June 5th, 2025
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
When are you the most likely to make impulsive decisions? Are there certain moments when you find yourself being more unwise in your thoughts and behaviour? I would propose that this happens when we are the most angered and disparaged by life. When we have been waiting and praying for something that is yet to be fulfilled and our impatience stirs. Or, when something doesn't end up going our way or when someone triggers us. No matter the case, we cannot choose to be wise only when life is good and when we feel like it. Rather, we must learn to train ourselves in godliness so that we are conditioned for every battle we may eventually face.
David is giving us a precise blueprint in the verses above as we navigate through our emotions and reactions. He understands that we as humans have impulsive tendencies that can walk us into trouble time and time again. Someone says something or does something we don't appreciate and our immediate response is to retaliate against that person. We receive bad news one day and immediately our attitude turns bitter and sour. Or, we allow the stress of our day to fester until it turns into us lashing out on our loved ones. All of these and more, are examples of us responding in unbiblical ways to the difficulties of life. I am sure all of us have stories to tell of things we shouldn't have done and words we shouldn't have said all because we were not seeking wisdom in that moment.
There is great counsel in the scripture before us today. Rather than instantaneously reacting in the moment, David commands us to be still before the Lord and wait patiently upon Him. The immediate reminder here is that the presence of the Lord is always available to us. We have divine access to the throne of God and therefore we can find peaceful stillness and rest in Him. The very first thing that should be on our minds is not to act on our own accord, but to run to our Father. We are taught over and over to call upon the Lord in our tough moments. Psalm 18:6 says that "In my distress I called upon the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears." If we want to walk in true wisdom, we must learn to firstly seek the one who holds all wisdom.
David also reminds us that God examines and sees our behaviour every moment of every day. Therefore, we have a
Christian obligation to respond and react in ways that are honouring to
God and reflective of Jesus Christ's work in our lives. He says that we should not "fret" when things don't go our way or when we are triggered by what we see in others. That word "fret" means to burn hot or blaze up into anger and jealousy. In other words, we need to take hold of our fiery emotions as they have the ability to burn and destroy everything around us. Although anger and impulsive reactions may feel righteous and justified in the moment, David says that it only turns to evil. All that we're left with is the shame and regret of our behaviour and attitude. James goes as far as to say that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20).
The Bible says that a fool gives full vent to His anger, but a wise person holds it back (Proverbs 29:11). Being quick tempered is a trait of the unwise, but whoever is slow to anger has great understanding (Proverbs 14:29). Let us begin to train ourselves in the way of wisdom. Let our reactions and responses come into direct alignment with what scripture commands of us. Finally, let us pray that the Spirit of Christ teach our hearts to be still and trust in God's deliverance.