Scripture and Repentance

"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. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth" (Psm. 37:1-9). I have a few thoughts regarding this passage of scripture in my post today, and I want to say just a few things about going through long, grueling circumstances where it seems like things just aren't going to end well. Let's just face it, as long as we're in this world, bad and crazy things are going to happen to us. Sometimes things are just going to go contrary to us in situations in life. It's just not a just world, and people are going to deal unjustly with us many times in many ways. People will betray us, deceive us, abuse us, forsake us, etc. It simply is going to happen, and sometimes it happens for the sake of our love for Jesus. In any event, life just isn't 'fair,' and it doesn't try very hard to be.

Maybe the toughest part of suffering adversity is that we often times have no clue why it is happening to us. That is where our quoted text comes in. Go ahead, read it again, because there is absolutely no other way to handle adverse circumstances and untoward people, and come out on top. We just have to be able to commit our causes to the Lord at all times, and trust that he will bring the best possible outcome to pass. Reason being is that HE WILL! The apostle Paul knew this truth and reality, and wrote us the following famous passage about it: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). When we persevere in righteousness during periods of time when a lot of other folks are not doing the same, and yet they seem to be the ones who prosper; it seems and feels like we are the tail and not the head. Nevertheless if we apply the divine principals listed in our text passage, we will be as the Lord promised in the law, "the head and not the tail" (Deut. 28:32). What it comes down to is that everything that we are doing, whether for good or evil, is going to come to light; and it will be manifest while we're in this life. Sometimes it doesn't feel that way, but it is certain that it is that way. If we have done well, we will most assuredly be rewarded for the good we've done. If we have not done well then we will be manifested as such so that we will have the opportunity to repent and get things righted.

One of the best examples in the Bible is Jeremiah, who preached a very unpopular message that God was going to send the king of Babylon against Jerusalem to judge them for their wickedness. Not only so, but Jeremiah also instructed the people that their only hope for escape was to surrender to the Babylonians and be taken captive into Babylon. The erring prophets of Jerusalem and Judah prophesied against Jeremiah's message, and promised victory if the people resisted the Babylonians. However look at what God said about those prophets who resisted Jeremiah: "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed" (Jer. 14:15). But this is what the Lord told Jeremiah: "The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction" (Jer. 15:11). Things looked really bad for Jeremiah during the time of his message, being mocked, scorned, imprisoned, and thrown into a muddy pit. Meanwhile the errant prophets seemed to be doing well during the same time, being held in esteem by the people and living freely among many friends. Nonetheless because Jeremiah trusted in the Lord and did what was good in his sight, the end result was good for him, and very bad for those who opposed him wrongfully. So it is for all who trust in God's judgment and refuse to do evil when all the chips are down, regardless of how well it seems to be going for those who are doing wrong. There's no chance of being made the tail, and not the head, when we commit our all to Jesus. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (II Cor. 5:7).