact, “he served a God in whom we can trust and commit ourselves too.” Here is David’s direction for us, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and he will act.”
This is exactly what Matt Chandler, Keith Joseph, and everyone who walks through trials must do. We cannot hide from trials. We cannot ignore them. We must fact them with a committed mindset that says, “Yes, this is too big for me, but it is not too big for God.” We must be willing to trust in His sustaining power as we wait for the moment when God will be glorified the most for His work.
This means, that in some trials, he will work immediately. But at other times, he will work through a long process where we will be stronger and he will gain even more glory.
Our response:
Until then, “We must delight ourselves in Him.” Paul understand this when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Phil. 4:4