Do not fret because of those who are evilPut off this. Put on that instead.
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord . . . .
Psalm 37:1-3a
The principle of Put off/Put on is found throughout the scriptures. Paul and Peter and Jesus and David and Solomon and others repeatedly come back to the concept. In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul hammers home the idea, with numerous specific examples.
Real change, lasting transformation, comes through this process, energized by the Holy Spirit. Put off the ungodly and self-indulgent habits. Replace them with godly and righteous habits.
That's what David is saying here. Your feelings say to dwell on your anger and frustration. But don't go with your feelings.
Go a different way. Go with trusting in the Lord.
Don't trust in the chemical reactions generated in your body by your feelings. Instead, trust the Lord who created you and your body chemistry. Spiritual disciplines can prepare you to make constructive use of the anger-produced chemicals like adrenaline, rather than allowing yourself to be driven toward destructive reactions. "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27)
Don't trust in your power to combat evil, as though you were a spiritual superhero. Trust instead in God's overall plan for righteousness. "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause." (Psalm 25:3)
Don't trust in the self-promoting emotions of envy. Instead, trust the plans the Lord has for you, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). The more you train yourself to trust that God has a specific plan for you, the less you'll be apt to give in to thoughts of envy about the success and welfare of others people.
Don't trust in the same earthbound strategies and plans and purposes as the people who you see doing wrong. Trust in the ways of the Lord. Achieving what you see as a righteous purpose by unrighteous means will never achieve the righteous purposes of the Lord. "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness." (Romans 6:13)
Trust in the Lord.
That's what David is saying here. Your feelings say to dwell on your anger and frustration. But don't go with your feelings.
Go a different way. Go with trusting in the Lord.
Don't trust in the chemical reactions generated in your body by your feelings. Instead, trust the Lord who created you and your body chemistry. Spiritual disciplines can prepare you to make constructive use of the anger-produced chemicals like adrenaline, rather than allowing yourself to be driven toward destructive reactions. "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27)
Don't trust in your power to combat evil, as though you were a spiritual superhero. Trust instead in God's overall plan for righteousness. "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause." (Psalm 25:3)
Don't trust in the self-promoting emotions of envy. Instead, trust the plans the Lord has for you, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). The more you train yourself to trust that God has a specific plan for you, the less you'll be apt to give in to thoughts of envy about the success and welfare of others people.
Don't trust in the same earthbound strategies and plans and purposes as the people who you see doing wrong. Trust in the ways of the Lord. Achieving what you see as a righteous purpose by unrighteous means will never achieve the righteous purposes of the Lord. "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness." (Romans 6:13)
Trust in the Lord.
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