It was King Solomon who said, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) However, it was his father, King David, who seemingly looked 1,000 plus years into the future to give us these five instructions listed in Psalm 37:
“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:3-4)
Fast forward to the year 2022, and is there really anything new under the sun?
Also, it appears that the evildoers and workers of iniquity are having a field day every day.
“Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.” (Psalm 37:1-2)
Accompanying verses are Proverbs 24:1 and 19-20.
Psalm 37 was most probably written toward the end of King David’s life with its reflective and contemplative tones. His words echo the encouragement to his fellow Israelites to just “chill-ax” (using a modern-day colloquialism) and stay put in their God-given land.
It almost seems counterintuitive to ascribe to these five instructions, especially today.
#1. Trust in the Lord.
Do you find it a challenge to completely trust in the Lord when the wheels are falling off the important parts of your life, and it’s spinning out of control?
Two of my most trusted verses were also written by Solomon,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
What are you trusting God the most for right now?
How have you learned to trust the Lord in the past, and how can you tell when you’re not trusting in Him?
On my daily prayer walks, I have really enjoyed observing the deciduous trees shedding their brilliant red and gold leaves ahead of winter. For additional encouragement, please check out, “Like A Tree Planted By The Waters.” https://sheilaeismann.com/drought/
#2. Do Good.
This one seems a little easier than the first instruction. The difficult aspect is doing good when things aren’t going so good for us. The smallest act of kindness can lift someone’s spirit to heaven and vice-versa. If all of us practiced this, we would most definitely be living in a totally different country.
What are some large and small ways that you can continue to do good?
#3. Dwell in the land.
The Hebrew word for dwell is Strong’s H7931, shâkan, (pronounced shaw-kan). The definitions are as follows:
1.to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside
- (Qal)
i.to settle down to abide
ii.to abide, dwell, reside
- (Piel)
i.to make settle down, establish
ii.to make or cause to dwell
- (Hiphil)
i.to lay, place, set, establish, settle, fix
ii.to cause to dwell or abide.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7931/kjv/wlc/0-1/
We can discern from the above meanings that there is a sense of permanency to the dwelling in the land. God can and does move us from time to time (Acts 17:26). The secret is to be content, settle down, abide and dwell there until He (God) says if and when it’s time to move.
#4. Feed on His faithfulness.
Years ago, my family and I spent quite a bit of time in the Owyhee Mountains which is a gorgeous area showcasing silver and green sagebrush, mahogany and juniper trees, igneous rock outcroppings, rivers, streams, and abundant wildlife.
Periodically, we would encounter a sheepherder who had parked his wagon way out yonder in the Owyhees. He kept a sharp eye on his flock of sheep with the assistance of his trusted sheepdogs. The sheep could calmly and assuredly feed in this setting.
Psalm 23, also authored by King David, comes to mind when I read the instruction regarding feed on His faithfulness. We can envision ourselves feeding on God’s faithfulness as we reside safely inside the pasture fence with Jesus, our Good Shepherd, watching at the gate.
“Most assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:1-5)
If there’s ever a day and an hour to feed on His faithfulness, it’s now, as the clash of the countries continues.
#5. Delight yourself also in the Lord.
The Lord desires that He be our number one delight above all else. In a country where there’s such an abundance of material goods, this can definitely be an issue.
It isn’t that God doesn’t desire to bless us because He surely does. The inference and instruction here are to delight yourself also in the Lord. Everything we are and everything we have is because of the Lord.
Do you take delight in the Lord?
These Five Instructions Followed By A Promise.
Concluding the trust, do good, dwell in the land, feed on His faithfulness, and delight yourself also in the Lord, there is a significant promise,
“And He [the Lord] shall give you the desires of your heart.”
This verse can so easily be misinterpreted to our detriment. You might be saying to yourself, “Well, God has not given me the desires of my heart. I’m still waiting for them.” Granted, this may be true.
A Valuable Key To The Desires of Your Heart.
A valuable key to the desires of your heart is working through and following these five instructions given by King David in Psalm 37. For it is through this complete process that your desires will conform to the ones God has for you. Also, through this process, we discover and determine that our will needs to be fully submitted and surrendered to the Lord’s will. When it is, then He gives us the desires of our hearts.
For the sake of discussion, let’s plug in a couple of variables. Pretend that you desire to be the head of a large business. After working your way through the aforementioned instructions and earnestly seeking God’s will for your life, He will make it easily evident to you whether or not it’s indeed His will for you to be the head of thus and such business.
A major struggle ensues when we are unwilling to accept His will for our lives. At this juncture, our trust can wane, we can cease to do good, we become restless in the land, we no longer want to feed on His faithfulness, and our delight flies straight out the window.
The same analogy could be applied to a ministry that we would like to launch or any similar thing.
After dwelling (abiding) in the Lord and in the land (where ever God has placed you) #3 instruction above, His will becomes far more evident.
Prophetic Insights For Daily Living.
#1. Which of these five instructions is the most challenging for you and why?
#2. In living your life, is your will fully surrendered to the Lord’s will?
God’s general will is revealed in His written word from Genesis to Revelation, and his specific will for your life is revealed to you as you spend time in prayer, worship, and reading His word.
There are instances in which God can confirm His specific will for your life through His written word, a dream, vision, angelic visitation, or spoken prophetic word.
#3. What is your number one desire above all else?
#4. I would like to encourage you that if you’re going through a test, trial, tribulation, or a difficult time right now, to especially apply and start to practice these five instructions daily. This will help you a great deal to be able to manage what is going on and to have the continual peace of the Lord. (John 14:27)
Please make sure to record the changes, your spiritual growth, answers to prayers, praises, and miracles in your prophetic journal.
#5. Five is symbolic of favor, redemption, abundance, God’s grace to man, and man’s responsibility.
These five instructions listed in this prophetic blog post would be considered man’s responsibility as we are redeemed and favored by God’s grace to man (plugging in the prophetic symbols for the number five).
#6. As you read and study Psalm 37, what is quickened unto your spirit, and what additional comfort, encouragement, and instructions do you draw from it?
God created all of us with a spiritual desire to seek, love, and serve Him with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:30) May the daily implementation of these five instructions from Psalm 37:3-4 help all of us to fulfill His commands.
Until the next message,
SFE (Sheila, Fellow Encourager)
Sheila F. Eismann, Prophetic Seer, Blogger, & Author, publishes her blog posts endeavoring to encourage others through God’s word. Her writings include instructions on how to apply prophetic insights for daily living.
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