Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

When someone gives you advice, one of the first issues that you face is this: “Does he know what he’s talking about?” You want to know if the one telling you what to do has had any experience. Is he an “arm chair” expert, or has he been in the dirt where the battle takes place? There’s no expert on parenting like the old-maid aunt who has never had a child of her own. She knows it all. The only problem is that her advice hasn’t been born of experience.

Thus when you read the words of Psalm 37 where David told us we are to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, his advice takes on significance when you understand what the author went through himself.

David, the eighth son of Jesse, was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king, yet the path to the throne wasn’t an easy one. Following his victory over Goliath, the Philistine giant who vexed the army of Israel, David had a few brief moments of peace, then became a fugitive and had to flee from Saul, who was intent on killing him. Thinking that David was trying to usurp his throne, Saul hunted David for seven long years.

Towards the end of that difficult period, David became so depressed that he actually went to the Philistines, Israel’s perennial enemy, and volunteered to fight on their side. How far can you go towards giving up your dream?

David had known repeated confrontations with evil, yet his heart was not filled with hatred towards his enemy or bitterness with God. Instead of blaming God, he turned to Him as his refuge, his hiding place, and his strength. So when David says, “rest in the Lord,” you know it comes from a man who had learned to do this through great times of testing. The word which is translated “to rest” is an interesting one. It means, “Quiet down,” or “be still and stop your striving.”

You can do that when you believe that God—neither chance nor fate—is in control, and that He, in His time, will honor His promise and see you through your trouble. Elisabeth Elliot tells of a woman who was going through a divorce which threatened her future. Of course, she was disturbed. She couldn’t sleep or eat. Repeatedly she cried out for God’s peace and tried consciously to turn loose and let the whole outcome rest in His strong hands. It’s the only way you find real peace in the midst of the storm.

“Rest,” says Elisabeth Elliot “is a divine gift. But it’s up to us to enter into that rest as an act of our will and volition. It isn’t something which God does for you; it’s something you do as you refuse to let worry take your peace of mind from you and put your welfare in God’s hands.

Question: If you were adrift on a tiny life raft on a stormy ocean somewhere, and a boat, sails filled with fierce wind, came alongside you, and Jesus cried out, “Come here! Take my hand and get in our boat” would you hesitate? That’s the step of faith that is necessary to leave the frail refuge of worry, allowing ourselves to be lifted to the place of His rest.

The Bible says simply that the disobedient never enter into His rest (Hebrews 3:18). Staying outside the palace in the storm with no shelter makes no sense when you can enter into the palace of the King and find rest for your weary soul.

Why worry when you can put your worries in His hands and find rest? Why be buffeted by the storm when you can enter into His peace? Think about it.

Resource reading: John 14:25-31.