Psalm 37:4.
Yeeeaahhh. Possibly the most misused verse in the Bible, and there’s already a battery of those to choose from.
I love the verse. I want to believe it. But so many of us bring prayers both desperate and timid before this verse and forget to bring them before God.
It’s not that I want to throw cold water. I just know I’m required to believe all the other verses along with it.
A cursory glance at our lives should make plain that this verse is not often being realized in isolation. We can therefore conclude that it’s not true, or, more hopefully, that there’s simply a lot more going on. We know from elsewhere in the Scriptures that God doesn’t honor desires that are faithless, immoral, or intended to liberate us from a daily dependence on him, and frankly those three conditions (assuming the first two even differ meaningfully from the third) could probably account for most unanswered prayer.
But have we ever thought about just how much goes into delighting in the Lord?
Delighting in his timing.
Delighting in the paths those blessings take.
Delighting in his superior wisdom, concerning both us and the things we pray for.
Delighting in the things of heaven over the things of earth.
I daresay we left most of this stuff over in John 14:14 when we jumped here from there. Delighting in the Lord a la carte is probably not what he had in mind.
But most of all I’m learning that Psalm 37:4…a trap.
A trap for sin.
The goodness or badness of a trap is relative. A trap is a bad thing if you’re a soldier on the field. It’s a good thing if you’re trying to catch grease, or bugs, or animals destined for your dinner table.
I’ve come to see Psalm 37:4 as a grease trap for my depravity.
In our unregenerated state, in the unconquered areas of our lives, we want nothing more than to escape daily dependence on God. Many of our desires and prayer objects, if we’re honest, have their purpose in that goal. They have their roots revealed in two simple questions: am I really just asking for this so I can worry less about life, and how will I react if God says no? The more urgent the responses, the likelier that we’re committing the sin of Just Wanting a Nice Little Life. A way out of having to turn from that pesky God every day.
Not every prayer, to be sure. I would never begrudge some peace and help for the overwhelmed mom, the son worried over his father’s heart surgery, the destitute addict starting to rebuild his life, a child frightened in a thunderstorm. God runs to the side of such.
But sometimes I really do find myself blurring the lines between This would be a legitimate blessing and I just don’t want to have to cry out to God all the time.
George MacDonald wrote in Unspoken Sermons that “Every need of God, lifting up the heart, is a seeking of God, is a begging for himself, is profoundest prayer, and the root and inspirer of all other prayer.” It’s a difficult thought – expanded upon by many other saints – that perhaps God allows hardship in our lives so that we learn to seek him. As our dear Clive Staples wrote in Till We Have Faces, “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer.”
Can I swallow that?
Can I accept that perhaps God is allowed (ha) to let at least some of my troubles persist as long as I remain convinced that they, rather than a terminal lack of God, are my biggest problem?
Well, I resisted for a long time.
Finally I gave in. I accepted intimacy with God. I let him off the hook for my disappointments, without qualification, without any of the explanations I’d long demanded.
He came to me.
And I have discovered that delighting in the Lord really does make your soul forget, at least somewhat, about everything else. Including the need that drove us to him.
That’s the beautiful trap. We come to Psalm 37:4 longing for other things and find yourself stumbling, as one in the dark, upon something greater. Someone greater.
And then, after we’ve nearly forgotten, I believe he continues to give. A tap on the shoulder: “Don’t forget what you originally asked me for. You’re in a far better position for it now.”
Now, I know, I know…what a dreadful secret agenda this can foster in us. A trap within a trap, a maddening cycle. What if we fake coming to God just to get what we want? If we don’t delight honestly, will God withhold? If the gift tarries for whatever reason, did we not delight well enough?
No, no. I’m not down with that. I just don’t know.
Let us just remember that God is 1) better than life and 2) generous. That’s enough for me today.
