“Trust in the Lord and do good: dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord: trust in him, and he will act.”  Psalm 37:3-5

These verses became my life verses in high school and continue to be to this day. When I got married, I had these verses etched into the wedding ring I gave my wife Michele as I wanted them to be the life verse for our whole family.

At 56 years old they have become that much more meaningful. Two years ago, doctors found a large mass between my esophagus and spine and with it wrapped around part of my heart as well. My family doctor had tears in his eyes and was saying, “I am really sorry” as if to say, “Start getting your affairs in order.” After four biopsies and two surgeries and multiple trips back and forth to Houston to MD Anderson Cancer Center, the doctors still are not sure what the tumor is. However, after massive steroid treatments for a year it has shrunk to the size of a small marble from an orange sized mass. It no longer causes me debilitating pain, and I get an MRI every 6 months and will do for the foreseeable future to keep a close eye on it. Needless to say, I am extremely grateful to be here!

Do you ever feel like the darkness is overtaking the light? Does it ever seem like things are in chaos and God does not seem present?

These verses in Psalm 37 were written by David when he was running for his life from Saul, the king of Israel. He was feeling out of control and was honest with God about his fears and misgivings of how things were going in his life. Yet he wrote this Psalm as a reminder to himself and others that God does not forsake his own. He starts Psalm 37 as a reminder not to fret or be envious of those not following the Lord, as they will fade like grass.

These verses in scripture are a reminder to me that in trusting the Lord and being faithful to what he reveals, as flawed as I am, He will take care of me. Not only that, but if I delight in Him, I can have peace in the storms of life which are inevitable, as we are still under the fallout of sin. Over the last five years I have had each of my parents pass away, and I was intimately involved in their care. My father was my best man at my wedding and it was difficult reversing roles in becoming his encourager, coach, personal and medical advocate. I walked alongside him as his wife, my mom, had Alzheimer’s and he watched her deteriorate. Just after my last parent passed, I thought, “OK, now I can take a breath and recharge.” Right after this, however, I was diagnosed with a massive tumor that had doctors preparing me for the worst. Fortunately, God has helped heal me over the last two years and I am doing well. But even if He hadn’t, all I was thinking when first diagnosed was, “Well, if I go quickly at least my family will not have to watch me go down hill over many years, and I will spare my kids having to worry about me later.”

This seems like a downer as I write this about this amazing verse. I share this because someone reading this may be feeling that life’s circumstances are almost too much. I know that feeling well. This Psalm encourages us that we have a peace through real storms in life and that God will take care of us and will give us the desires of our heart that are only really found in him. David understood this and I have more deeply come to understand this truth. I still struggle as David did with injustices, doubts and fears. The book of Psalms is all about it. God is really that awesome that if we commit our ways to him, he will act. He has big purposes, and sometimes I do not understand when I see deep pain and suffering. However, I am always amazed when I search my heart that God cares for me at all. My best days of obedience are at most pitifully inadequate to a perfect and holy God, but in Christ I am made perfect, and one day the challenges and pain that sin has brought will be done.

He really is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I am glad we can have a strong compass that really works in our Lord as we live in a world that has voices clamoring for our attention that do not really bring true life. I encourage you to read Psalms and be encouraged no matter what challenges you are facing!