Let Go!

Christian Devotional by Pastor Cecil Thompson

Psalm 37:1-7

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

We are looking at nine admonitions given in Psalm 37:1-7. Yesterday we considered, FRET NOT; TRUST; and DWELL. That brings us to the middle three admonitions, DELIGHT; COMMIT; and REST. I think it is important to consider each of the admonitions separately rather than simply lumping them all together as we read this wonderful Psalm of hope and confidence.

DELIGHT! Have you heard the expression (I won’t ask if you have ever used it) “She’s such a nag?” It has a very negative connotation. When I check the Hebrew dictionary for the meaning of the word, “delight”, I find that it is the word “anag.”

Are you ready for the definition of the word? I am going to give it to you anyway! Here is what I found: [To be soft, be delicate, be dainty. a) (Pual) to be delicate. b) (Hithpael) 1) to be of dainty habit, be pampered. 2) to be happy about, take exquisite delight. 3) to make merry over, make sport of]. It is very interesting to read what is said about the word, delight, in Gesenius’s Lexicon. (To allure, to entice, used of the amorous gestures of women in their looks, walks, etc.)

Listen gals, that does not give you license to behave in a suggestive manner. Men need very little encouragement and in our permissive society there is little left to the imagination. Let me explain to you ladies what men are like. A man with a sensuality problem went to see a therapist. The therapist showed him an ink blot and asked him to say the first word that came to mind. Immediately the man said, “Sex.” The therapist showed him seven ink blots of random shape and each time the man responded the same way. At the end of the session the therapist announced: “Sir, your problem is that you are a sex addict!” The man was offended and replied: “How can you say that? You’re the one who showed me the dirty pictures!”

To delight in the Lord is to develop an allure for Him and His Word that is so enticing to us that it draws us to a closer walk with Him.

COMMIT! Do we really know the meaning of the word? Once again it is important to know the meaning of the word. In the Hebrew it means: to roll. I have this word picture. In my mind’s eye I see a man with a heavy load on his shoulder. The load is heavy and burdensome. To commit means to roll the load off our shoulder and onto the Lord.

In Psalm 55:22, we have a perfect description of what it means to commit: “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” The words, “Cast your cares” has the same meaning as committing. Are you carrying a load that only the Lord is capable of bearing? Commit it to Him!

REST: Now this in no way means lying down on the job. Going back to the original, we find that it has a much more significant meaning. In the Hebrew it means: 1) to be silent 2) to be still, die 3) to be struck dumb. The Psalmist says it best in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” That is what it means to come into complete rest. Rest in Him!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.

— Pastor Cecil