Will I Ever Have The Life I Want?

INTRODUCTION:

How much money do you need to “retire comfortably?”

The magic number for a “comfortable retirement” keeps changing.

It was right under a million for baby boomers.

It was around 1.5 million for Generation X.

For millennials that number has doubled to 3 million dollars.

Inflation forecasts put the number at 5 million or higher for Gen Alpha an Beta

There are an increasing number people who suffer from anxiety caused by the question, “will I ever have the life I want?”

And it’s not just a question about a certain quality of life at retirement. People raise this question for other reasons as well.

You look at your classmates getting scholarships and wonder how much longer you’ll stay behind.

You look at all of your friends getting married and wonder how much longer you’re going to be single.

You look at your friends having children and wonder why you can’t have the same blessing.

You’re not satisfied with the clothes you wear, the car you drive or the size of the house you do or don’t yet own.

You look everywhere around you and wonder “when will I ever get the kind of life I want?”

A Growing Problem

As bad as the problem is today, its only increasing in its scale and scope.

We’re on an unsustainable economic path where our money is becoming worthless and our assets are inflated beyond reason.

There is a growing spread between the haves and the have nots (and the % of wealth each owns).

We have social media and the internet which makes the comparison trap even more widespread.

Our news and social politics just increase the anger and discontentment.

Regardless of your age demographic the impact of this pressure results in some very negative outcomes.

How do you handle the shadow of discontentment? What do you do with the fear of “not having the life you want?”

Better yet, what does the Bible say about facing this fear in light of who God is?

A Heart Problem

Psalm 37 gives an interesting answer.

Obtaining the life want requires a properly oriented heart.

The human heart is a funny thing. It’s very difficult to understand. (Jer 17:9)

We use our hearts to love people deeply and then get bored by what they have to say?

We use our heart to explore deep theology and then crave a Chick-fil-a milkshake?

With our hearts we endure terrible tragedy and yet find it hard to stay motivated to even the smallest changes to our diet or exercise habits.

Our hearts are also dynamic and multi-dimensional. We use our heart to love and relate to the world around us.

But a loving heart doesn’t just think and reason it also desires and moves us to certain types of actions.

In other words, our hearts are three dimensional:

we reason with our heart,

we relate/desire with our heart and

with our hearts we respond externally through actions.

So if our hearts are going to be properly oriented then we need to address each of those fronts.

That’s exactly what Psalm 37 sets out to do.

Set The Table

To the question “will I ever have the life I want?” Psalm 37 says, “absolutely you can and here the way to do it.”

The entire Psalm is forty verses and has some unique literary features.

It’s written like a Proverb. It’s extremely practical. “Do this… not that…”

It built on an acrostic using the Hebrew Alphabet:

Alef (1-2) Bet, (3-4) Gimel, (5-6) Dalet (7), Heh (8-9), Vav (10-11), Zayin (12-13), Chet (14-15), Tet (16-17), Yud (18-19), Kaf (20), Lamed (21-22), Mem (23-24), Nun (25-26), Samekh (27-28a), Ayin (28b-29), Peh (30-31), Tzadi (32-33), Qof (34), Resh (35-36), Shin (37-38), Tav(19-30).

Finally it has the structure of a chiasm. It’s an outline format where the main point is at the center and supporting points surround either side.

To end the suspense we’ll begin with the main point in Psalm 37:22

Psalm 37:22 CSB

22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be destroyed.

So you have a contrast between two types of people and the ultimate outcomes for each.

There are the “blessed and the cursed” (elsewhere defined as the righteous and the wicked)

The cursed will be destroyed (lit. cut off) and the blessed will “inherit the land.”

Both outcomes are repeated five times.

Inherit the land: Psalm 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34

Cut off: Psalm 37:9, 22, 28, 34, 38

Obviously you’d want to inherit the land and not be cut off. The “blessed life” is the life you’d really want.

