Trust – Psalm 37:1-11

      But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.

Some will read Psalm 37 and interpret it to be material prosperity. Some of God’s saints have been entrusted with it for sure but all of God’s saints have been entrusted with spiritual abundance, in Christ. All saints are entrusted with this talent. It is all about how we invest it.

When you think of bible characters, who do you consider to be the wisest investor? Did your selection come from the Old Testament or the New? I am tempted to choose Abraham. He had land, livestock, tons of grandkids and most importantly, he was God’s friend. But I am also attracted to Paul who had lived under both covenants. For God’s children, the New Covenant is where we will find our best investment council. But to both old and New Testament saints, God’s Spirit has always asking an investment question, “What is your DOH (the Desire Of your Heart)? This is an important question because DOH is connected to your ROI (Return on Investment).

Paul is a worthy counselor for both short and long term investing. He shows us that the investment paying the greatest dividends now is the same one offering the greatest return over time. He suggests humbly resting in the unending benefits that will accrue to us as citizens of heaven.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household. Ephesians 2:19

In Philippians 3:7-21, Paul shows us how to examine a balance sheet. He shows us the difference between assets and liabilities. In Phil 3:1-7, he even describes how his investment strategy changed. Jesus Christ turned Paul’s thinking upside down. Jesus had persuaded Paul that the kingdom of God was an overlooked value which we must acquire at any cost. Paul would advise us to radically unbalance our portfolio with kingdom stock.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44-45 (See also; Matthew 6:19-21 and 13:31-32)

In Psalm 37 David’s weighs in. He tells us we must commit our ways to him. Along with Paul, David encourages patience. He would have us buy, hold, never sell out or never sell short. He tells us that we will be tempted toward worry and jealousy as we see the sons of this world reap extravagant windfalls. Ultimately, David makes his greatest contribution to true wealth management by expressing the very spirit of kingdom-investing. He reminds us we can best express our trust in God by delighting ourselves in him.

Father, win our hearts back from every thing we have given them over to which will ultimately cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Teach us to abandon our worldly dreams and desires. Show us where our hearts are divided and compromised. Grant us repentance that we may transfer our love and affection back to you. When the trumpet sounds, and the market closes, may we be fully vested in your kingdom.  Amen.

 

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