"Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act."
Psalm 37:7
Psalm 37:7
My Take Aways
Something Old:
Psalm 37:13
But the Lord just laughs...
I wonder what the Lord's laughter sounds like.
Something New:
Psalm 37:16
It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.
To me, godliness is wealth.
While being still, waiting in the presence of the Lord:
- Trust in the Lord
- Do good
- Take delight in the Lord-enjoy Him
- Commit everything to Him
- Trust Him
- Be still
- Don't worry
Psalm 37: 33
Praise for this hope: The Lord will not let the wicked succeed. I have a friend I am claiming this verse for today.
My Mother's Day Gift...an outside Jesus Chair. I love it and my baskets.
25 Comments:
Good morning, GIG's,
Dear Lord, thank you for drawing each one of us here to begin another week studying Your word. Thank you for Wendy and her teaching, so filled with words we need to hear, and her experiences of You that we can identify with and learn so much from. Father, please be close by each one of us as we face the week's challenges, be they related to health, finances, or finding the path You have laid out for us. Help us to be watchful, patient, and praising. And to ENJOY having You right beside us, Amen!
Wendy, your teaching today touched me tremendously! It makes me smile when I have chosen a nugget that you chose, and it happened today. Psalm 37:3-6
"Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord
and he will give you your heart's desires
Commit everything you do to the Lord
Trust him and he will help you"
Karen, maybe that one was for you, too :) I have prayed for you and your husband today, and hope you both have a blessed day. Hugs!
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Prayer requests I have received
Lesley
I want to ask for prayers for my daughter Erica, she is 23 and they just found what they think are arachnoid cysts on her brain. Thank God these are benign cysts, but they can have neurological impact. Her MRI is Monday, and I would just ask prayer for the best possible outcome.
From Shirley
For Brad who is in the hospital fighting for his life
Wendy, what a beautiful entry to your home. I too want a Jesus chair.
Are you gals sleeping in today?Hope everyone had a wonderful, restful weekend. An hour on the phone with my daughter was fantastic. It was our "tea time.":)
Ps. 37 is full of tidbits:
verse 4-Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your
heart's desires.
When we delight(great joy, pleasure) in Him, then He places His desires into our hearts. As we put our hope in the Lord, we will travel steadily along His path.(verse 34)
Aren't we glad for verse 23-The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. So we're not just drifting along on the sea of life.
There are a lot of verbs found here for us to do:delight, commit, trust, rest, wait, don't worry or fret, stop,and turn.
Ps.36:9 says,"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
For our 35th anniversary, my husband and I went to Niagra Falls. As we ate an elaborate dinner in a tower high above the Falls, we saw the most beautiful sight in the dark-colored lights focused on the Falls. What a breath taking sight for this country couple to take in. Heaven must be even more spectacular.
My to do is Ps. 38:18-"But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done."
Don't we all need this verse?
Catch ya'll later.
Linda from Ark.
Michelle, I like when I pick out the same verses as Wendy, too! Those few in Psalm 37 were full of meaning to me, and I didn't remember 37 as standing out, but it's one I'm going to be rereading often for a while, I think.
Most of the Psalms confuse me, however. I love how David praises God, but it seems as if he also spends a lot of time asking God to be vengeful towards his enemies. That's what I want to do when trouble finds me, but I try hard to ask God to bless them instead of punishing them, which is difficult. David was such a wonderful picture earlier of respecting authority and praying for those who persecute you that I don't know what to do about this change. ???
We had a wonderful Mother's Day here, too! My kids bought be flowers and breakfast in bed and hid clues for a scavenger hunt, then took me shopping at an outdoor mall in Durham. We ate outside in the sunshine - it was fun! I hope that you all had a relaxing and fun day, too. :-)
Thank you Wendy, for your teaching; you are such a blessing. I'm usually silent here, but just wanted to share how timely scripture can be!
This month marks a full year since we've finished our required homestudy and have been waiting to be matched with children via an international adoption. Mother's Day is HARD for me. Actually, the whole week leading up to Mother's Day (with every tv commercial reminding us that M.D. is coming) is hard. I DO appreciate the gift of still having my mom @age 77, and i'm glad my husband appreciates my attempts to reach out to his 21 yo son. But there's still pit in my stomach when M.D. rolls along and i have no one to call me "Mom." There's part of me that's angry, crying "why not me, too, Lord?"
I had just thought to myself, maybe i should contact my adoption agency to give a litttle nudge (even though my coordinator is awesome and and i know she WILL contact me as soon as there's any news).
Then this morning's scripture: "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." Ps 37:7 and, just in case i didn't hear v7 clearly, 37:34 "Don't be impatient for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along his path."
So, while i've read this scripture before, somehow, i never heard v8, my "New:" "Stop your anger!...Do not envy others--it only leads to harm"
And my "To Do" v.7: is not only the "wait patiently for him to act." But the, "BE STILL...and wait patently for him to act."