The difficulty is that the wicked seem to enjoy temporary success in this world and the righteous are be tempted to get “agitated” by it.

The world “agitated” is repeated three times. (Psalm 37:1, 7-8)

Psalm 37:1 CSB

1 Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.

Psalm 37:7–8 CSB

7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. 8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.

Isn’t it fascinating how God’s Word understands human nature and anticipates our responses?

The two things we’re most likely to do when underserving people enjoy the life we most want is

Anger: How dare God! They don’t deserve such a gift! This is wrong and unfair!

Envy: Why not me!? What makes them so much better than me? What’d I do wrong?

There’s a warning in this Psalm that such agitation leads us no where good.

Instead of getting agitated by what others have, we should teach our hearts to delight in the Lord.

Read the Text

With that said let’s pick it back up in verse 1. Psalm 37:1-9

Psalm 37:1–9 CSB

1 Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. 2 For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. 3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, 6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. 7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. 8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. 9 For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

A, B, G, D’S OF DISCONTENTMENT

You can’t really see it in the English but these nine verses go over the A, B, G, D’s of discontentment.

I mentioned earlier how the Psalm is built on the acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. Well each of these Hebrew imperatives begin with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Verse 1 begins with Aleph “Be not Agitated” (1st letter = “silent/stop”)

Verse 3 begins with Bet “Trust in the Lord” (2nd letter = “b/v”)

Verse 5 begins with Gimel “Commit your way” (3rd letter = g)

Verse 7 begins with Dalet “Be Still” (4th letter = d)

We don’t have time to go through each letter and how David uses them in the Psalm but these 9 verses are a pretty good demonstration its poetic force.

Let’s take them one at at time and see how they properly orient the human heart.

Don’t Be Agitated

The first imperative it stated first in verse 1 and stated again in verse 7-8. “Do Not Be Agitated.”

The world is sometimes translated “Fret” (NIV/ESV) or “worry” (NLT). The Hebrew words literally means “to burn or be kindled.”

The command “be not agitated” is kinda like the command, “be not afraid.” It’s hard to control your feelings.

Which is why the Bible never gives a command like that without also supplying the ground or rational.

Be not agitated because… “they wither quickly like grass and wilt like the green plants.” (Psalm 37:2)

Like the first green grass of spring, as soon as the heat arrives it withers away. Or, when the earth rolls over, turns on it’s axis it’s bye bye fall grass, hello winter.

The chickens come home to roost. The debt collectors show up for payment. The law of the harvest eventually comes due.

The word translated wither is the same word used in Psalm 1:3

The leaf of the righteous man “does not wither.”

Not all flourishing is created equal.

There’s a temporary flourishing that the wicked enjoy for a season before it withers.

Then there’s a flourishing that the righteous enjoy and it lasts forever.

Trust in the Lord

Which leads us to the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet: Bet. Trust in the LORD.

Psalm 37:3 CSB

3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

It’s the same thing we saw last week.

When your heart becomes anxious and agitated by what you see, respond to those circumstances with faith in your heart.

Trust the LORD and do what is good.

It may be true that wicked people seem to get away with their wickedness. That doesn’t given you license to do the same.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

A person’s trust in the Lord is demonstrated by how they choose to live their life. Remember, our faith is always evidenced by how we live.

Faith in God is demonstrated by “doing good” and “living securely” in the land.

The phrase “live securely” actually has a footnote in the CSB and get translated differently.

The Hebrew word conveys the idea of “feed/drive out to pasture” as a shepherd would do with his sheep. (LEB, NIV) In other contexts it’s used for the idea of befriending something. (ESV)

So the idea is that you might cultivate faithfulness in the same way a shepherd cultivates his field to care well for his livestock. Make faithfulness your constant companion.

So “to do good” doesn’t just mean a disengaged approach to an ethical life. It’s active and intentional. Respond to the evil of the wicked with a commitment to the opposite.

Commit to the Lord

Which leads to the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet in Psalm 37:5. Commit to the Lord.

