Let Your Light Shine Day 14
Trust in the LORD and do good
that you may dwell in the land and live secure. Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart’s desire. Psalm 37:3-4
What is it that you really want? What is it that I really want? What is the “heart’s desire”? Unfortunately, we spend most of our days doing all the things on our list that we “have” to do. We have all said many times things like: “I have to go to work;” “I have to go grocery shopping;” “I have to do the laundry,” etc. I know that I have been guilty of thinking that all of these daily chores get in the way of me doing what I “want” to do any given day. But quite frankly, I have kept so busy with responsibilities that I don’t really know what I want anymore.
The reality is, we do not “have” to do anything once we become adults. We have a choice in how we want to spend our days. I always make the choice to go to work, but that is because I want to live in a comfortable home, and drive a car, etc. Therefore, I make the choice to exchange my time and creativity going to work, and I am rewarded with a paycheck that pays for the things I want: my home, etc. The problem with this social system, which is the exchange of our time to earn money to pay for the things we want, was expressed brilliantly by Science Fiction writer Robert A Heinlein. He wrote, “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia, until we ultimately become enslaved by it.”
That is why the words of this psalm today are so profound. It gives us a roadmap to get out of being enslaved by “daily trivia”. First, the psalm tells us to trust God and “do good,” and then we will “dwell in the land” and live securely. The phrase “dwell in the land” is a reference to the Promised Land of the Jewish people, but in this case it is also a metaphor for heaven. Therefore, trusting in God and doing good things in life will enable us to live heavenly, safe lives. The second verse of the passage tells us to “find our delight in the Lord who will give you your heart’s desire.” The noun “delight” is some thing that gives you great pleasure, joy, or extreme satisfaction. So the psalm is telling us to find our joy in the person of God, who will give us the desires of our hearts.
This all sounds so simple, but in practice it is hard to do. Trusting in God and doing good for others, means that we shift the focus away from the societal norm of working to obtain a secure, heavenly life. Similarly, we do not go to God with a laundry list of our hearts’ desires, that we think will make us happy, and then hope God will give them to us. No. In order to have a heavenly, safe life, full of things and experiences we love, we need to first find our joy in a relationship with God, and we need to develop a deep trust in Him. That joyful, trusting relationship with God will then compel us to do good. From there, we will be blessed in ways we could have never imagined. But the order of importance begins with being in a loving relationship with God. How do we do that? We spend time in daily meditation and prayer. Just like we make a commitment to be present with friends and loved ones in order to maintain a relationship, we need to be present with God on a daily basis.
So, today, I encourage you to join me in setting aside 5-10 minutes for silent prayer and meditation. Simply begin by praying the Lord’s Prayer. Then sit in silence, just focusing on your breathing, for about 5 minutes. End your time of contemplation by praying the Doxology in praise to God.
The Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father, who are in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.”
The Doxology:
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be, world without end. Amen.”