TRUST
GOD TO ESTABLISH AND SUSTAIN YOU
Psalm 37:1-9; Jeremiah 17:7-8
Rev. Dr. R. J.
Lightsey II, D. Div.
During the last two weeks I’ve had the opportunity to counsel a few men incarcerated at the Arkansas
Department of Corrections. What I learned is that most of them are in prison because they (at one time) had a misplaced hope
in what they wanted to accomplish and therefore forced to make something work that was not working to their benefit.
When you try to force something to have the outcome you desire, most likely the outcome will not
be what you intended or it will not last long. Also, the forced outcome will usually cost you more than you intended to give
in getting what you want. But I want to be clear in stating that you should always pursue what you want but you should always
pursue it legally and without harming or cheating others. To put it in simple terms: complete satisfaction in achieving your
goals and realizing your ambitions can only come from trust in the One and Only Mighty God of all creation.
I’m reminded
of a song that was popular many years ago. Some of the words to the song included, “If it don’t fit don’t
force it, just relax and let it go. Just because that’s the way you want it doesn’t mean it will be so.”
Too many times we try to force what we want into existence by leaving God out of the equation. What we should do is
relax and let God handle it. Remember, He knows all about your troubles, your issues, your desires and your dreams. You should
let God do what only He does best – making a way out where there is no way out!
Trusting
yourself to do it right, make it right and keep it right will not yield the proper and lasting results. Only what you do for
Christ (to the glory of God) will last. Lying, cheating, conniving, robbing, raping, killing and the like do not bring glory
to God. Therefore, such things do not and will never yield the permanent results expected. However, they will bring punishment
and wrath in your life. A five minute sinful act can cost you thirty years to a lifetime in jail. That is not what the perpetrator
intends. That does not give him the opportunity to enjoy what he has done or set out to do. In all things, you
must trust God to establish and sustain you.
Psalm 37 gives
us a simple formula for achieving peace of mind and particularly when your enemy is prospering while living and wallowing
in sin. Verse 1 says do not fret and do not be envious (jealous). Verse 3 says to trust in the Lord and do good and
God will allow you to live and be sustained. Verse 4 says to delight yourself in Him and He will give you the desires of your
heart. Verse 5 says to commit (give up, yield) your way unto Him and He shall bring it to pass. Verse 7 says to rest in the
Lord and wait patiently for Him. Verse 8 says to cease from anger, forsake wrath and refrain from evil. Verse 9 says they
that wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth.
All of these exhortations encourage the believer to confidently
trust the Lord with all of life’s problems, with all of your issues and concerns. Jeremiah 17:7 tells us that blessed
(happy) is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. Note that the Scripture does not say that you will have
a good outcome (though that will be true according to Romans 8:28). The Scripture says that the man who trusts
in God is a happy man. The answer may not have yet been manifested, the deliverance may not have yet come, the bill may not
as of yet been paid. But as long as you are trusting in God you are a happy man. Proverbs 16:20 says, “He
handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” Putting your trust in the Lord
makes you happy because God gives peace to those who trust Him.
Verse 8 of Jeremiah
17 says that the man who trusts the Lord is like a tree that is planted (put, placed) next to water so that its roots will
grow strong. The tree will maintain green leaves in the overwhelming heat and will continue to bear fruit in the drought.
If you plant (put, place) your trust in God you will survive any and every fiery-furnace situation in your life. If you put
your trust in God, you will continue to flow and prosper when the stock market crashes, when others are laid off. As a matter
of fact you will never cease from being blessed even though the nation is in a recession. The deeper the recession the higher
your blessing!
Psalm 34:8 says “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed
is the man that trusteth in Him.” You can’t taste God without trying God. You’ve got to put all of your
issues and situations in His hands. You’ve got to let go and let God. No doubt about it you will be happy in Jesus!
A great way to conclude this message is to quote Psalm 125: They that trust in the
Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so
the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of
the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Do good, oh Lord, unto those that be good, and to them
that are upright in their hearts. As for such that turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord
shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.”
If
you put your trust in God and do good, he will surround and protect you like the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem.
If you live for God and put your trust in Him and keep your mind on Him, He will keep you in perfect peace. He will establish
and sustain you.