Psalm 37:5 CSB

5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act,

The word translated commit conveys the idea of “dedicating or trusting yourself completely” to a specific person, activity or cause.

In other words, don’t make the goals and dreams of your life all about you and your agenda coming to fruition. Live a life that is fully dedicated to the LORD.

We did this as a staff this past week in our staff prayer meeting. We have all sorts of plans and activities identified for the year but we want to stop and commit those things first and foremost to the Lord.

Again, this command isn’t given without a reason.

We can commit our way to the Lord with confidence because God WILL ACT in accordance with his character. Psalm 37:6

Psalm 37:6 CSB

6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

When you live your life according to God’s design then God has a vested interest in proving that his way works.

Like the morning dawn or the noonday sun, it will be completely obvious to anybody looking that God’s design for life is good.

I’ve never seen somebody who fully committed to God’s design that didn’t eventually enjoy God’s blessing on their life.

It doesn’t mean their lives were easy or without hardship. They certainly were (and maybe even more so.) But above and underneath even difficult circumstances was a glorious light from God, a blessing from his hand of grace.

Be Silent Before the Lord

Which leads us to the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet: Dalet. Be still before the LORD and wait.

Psalm 37:7 CSB

7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.

Everything sounded so promising and delightful until verse 7. “Be silent and wait”

Those are the two things my kids LEAST want to hear in this world.

And most adults are just kids with adult packaging. We hate to wait and when life isn’t going according to our plans we LOVE to complain.

But David is saying there’s actually a better way to orient your heart. You can learn to be silent and wait.

There is a tendency for us to do the very opposite of this when trying to obtain the life we really want.

Instead of waiting on the LORD

we cave into the pressure of an impulse buy.

bury ourselves under a burden of debt.

feel compelled to catch up and prove that we’re “worthy.”

All the while we’re barely able to breathe.

As Dave Ramsey likes to say, “We spend money we don’t have to buy things we can’t afford to impress people we barely know or don’t even like.”

Why do we allow the success of other people to drive us into actions that makes us miserable instead of giving us peace? There’s got to be a better way.

Delight In The Lord

He finishes his exhortation to be quiet and wait by reinforcing this idea that anger and jealousy won’t take you anywhere good.

Psalm 37:8–11 CSB

8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. 9 For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

Again we see the contrast between the fate of the wicked and those who trust in the Lord.

The wicked are cut off but the humble inherit the land.

(This is where Jesus got the beatitude, “the meek shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

But that’s not the only contrast in this section. You also see a contrast between the anger and agitation we’re tempted to feel versus the abundant joy we are meant to possess.

The contrast between two desires is reinforced by verse 4 (which I skipped) and it’s one of the most popular passages in the entire Bible.

Psalm 37:4 CSB

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

The Hebrew word translated “Take delight” is the same word used in Isaiah 66:11.

The Lord likens the peace he’s bringing to Jerusalem as the milk a nursing mother gives to her baby.

Have you ever seen a hungry angry baby satisfied by his/her mother’s milk? It’s a sight to behold! The look on their face goes from panic to pleasure just like that. They even make noises of delight (that are kinda gross in my opinion).

That’s the picture behind this word. Delight in God like a baby delights in his mother’s milk.

Make God your sustenance and greatest desire. When you do that you’ll finally possess the life you really want.

Delight Also

Some translations actually bring out the Hebrew prefix which reads, delight “ALSO” in the Lord.

Which means each of these actions are enabled and accomplished by our delight IN the LORD.

How does a person “delight in God?” Basically all of Psalm 37 is an answer to that question.

Don’t let yourself get agitated by evil doers.

Don’t trust in your flesh to get where you belong.

Do good, cultivate faithfulness and commit to God in everything you do and

wait and watch as God does his thing.

He WILL GIVE YOU the desires of your heart. He will give you the life you’ve always wanted.

Prosperity Gospel?

