Monday, February 17, 2025

Today's Scripture
Psalm 37:1–11, 39–40

Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight 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 act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

Be still before the Lord,
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.

Refrain from anger,
and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him. (NRSV)

Reflection

I never had much interest in imagining a transactional relationship with God — that is, one premised on “Lift me out of this, God, and I will forever [fill in the blank],” or “I am following your commandments, God, so please reward me with [fill in the blank].”

In fact, my eyes sometimes skip over the “payback” lines in the psalms simply to get to the core of God’s word to the faithful. Today’s psalm tells us:

Fret not.
Trust in God.

Because, after all, isn’t the purest joy achieved through the faithful act alone, and not because we expect recognition or reward? In his February 9, 2025, sermon on the Fall, for example, Pastor Tom Are cautioned us “Our strongest temptation is to be self-centered.”

Sure enough, reading Psalm 37:9–10 from the selfish perspective may thrill our egos with the appeal of karmic justice; it is others, after all, who are wicked — not us!

But we can do better than this. Jesus tells us to be better than this. And Howard Thurman shows us how to stand fast through chaotic, turbulent times:

“There is no need to fear evil. There is every need to understand what it does, how it operates in the world, what it draws upon to sustain itself.”

Do not fret because of the wicked.
Do not envy evildoers.
Refrain from anger.

“Over and over we must know that the real target of evil is not the destruction of the body, the reduction to rubble of cities; the real target of evil is to corrupt the spirit of man and to give to his soul the contagion of inner disintegration. When this happens, there is nothing left, the very citadel of man is captured and laid waste.”

Do good.
Commit thy way unto the Lord.

“To drink in the beauty that is within reach, to clothe one’s life with simple deeds of kindness, to keep alive a sensitiveness to the movement of the spirit of God in the quietness of the human heart and in the workings of the human mind — this is as always the ultimate answer to the great deception.”

May beauty always be within reach, may kindness surround you, and may the spirit of God speak to you, this day and always.

All quoted sentences are from “Life Goes On,” in Meditations of the Heart, Howard Thurman (1953).

Prayer
Heavenly Creator, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Written by Sarah Forbes Orwig, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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