Monday, August 29 – Psalm 37:7

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;

Do not get upset because of one who is successful in his way,

Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.

Growing up, one of the first concepts we learn is fairness. We learn to identify when someone gets better than they deserve or often when someone receives punishment that they seemingly don’t deserve. On a much larger scale, as we grow up and see the tragedies and evils of this world, we return to our child-like logic. These things that hurt us or others don’t make sense to us because they are not fair. When we look at this passage, we see two ideas that we often put against one another, “If I rest in God and trust Him, why would He let bad things happen?” and, “If God cares about upholding His good and perfect image, why would He allow this evil plot to succeed?” When we face this struggle, we often give up on God or on the world He created.

This passage does not pit these two ideas—resting in God and evil succeeding in the world—against each other. The God we rest in is greater than the unjust realities we see. Throughout the entire biblical narrative, He is a God of restoration even when evil’s victory seemed all too real. When we see the brokenness of the world, we become anxious. But we can rest in God, not because of what we see Him doing, but because of who we know Him to be—an unchanging, perfectly just, God of restoration. In the darkest hour and the most unfair moment, we can rest in Him. We have peace in the storm because of who He is. We can wait patiently because we know His restoration and justice are certain.

• What would it look like to rest in God during a time of anxiety?
• Do external factors or difficult things happening in the world affect how you rest in God? Why or why not?
• Pray and ask God to remind you to rest in Him in times of trouble in the world and in your life.