I must confess that as a junior in High School I read this passage as part of an assignment from my parents during a difficult season in my life.

Back then I read the Bible like a lot of people do - looking for a way to twist God’s arm so he’d give me what I’d want.

I read this verse and thought to myself - I guess if I’d just clean my act up and be a better person then maybe God would finally give me what I want. (which, at that time, was to stop being homeschooled)

I memorized the verse. I printed it out. I put in on the fridge. I thought about it all the time. I even told my parents I’m going to hold God to this promise like yall do with other ones.

The problem was I misread the verse. The command isn’t to “delight God.” It’s to delight IN GOD.

I was thinking, “God I give you what you want then you gotta give me what I want.”

That’s a very works based, moralistic, self-centered approach. (many people have this view). But that’s not what the passage says. It’s a prosperity Gospel perversion.

When we say to God, “I need you in order to get this thing I really want” what we’re really saying is, “I want this other thing more than I want you.”

The LORD cannot be our means to a greater end. The Bible calls that idolatry.

God would be UNLOVING to give us those desires because they’d keep us from the life we really need.

The life we really want can only be enjoyed when we delight ourselves in the LORD more than the gifts he may give.

That’s why God can make this promise and always keep it. Because he knows when we fully delight in him we’ll finally have the life we’ve always wanted.

It’s not that delighting in God forces him to give us our materialistic dreams. It’s that our love for God displaces that materialistic spirit and creates a contentment in our hearts that no material gain could match.

WHAT WE NEED TO THINK

The question is, what does that look like “practically speaking?” How do we persuade our hearts to delight in God more than the things of this world?

Remember I said that the human heart doesn’t just think but it feels and it acts? Psalm 37 is addressing each of those fronts.

The Psalm has already established what we need to DO.

Don’t be agitated. Trust, Commit, Be Silent & Wait.

The Psalm has also established what we should DESIRE.

Delight yourself in the LORD.

Let’s close out this Psalm with what we need to THINK. It’s summarized in verse 22 but filled out in the rest of the chapter.

I’ll break them down into three big headings.

The Wicked Perish

First, the wicked will perish with their wealth.

This idea gets repeated over and over again.

They wither like grass. (Psalm 37:2)

A little while and they’re no more. (Psalm 37:10)

Their bows are broken / swords enter their own hearts. (Psalm 37:15)

Their glory fades like smoke. (Psalm 37:20)

Five times David repeats “the wicked will be destroyed.” (Psalm 37:9, 22, 28, 34, 38)

One of the reasons that God destroys wicked wealth is because of how that wealth gets obtained in the first place.

The wicked obtain their wealth through violence and theft.

They borrow and don’t repay. (Psalm 37:21)

They lie in wait for the righteous and try to kill them. (Psalm 37:32)

We can certainly see both of these truths present in our world today.

Our entire economy is built on the back of debt. It’s literally how wealth gets created through our banking system. And it’s fine so long as the debt gets repaid.

What happens when people realize that nobody is able to cover the debt? The whole system falls apart. We saw it with the Great Depression. We’ve had scared of the same thing today.

It’s not just something that governments do, people do it as well and it’s a ticking time bomb.

Anybody who sheds light on the lie will be persona non grata! They lie in wait to kill the righteous.

The problem is, reality eventually gets a vote and when the harvest comes due the pain will be devastating.

The Lord Will Provide

That leads us to the next big truth of Psalm 37.

The Lord Will Provide what the righteous need.

Over and over again this truth gets reaffirmed.

He supplies us with abundant prosperity. (Psalm 37:11)

He supports the righteous (Psalm 37:17, 24)

He watches over the blameless all their days (Psalm 37:18)

He establishes our steps (takes pleasure in our way) (Psalm 37:23)

We will not be overwhelmed. (Psalm 37:24)

We will not abandoned or our children beg for bread. (Psalm 37:25, 28)

We will not be condemned or left to the wicked. (Psalm 37:33)

The righteous will inherit the land (Psalm 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 31)

How many different ways could David say it? Evidentially, as many ways as there are letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

The wicked prey on the righteous because they see them as easy prey and soft targets in their eyes. But the Lord will not allow them to do so forever.

