Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Psalms 37:7 NIV
Do not envy the wicked. The Lord often allows them to succeed in their plans. But these do not realize that while gaining fame and success on earth, they have lost the most precious asset which is eternal life. In fact, when the wicked dies, what good are his fame and his riches? The psalm reminds us that what we possess, even if it has no value on this earth, has value in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, following Jesus gives us a spiritual richness, which has an infinitely great value compared to the riches of this world.
Think of all those famous artists who, dissatisfied with their lives, committed suicide, or died from drugs.
How much is the peace and joy that the Holy Spirit gives you worth? What is the use of man if he has everything, but loses his soul? Can you be happy if you have everything but have no love in you?
In the verse we want to highlight the words ‘in the presence of the Lord’, His presence in fact is what gives us strength and hope to wait and endure, which helps us in difficult times, which consoles us when we no longer know what to do.
Devotional
Sometimes God makes you a promise, or you’re praying for something. Time passes, but nothing happens, everything remains as it is. Our instinct is to go it alone, and answer our own prayer with our own strength. This is a serious mistake, which leads to serious consequences. God answers in His own time, not when we want. That’s what this verse says. Wait in the Lord, do not be deceived by those in the world who obtain things according to their own ways, which are not God’s.
An example we can see in the story of Abraham. God promises Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation. God makes this promise when Abraham and his wife Sarah are already old. In addition Sara was sterile and had never given him a child. God wanted Abraham to have faith, but Sarah decides to let him have a child with one of her servants. When God fulfills the promise and causes Sarah to give birth to Isaac, Abraham had already had Ishmael from that servant. The price of this decision is still paid today by Israel, with the tension with the Arab world.
The price of this decision is still paid today by Israel, with the tension with the Arab world. And many times He does it so that everyone can see that only He could keep it that way. When these promises are fulfilled, no one can say it was you in your own strength, but everyone will know that it was the Lord who performed his miracle with you.