BE STILL in the presence of the Lord
~Allyson,
who will NOT be calling the adoption agency today :)
Another Week in God's Word, Gals!
So, glad we have each other to enjoy Him with!
Wendy, loved your teaching today, and love the entrance to your home!
I've always enjoyed the outdoors, but I will say, since I've been reading through His Word, daily, the last couple of years, the details in the 'environment' just seem to be magnified! The colors. The smells. The sounds.
His magnificent creation awes me.
My To Do: What really stuck out to me in your teaching today was something that I will be pondering over all day long: Lord, that my desires would be Your desires. Wow. Truly, that what I'd have in mind to do today, would be what He would do.
I loved the verses: "The LORD directs the steps of the Godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD hold them by the hand" (37:23 & 24).
"Travel steadily along his path" (34).
No matter what our situation is, He is right beside us. "O LORD, you know all about this" (35:22).
He won't give us more than we can handle. He is just doing His work, his beautiful transformation in us! Thank you, LORD.
What a Father we have! Thank you, Lord for holding my hand and walking alongside me today. Lord, I want to know You more today. I want my desires to be your desires. Change me. Transform me. Amen.
"I will praise you all day long" (35:28). Another blessed day to spend walking with the LORD. smile, Lori
PS Linda, My hubby and I are planning a trip to Niagara Falls ~ there is a fun rafting trip on the falls that looks so fun!
mabnd
thanks for sharing with us today. the anger verse stood out to me also. i underlined in my Bible. i was anger for two years as my husband and i tried to conceive. i asked the same question you did. the anger and bitterness became me fierce as i watched my friends starting their families and was asked to plan baby showers for them. truly God helped me through it all.
my heart is tender to you today my friend!
mabnd
thanks for sharing with us today. the anger verse stood out to me also. i underlined in my Bible. i was anger for two years as my husband and i tried to conceive. i asked the same question you did. the anger and bitterness became me fierce as i watched my friends starting their families and was asked to plan baby showers for them. truly God helped me through it all.
my heart is tender to you today my friend!
I am in Berlin for the day. I left Basel at 5:30 am CET and am now on my way back to Basel. I will read,vlog, and post tonight my time. But you ladies fed my soul yesterday and I just had to say thank you!
I love you all!
Karen, Basel (by way of Berlin. :))
Hi all, I'm back and glad to be back. Sometimes it can be hard not having the use of a computer and I was only gone for two days. I don't want to even think about how it will be when I go on my week vacation and not have internet access. You all have become friends to me who I miss when I can't join in the Bible study and other conversations.
A few weeks ago I asked for prayer about a project my niece's kindergarten class was doing. I talked to my sister last night and she said it turned out very nice. She said they had a mother and student tea with the kindergarten classes on Friday and the map was on the wall outside the class room with all the post cards the kids had received put around the map. Each kid will eventually get to take their post cards home.
I did the reading for today and now I need to listen to the vlog.
Wendy, thank you for your teaching today. I also had the same verses and my prayer is that God would make my desires His desires. Psalm 37 is very special as the Lord gave me these verses way back in the 80's when I was in a very difficult situation at work. His Word is Perfect and His timing always right on target. I praise Him that I waited on Him for His solution.
Wendy, your entrance is lovely. My MD was nice. Two daughters and family visited on Saturday, phone call from older son, and youngest son met me at church, lunch and short visit before returning to celebrate with his wife/daughters.
Allyson, I also was childless for several years, even after surgery/miscarriages I continued to believe God for four children and He answered. Yes, wait patiently on the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Lori, be sure to take the boat ride at Niagara Falls. It's amazing to go right up to the Falls!
Prayers for Gabriel, Erica, Brad, and all of my sweet GIGs.
Have a wonderful week in the Word.
Teeny in NC
Good Monday morning!
So glad to have a few extra minutes to pop in and say hi to all of you beautiful ladies.
What a beautiful weekend. Lots and lots of family time. I am so thankful to God for my family and my husband's family. My parents have been married for 34 years today(and they were married in Vegas ya'll)! My husband's parents have also been married for a long time and it is an amazing blessing to have strong role models like our parents. Had such a nice time celebrating mother's day with my mom and MIL. It was kind of cute b/c my father-in-law did the blessing at dinner and he prayed for me to be able to celebrate mother's day someday. I thought that was very sweet.
I love Psalms. I culd camp out in PSalms all day. They are so peaceful and contonue to remind us to call on the Lord in time of need and to also wait patiently. Lots of very good lessons!
Have a wonderful day today ladies!!!!!
Kristin-WI
So many wonderful words in these Psalms. So comforting and uplifting. Just what we need to hear at the right times. Yay God!
