Psalm 37:34 - Wait On The LORD, And Keep His Way.

Psa 37:34; Wait On The LORD, And Keep His Way.

Psa 37:34 (KJV)  Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he 
shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, 
thou shalt see it. 

Psalms 37:34 (MSG)  Wait passionately for God, don't leave the 
path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked 
lose it.  

Psa 37:34 (TLB)  Don't be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep 
traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you 
with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed. 

Duty is ours, and we must mind it; but events are God's, we must 
refer the disposal of them to him. [Matthew Henry Commentary] 

Wait on the Lord, and keep his way; This is the true mode of 
waiting on God which the Scripture recommends; keeping God's way-- using 
all his ordinances, and living in the spirit of obedience. (Adam 
Clarke Commentary) 

God doesn't expect us to remain passive while we wait for Him to 
act. He tells us to be active in doing good. [Victor Bible Reader's 
Companion] 

It is difficult to wait patiently for God to act when we want 
change right away. But God promises that if we submit to his timing, he 
will honor us. Peter said, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's 
mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). Be 
patient, steadily doing the work God has given you to do, and allow God 
to choose the best time to change your circumstances.  [Life 
Application SB] 

Waiting tests and strengthens trust and hope in God. [Jamieson, 
Fausset, And Brown Commentary] 

Is there in your life a cherished heart's desire taken to God 
over and over again in prayer, yet still unfulfilled?  If so, link 
hands with the rest of us, and with all prayer-warriors across the 
centuries!  No wonder Jesus had so much to say about persistence in prayer, 
along with His clear teaching that sometimes we will have to wait for 
God to move.  
It's the waiting that can be so hard.  Where can we find the 
needed patience?  I think in the end it all comes down to trust.  We 
have to trust the Lord even when we wonder why He delays.  
Recently my friend Marge shared an experience where the Lord 
spoke directly to her about this question of patience.  Marge and her 
husband had been given the frightening news that he had Parkinson's 
disease.  It was the sort of dread disease that Marge had always 
especially feared.  
The entire family gathered, anointed their father and husband 
with oil, asked the Lord for His healing, then made a deliberate act 
of turning the situation over to Him.  
Marge's heart questioned, "Until such time as our family sees 
this prayer answered, how can I leave this problem in God's hands and 
not snatch it back?  How can I keep enough peace of mind not to let 
worry and fear impede or stop my daily work?"  
God answered her question directly in an experience Marge had 
aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff....  
As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange 
phenomenon.  On one side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky 
with glorious color.  But - out of the window next to her seat all 
Marge could see was the sky dark and threatening.  
The plane's engines began to roar, and a closed-in feeling came 
over Marge.  Long since, she had learned at such moments to be still 
and listen within.  Then the gentle Voice spoke, "You have noticed 
the windows," He said, even in the roar and thrust of the takeoff.  
"For a while now, your life will contain some happy, beautiful times, 
but also some dark shadows.  
"Here's a lesson I want to teach you to save you much heartache 
and allow you to `abide in Me' with continual peace and joy.....  
You see, it doesn't matter which window you look through, this plane 
is still going to Cleveland.  
"So it is in your life.  You have a choice.  You can dwell on 
the gloomy picture.  Or you can focus on the bright things in your 
life and leave the dark, ominous situations to Me.  I alone can 
handle the dark ones anyway.  And the final destination is not 
influenced by what you see or feel along the way.  
"Learn this, act on it, and you will be released, able to 
experience the `peace that passes understanding,' even My joy."  
Marge's sharing is helping me to handle my "meanwhiles."  Not 
one of us finds it easy to put our problem into His hands that 
completely.  But only in that way does our trust in Him grow.  And you and I 
will yet have our demonstration of the glory of God.  
Lord, thank You for this beautiful assurance when the skies are 
darkest. by Catherine Marshall