Rest in the Lord

"Rest in the Lord,

and wait patiently for him;

fret not thyself."

(Psalm 37:7a)

~

This is a well known Bible verse to me,

and I find great comfort in this promise from my Lord.
as I ponder and quote it often in my heart and mind.

We are told in God's Word to

"Hide His Word in our hearts"
 (Psalm 119:11)
 and
"Delight in the law of the Lord,
and meditate on it day and night."
(Psalm 1:2)

  ~

For the past few weeks I have been dealing with a situation

where I have found myself quoting this very verse,

but, not necessarily claiming the promise.

As I was asking God for His direction in the matter

and waiting for Him to hear me,

this is the verse He placed upon my heart:

"Therefore I will look unto the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation:

my God will hear me."

(Micah 7:7) 

Yet,

I found myself not trusting completely even when He had clearly shown me the way,

 to the point of giving me peace within my heart,

that peace that passes all understanding,

you know that wonderful peace?  

As I bowed my heart and knee to God in prayer

asking for answers, trusting in the fact that He knows best,

 in His goodness to me, He placed this promise upon my heart:

"Trust in him at all times; ye people,

pour out your heart before him:

God is a refuge for us. Selah." (think on that)

(Psalm 62:8)

~

God in His goodness and grace hears my cry,

comforts my soul,

answers my prayer,

gives me His peace...

Yet still...

In my human frailties I choose to fret and worry,

become irritated and troubled

when it is not necessary.

~

Choices ~  throughout our lives we will have choices that we have to make.

God gives us free wills, but we must learn to make wise choices.

Thankfully, we have His Word to guide us,

to help us and to show us the way in which we should go.

Life is so much sweeter when we just trust and obey!

Many times we bring upon ourselves undue worry,

and in my particular situation,

I was doing just that, and what a waste of energy!

~

As I was meditating on Psalm 37:7

taking it piece by  piece and desiring to apply it to my life situation,

I decided to look up every important word in the Webster's Dictionary,

WOW! It sure made a difference in how I then,

meditated and applied the verse.

~

I just have to share this with you!
Dictionary work has always been one of my favorite's. :)
~
Definition of
 "Rest"
Peace of mind or spirit.
To be fixed or be fixed in trust or confidence.
<she rested her hopes in his promise>
So, if we are to "rest" in the Lord,
all we need to do is place our confidence, our hope in trusting God.
That crosses worry out, doesn't it?
~
"Wait Patiently"
A state or attitude of watchfulness and expectancy,
not hasty or impetuous.
Steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity.
So, if we are to "wait patiently for Him"
then all we need to do is have the attitude of
watching and expecting in the goodness of the Lord.
Also, we will not be hasty or impetuous in our decisions and choices that we make.
We will be steadfast no matter what is going on in our lives.
We will be firmly fixed and not subject to change.
We will be firm in our belief that God is True to His Word.
~
"Fret"
To suffer or cause to suffer emotional strain:
become irritated (not us ladies?)worry, vex.
<Fretted over petty problems>
To be troubled.
So, if we "fret" we bring upon ourselves suffering ~ undo suffering
and emotional strain ~ we become irritated
and worry over petty problems ~ small minor problems
that we create into BIG problems,
all through fretting,
which God's Word tells us NOT to do.
~
My situation was minor, "petty"actually.
I allowed myself to get worked up over something
that God already had in control.
Something He had already given me peace about.
Yet
So often we think our way would be better,
so we try and bulldoze our way right through God's ways,
and there we find no peace.
What joy to my heart when I threw in the towel
and "rested" in God's ways.
I was so ashamed before my God,
for my lack of trust and obedience.
But the wonderful grace of God... He restoreth my soul!
 ~
This was the promise I claimed;
"The Lord is my strength, and my shield,
my heart trusted in him, and I am helped;
therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
and with my song will I praise him."
(Psalm 28:7) 
~
Everything worked out perfectly in my situation,
because God is a Perfect, Holy and Righteous God,
who wants nothing but our best!
Are you claiming God's promises in every area of your life?
For when we do, our hearts will greatly rejoice,
with peace, singing praises to our God!
~
Our Precious Heavenly Father.
Cause us to seek Your promises for every area of our lives.
Help us to rest in You, as Your Word encourages us to do.
May we not become anxious or hasty,
but trust in the confidence and hope
that we have in You.
Forgive us for our lack of trust at times
and with hearts full of joy we will greatly rejoice
and sing praises to Your Holy name.
Amen.

~ Be Lovely ~
Debbie