Friday, January 16th | Daily Devotion
- Jan 16
- 3 min read
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers. For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:1–4 (ESV)
TRANSCRIPTION:
Great morning and happy Friday to each and every one of you. First of all, thank God you made it. If there’s anybody under the sound of my voice who can recognize the gratitude embedded in the fact that we started with the case of grace on Monday and now find ourselves easing into this incredible weekend, looking at what God has done as we’ve been studying in our devotional mornings through the wonderful book of Psalms. As we conclude this week, I wanted us to take a look at the 37th division of Psalm.
Again, I’m Dr. Powell, and I pray that this has been a blessing to you. I’m going to read a little bit, and of course my expectation is that you’ll read the entirety of the division in your free time.
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
And it goes on.
I love this division of Psalm because I think it’s a fitting cap to the end of our week. It’s very easy for us to get caught up in the surrounding area of playing the comparison game. We begin to look at our lives within the backdrop of others and then determine how blessed we are—or aren’t—based on the guideline of someone else’s experience, especially those who we feel don’t share our values or our integrity.
We must be extremely careful not to use the benchmark of those who are not called to the same calling, purpose, and design that we have. So on this Friday, I want you to take a look at it, because the songwriter is saying, “What I need you to do is delight yourself in me. Don’t fret over the evildoers.” Then he gives an assurance: they shall soon be cut down.
But I love the fact that he says, I don’t want you to concentrate on their destruction, their downfall, or even their judgment. That’s not really your concern. Your concern is to trust the Lord and do good, so that you don’t become the very thing you’re looking down upon.
It’s amazing how, in the midst of all of this, you can begin to lose focus on what God is calling you to do. So as you conclude this week, as we get ready to enter into the weekend, and as we usher ourselves toward Sunday—where we celebrate God’s goodness—don’t spoil God’s celebration by focusing on things that don’t concern you.
“Oftentimes we think it’s the calling of God for us to play judge, jury, and executioner.” And God says, no—worry about yourself. That’s a word right there. Worry about yourself. Focus on the things God has said. Matter of fact, don’t let other people’s evil steal your joy.
Don’t let what other people are doing, going through, or experiencing ruin what God is doing in your life. God calls us to be concerned with His attention, His favor, His glory, and all the things He’s given unto us—not to be distracted by outside entities.
Which ultimately says this: they shall be cut down. That’s not a question. So if you ever wondered whether or not God is just, let me go ahead and give you that answer. But more importantly, you should focus on yourself, making sure you’re walking in alignment with what God has called you to do.
So this Friday, be encouraged. Be encouraged on this Friday. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I’ll be back with you on Monday. Remember: be blessed and be a blessing. God bless you.