Psalm 37 (P1), 365 DAYS OF LOVE #283

MEMORY VERSE: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts come iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge? This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth. " Psalm 73:1-12

NOTES: ¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil 

   or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
   like green plants they will soon die away.

 ³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
   dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the LORD,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
   trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
   your vindication like the noonday sun.

 ⁷ Be still before the LORD
   and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
   when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 ⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
   do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
   but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

 ¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
   and enjoy peace and prosperity.

 ¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
   and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he knows their day is coming.

 ¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
   and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
   to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
   and their bows will be broken.

 ¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
   than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
   but the LORD upholds the righteous.

 ¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care,
   and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
   in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

Reading this passage was a great comfort and reminder of God's sufficient grace and mercy in my own life. In the past few years as a high schooler, I've struggled numerous times with comparing myself with others, especially academically. I would get frustrated that people would be so successful and respected, but use such dishonorable methods of attaining success. If I could sum up all of high school in but one verse, it'd probably be Psalm 37:4 : "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires if your heart." It's so easy to delight in college, in academic achievement, in personal success, but I realize that the more I delight myself in the Lord, the more peaceful and joyful I become, even if I don't have any worldly success to show for it. It's been a slow (but steady) process for me, but I am thankful that we are given the opportunity to "trust in the Lord and do good"

ACT OF LOVE: My sister came home today with her family! It was great seeing my beautiful nephew once again. My act of love was giving my sister a hair tie when she was about to give Josiah a bath so that her hair wouldn't fall in her face.
Supplemental act of love: listening to a friend vent about something that troubled him. Simply listened.