1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men 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.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
***
(from
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-19-2004-54342.asp)
Since historical times the Oak tree has been celebrated in popular literature as a symbol of strength and endurance. The poet Alfred Tennyson wrote -"Live thy life,Young and old,Like yon oak,Bright in spring,Living gold."According to E. F. Schumacher - "Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become oak trees".As a D&T teacher, I know that oak wood has a very durable quality - if you make furniture out of it, you can be sure it will last and last (probably you can pass down generations! The design will probably go out of fashion faster than the wood deteriorate!)
Yet do you know that in nature, it is not easy becoming an oak tree?
I picked up these facts from the net.Acorn tale 1: Chances of making it -- In a good year the oak tree will have many flowers -- up to several thousand. With the right humidity, the right temperature, no late frost in the spring, and sufficient rainfall in the summer, tiny scale-covered acorns (called nubbins at that point) begin to grow. They will mature to become full grown and ripe acorns by late summer. The chances of one acorn making it to become an oak tree are very slim -- less than 1/10,000. That means that for every 10,000 acorns, only one will become a tree!Acorn tale 2: Beetles destroying Acorns -- Little insects called weevils like to plant their seeds inside acorns before they mature -- during the late summer months. Up to 90% of the acorns in a region can be destroyed by the larvae of the weevils. On the other hand, if there are not enough acorns, that can impact the weevils' population.Acorn Tale 3: About hiding those Acorns -- It is well known that squirrels hide acorns to last them through the winter season, when food is scarce. They might hide them in their homes, but they also bury them in the ground. In addition to squirrels, bluejays and woodpeckers also hide acorns underground. The number of acorns hidden by animals is pretty small; however, most of the acorns get hidden by the oak trees. When the oak trees shed their leaves during the autumn, they end up covering (and thus hiding) most of the acorns. It is interesting to know that many of the hidden acorns get rotten by mold and can not serve as food for the animals that hid them. In addition, many acorns are found by other animals, such as deer and wild turkeys, who benefit from them.Why am I telling this?
The Lord brought this picture of an oak tree to my mind when I was reading today's psalm.
In summary,
the psalm talks about holding on to God, for He will make you flourish.4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.It is not easy becoming an "oak tree" spiritually.
Pastor YC had talked about this before, that if you were to go to a typical church and visit it 10 years later, you will see that the faces of the whole congregation have changed. People either moved on due to conflicts, they get tired and burnt out, or they dropped out of the race because Christian life is too "demanding". Only a handful moved on because of God's higher calling. I know only of 1 person who moved on to serve in China, while remaining close ties with FCBC.
Even for myself, 8 years on since I started out in FCBC's NUS ministry, I dont see many faces remaining from those times.
That's why I have utmost respect for those remain.
Regardless of whether they are leading many people in the G12 vision or they are still struggling to capture the heart of fathering people, I respect them for their spiritual maturity: the tenacity to hold onto God.Today's reflection question is very simple:
Even as you have your reunion dinner with your family, think about this. Year after year, you will gather to have reunion with your family no matter how far apart you are, even if you are studying overseas. It's because of the blood ties.
Similarly,
do you see us as your spiritual family? That we will walk this journey together till God calls us home?Will you choose to become a spiritual oak tree?Labels: Journey Through Psalms
