Megan Evans, Women’s Ministry Director, LHBC
Psalm 37:5-6 (ESV)
5Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
“Commit your way to the Lord” is one of those phrases that’s easy to say and hard to do, and what does that mean anyway? If you are like me, we understand our own way. Our way is comprised of everything we do, have done, and hope to do. It’s our life, our world, and all of our cares. That’s a lot!
So, what does God tell us to do with our “way”? He tells us to surrender it. But how? The original meaning behind this word “commit” is an image of rolling one’s burden to God himself and leaving it with Him. Like a child who doesn’t want to leave a single toy behind, we stuff our heart full of cares, but God tells us to push our wagon load of cares to Him. Entrust.
Why is it hard to entrust our cares to the Lord? Perhaps we, like many, have commitment issues. The world throws that phrase around, but it is fitting to our wagon of cares. Are we willing to permanently pledge our cares to the Lord? Can we roll our heavy burden to the Lord and leave it at His feet with a binding promise? Can we commit every area of our life to our All-knowing, All-powerful, All-present God?
It is hard…It is so, so hard sometimes. Entrusting is a conscious act of surrender, and it is a spiritual battle. We humans like control, so we don’t let go easily. Satan fights hard to keep us weighted down. But the beauty in submission of our way to God, is that we don’t leave empty handed. Peace is our prize. God gives us His way when we give Him ours. He fights for us and illuminates His righteousness in our life.
This week my heart was called upon to commit, or entrust. My husband and I moved our oldest child to college for the very first time. We packed up her belongings into every square inch of our vehicles and made the hour and a half trek to her new school. God had been preparing my heart for this day, and it was no coincidence that I happened upon Psalm 37:5-6 this week. I love to read a Psalm each day as part of my daily Bible reading, and God was preparing me to be able to leave my daughter’s side. By the power of God’s Living Word I would have the strength, but also the peace and joy, to say goodbye to her and commit my daughter to God at college. All week long as tears emerged and I felt the “what-ifs” taking over, the word “entrust” would emerge from the depths of my heart, stored there days before from the wellspring of God’s Word. “Entrust” became a one word prayer of surrender and bathed me once again in God’s peace and joy.
God is so faithful when we seek Him. The Bible is the Living Word, alive and active in our lives, teaching, preparing, comforting us, fighting for us, guiding us. We can commit every person, place, situation, hope, dream, past, present, future…roll it all upon the Lord today.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, it is scary to let go of my way sometimes! Forgive my stubbornness and untrusting heart. Teach me Your way instead. Teach me how to surrender my wagon of cares at your feet. Fill me with your peace as I entrust _________________ to You today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
2 Timothy 2:1
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.