When I read Psalm 38 my CSI brain took over...and I wondered what ailed David. It reads like he maybe had been infected with an STD...could it be from his sleeping with Bathsheba, or all the many wives and concubines?
One commentary suggested that David wrote this Psalm after he had killed Bathsheba's husband and he was feeling very distant from God...either one makes sense to me when I reread it.
Anyone else have an idea?
I am so glad that I serve a Lord that I can turn to even after I have sinned miserably and find forgiveness and restoration.
Praising Him with Psalms!
Morgen
Allyson…...Welcome!!
Oh what to say to you. Your hearts anguish…I so do feel it. Sending you a special ((((HUG))). I had all those same resentments, angry feelings, Why Me?
Your heart is in the right place for true peace on all of it (God’s Word). When I went through it… I wasn’t. I had a tough-coat exterior…. This trial was a way God got my attention. My story about this goes on for 4 long years. Lots to talk about. I did end up seeking counseling on it… I was headed for depression. At the counseling place I was at….They did have chapel and we were expected to go….My anger grew and grew that one day when at chapel I could not take it anymore… (of them saying God was such a kind, compassionate God). I stood up in chapel and said He is not….and ran out because of the deep embedded pain and anger. If he was Why was he doing this to Me?
So many people would tell me to move on…. “Get on with my life.” I felt like noone understood Me? Allyson to make a long story-short. God was catching every tear…He heard My cry. Today Yes I can give HIM ALL THE GLORY. I send Him praises. One thing I did do when I left the counseling center was…. I put it in HIS hands if he wanted me to have children.
I wasn’t going to comment today….but your comment touched Me….and I do understand your……. “There's part of me that's angry, crying "why not me, too, Lord?"
Allyson….Know He loves You and is holding you in the palm of his hand.
I will be sending up prayers for you to receive the desires of your heart.
God Bless You!
Rhonda
PS: Here is another ((Hug)) before I go.
Special Prayers went up for Erica and Brad. Lord we place them in your healing hands.
Have to catch up on my reading tonight.
Lori...precious one....Yes those flowers do come from God's garden. (I'm getting to know that everything comes from Him). (my) flower garden....and with the gift he has given me... did plant most of them some placed there by Him. He surprises me alot. Like Wendy it is a special spot for Me to be with Him. God does the rest.
Wendy ask do we take delight in Him...This is one of my delights in Him...what He can form out of a tiny seed or a bare root that has been dormant. Only in Him can come such marvelious works. The same for Me.
It is a wonderful blessing to be in Psalms. We have been seeing God's character in the stories that we have been reading since the beginning of the year, but to see His character and His promises written out so beautifully is wonderful. There were so many good things today to choose from, but I have written several e-maails today encouraging friends with Psalm 37
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
I love that He delights in every detail of our lives and is actively directing our steps. One of the notes I sent is to a friend who is going through some major medical issues (and I think of Erica here and others) that I love the picture of Him holding her hand at an appointment on Thursday where she will receive her diagnosis. He cares that much about all of the details and will not let us fall. Thank you to those that shared how God has used His word in such timely ways in your lives. He cares about every detail!
Blessings to you all!
Hi to all of you lovely GIGs,
Wendy, you're a blessing!I enjoyed today's teaching. God bless you. My Nuggets were also from Psalm 37:3-6. I loved your word nerding. That's one beautiful skill I've learnt since I joined this group on May, 1st.You're all so special.
Precious LORD, strengthen us to trust in You completely, knowing that You love us. For with You LORD is the Fountain of life and in Your Light we see light.
Allyson, my prayers are with you. God grant you the desires of your heart. God is able to do far more than we can even ask or think of!
Praying for Baby Gabriel,Erica and Brad.
God bless you all.
Sheila, Chicago
I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, "I'm late, I'm late!"
Still recovering from the hectic weekend we had. Rhonda, thank you for your kind words. The ice skating/birthday party went well - only 3 injuries on and off the ice.
Karen, I prayed for you yesterday as I walked around the perimeter of the Urgent Care clinic where my sister-in-law was seen. (She is one of the 3 mentioned above. She's okay - they gave her crutches and some powerful meds to ease the pain.) Safe travels to you.
Welcome to our new sisters coming out of lurkdom. Thank you for sharing your hearts.
I don't have my notes with me but I remember one of our guest preachers talking about Psalm 37. He calls it the prescription for peace. It is a good Psalm to meditate when things are not going according to plan.
Still have not had a chance to listen to the vlog, so I will do that sometime today.
Have a blessed day, everyone!
Posting again since I forgot to check the box for the follow-up email. Oy.
Morgen here is a little of what Matthew Henry says about PSALM 38.