There will be a day of reckoning where God’s righteousness is firmly established.

What is “the land” that the righteous will inherit?

The word for land harkens back to God’s original promise to Abraham in the book of Genesis. It harkens back to Exodus and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt so they could inherit their promised land flowing with milk and honey.

But even here in the Psalm the land is pointing beyond some mere strip of real estate.

We know from the New Testament that the land Abraham envisioned wasn’t for a city built by human hands but a city who architect and builder was THE LORD. (Hebrews 11:10)

The land symbolizes security, prosperity and the enjoyment of God’s presence. It’s the return of Eden and unhindered intimacy with God.

The land represents a place of rest and enjoyment. The righteous are able to dwell securely because they have “abundant prosperity.” (Psalm 37:11)

The land is both material and spiritual, geographical and metaphorical. It’s something we can experience in the here and the now.

Our Inheritance Will Be Permanent

But the glory of our inheritance is something that lasts forever (Psalm 37:18)

The wicked will perish.

The LORD will provide.

Our inheritance is permanent.

Again, this Psalm establishes this truth over and over again. (Psalm 37:18)

Psalm 37:18 CSB

18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever.

God’s faithful ones are kept safe forever. (Psalm 37:28)

Psalm 37:29 CSB

29 The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently.

the fullness of our inheritance won’t be ours until the end. On that day, our inheritance will be fully complete and we’ll enjoy it forever and ever.

Not only will we enjoy the glory of our inheritance we will sit back and watch as God pours out his judgment on the wicked. (Psalm 37:34)

The Psalm closes with this glorious picture of God’s salvation for the righteous because of their decision to take refuge in the LORD. Psalm 37:39-40

Psalm 37:39–40 CSB

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress. 40 The Lord helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in him.

God doesn’t deliver the righteous because they deserve it. There’s nothing we can do to “earn” this grace and mercy from the Lord.

Rather, God’s salvation is received by grace through faith.

That faith is demonstrated through a voluntary commitment to take refuge in the LORD.

It’s because “they take refuge in the LORD” that he saves them in the end.

CONCLUSION:

Which leads me to the question, “What kind of life do you really want?”

If the life you want requires violence, dishonesty, selfish ambition and greed. It’s not a life that God is eager to give you.

However, if you want a life of peace, contentment, great joy and abundance that is a life you have today in the LORD.

It’s not something you have to wait for until after you die.

It’s something you can have RIGHT NOW if you’ll just take your refuge in the LORD.

Jesus came so that we might have his abundant life right now.

Jesus said it this way to Peter when he asked Jesus, “We left everything to follow you… what does that mean for our future?”

Matthew 19:29–30 CSB

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

As someone who has been on both side of Psalm 37 I can tell you this promise from Jesus is true.

When you’re heart is properly oriented around delighting in the LORD there’s nothing else that competes in terms of how that love can satisfy.

Grace Is Enough

For those of who who struggle with the shadow of discontentment because of the materialistic impulse that are culture imposes, the message of God’s love offers something better.

The Gospel exposes our materialistic impulse as an effort to solve a problem only God’s grace can truly fix.

We try to find a kind of righteousness and salvation through wealth that can only come through Jesus.

When we look to the cross not only are we reminded of what ultimately matters in this world.

We’re also reminded that God loves us so much he secured our salvation when we could never do so for ourselves.

If God did not spare his own son but graciously gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us ALL THINGS.

In other words, I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to wear or where I’m going to live.

I just need to trust the LORD, seek God’s kingdom above all else and be still and wait as God takes care of every need.

This is the invitation from our heavenly Father at the cross. Our fears come and die at the cross of Jesus Christ.

In the place of that fear can rise a resurrection faith that gives a hope for a better future.