This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full of grief and complaint from the beginning to the end. David's sins and his afflictions are the cause
of his grief and the matter of his complaints. It should seem he was now sick and in pain, which reminded him of his sins and helped to humble him for
them; he was, at the same time, deserted by his friends and persecuted by his enemies; so that the psalm is calculated for the depth of distress and a
complication of calamities. He complains,
I. Of God's displeasure, and of his own sin which provoked God against him,
ver. 1-5.
II. Of his bodily sickness,
ver. 6-10.
III. Of the unkindness of his friends,
ver. 11.
IV. Of the injuries which his enemies did him, pleading his good conduct towards them, yet confessing his sins against God,
ver. 12-20.
Lastly, he concludes the psalm with earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence and help,
ver. 21, 22.
In singing this psalm we ought to be much affected with the malignity of sin; and, if we have not such troubles as are here described, we know not how soon
we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way of preparation and we know that others have them, and therefore we must sing of the by way of sympathy.
Jennifer, Thank you for digging deep for us! It's eye-opening to me to see just how much sin causes us to be separated from God. Yes, eventually we are forgiven...but, in the meantime, I see how much we lose out on: His blessings! And, ouch...how complaining is a sin, too!
RHONDA! WOW! I'm in awe - the Glory coming out through your flowers. Sweetie, they are gorgeous! I'd just want to be outdoors all day long, peeking at them! God has truly given you a green thumb, ten of them, mater of fact!
I LOVE what you told Allyson (welcome, by the way)! Thank you for posting today!!!
Allyson - I'm with you, God keeps amazing me too,how timely HIS words are read, just when we need to hear them the most! Isn't it just like a book, especially at times, written specifically for us?! His unconditional and everlasting love that he freely gives us awes me day by day!
Kate, Your precious FIL. I love his blessing to you!
okay, do need to get going - I could just park myself here with you all, all day long! ha-ha
I love you guys!
Lori
Allyson, welcome! I'm glad you have joined us, and it would be my privilege to pray for your heart's desire each day.
Friends, your comments today, as always, have been a blessing to me. I am sooooo thankful the Lord's plans were to put together this quilt of believers, and to lead me to join in. I can't even find adequate words to say what this experience means to me, and how much it has helped me. I am now beginning each day surrendering to Him, the source of everything, and DELIGHTING in my walk with Him (and all of you.) PTL!
Have a blessed evening, all.
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Ladies,
Oh, forgive me dear LORD for not sharing my major praise of the year! I can't believe I forgot earlier, not once, but twice! Guess what? Over the weekend, my bro.in-law, picked up the Bible, and announced to my sweet little sis that he was going to read it. And, yes, she about fell over! He did this all on his own, rather, God did it in him! So, my sister, says, 'honey, why don't you try my version, the NLT! SMILE So, funny,we are always trying to 'help them along!' He said, "no, thanks, but, I'm going to read this Bible as it is special, it was given to me when I was in 4th grade." It is a King James Version, and it is just fine. He's an avid reader. But, GIG, this has been my daily prayer all year, that God would draw John to read the Bible! Praise You Father. Thank you for wooing John to Your Word. May it bit-by-bit draw Him, to You. Allow the verses to come alive. Lord, pursue him, till he's caught. Thank you for answering this prayer request. I won't stop till my entire family is saved. Every single one. Amen.
Love u all - TONS!
Lori
Prayers for Erica for healing and best possible outcome Lord.
Mabmd- As Wendy said my heart is tender for you also. It took 3yrs to conceive when everyone around me was having babies sooooo easily. It was very difficult time and alot of tears. I eventually was able to have one daughter. Medical Hardships also effected conceiving. Your not alone. Hugs.
Hey ladies,
I am so loving the Psalms! I wasn't sure if I was going to post, I haven't yet journaled as following the initial format seems a bit daunting considering there is SO much good stuff in each one.
But I did want to share what He is speaking to me today. After reading this morning before work, I posted Ps. 37:23-24 on my Facebook and one of my 'friends' reacted rather aversely (sp) to it. In my renewed and short walk with Christ, I haven't had much resitance or persecution - praise God for that - so I'm just sort of at a loss as to how to handle this. And I"m saddened. BUT, what better time to be in the Psalms than now??
So, what he is showing me right now is that it is in our struggles that we see our absolute need for him. He allows us to feel these things, albeit lovingly, so that we are aware of our inability to fight our own battles or even save our own lives.
So, I guess that sort of translates into trusting him and his timing to give us the desires (His desires) of our hearts and that we should feel blessed that we are given opportunities to grow our faith and trust with every fiber of our being in him, to cling to him with abandon.
I praise God for the way he softens all of our hearts. And, as always, all of you ladies are in my prayers.
Happy belated Mom's day :)
xo
Olivia
Wendy, Teeny, Rhonda, Sheila, Lori, Michelle, Debra: THANK YOU for your kind words and encouragement.
~Allyson
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