January 05, 2022 – Wednesday
Psalm 37:5 NKJV
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Comment.
I had not intended to use verse five today, but the word “commit” called to me as it is so rich in meaning while in today’s culture or worldview, commit or commitment all too often means so very little. However, this word has great in-depth meanings that carry over to the New Testament as well as for us today.
Looking at the verse, the Pulpit Commentary tells us, Commit thy way unto the Lord , the meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God – yield thyself wholly to Him, look to Him for support and guidance.” Easy enough to read and think, but really are you ready to cast yourself and your life on God without reservation, yielding yourself completely to Him? Somedays, this really works for me, other days, it is a real struggle. However, the second part of the commentary is very common for me as I look to him for support and guidance. This is because there is so little guidance I can truly trust in the world today. I can look to Proverbs 16:3 for a corollary to see how this works out, Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. Concerning the second half of the verse, the Pulpit Commentary continues, Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass, simply means He will accomplish all that thy faith has laid upon Him”
David Guzik’s commentary is more succinct. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, means to commit one’s way to Him and to truly trust in the Lord. It means to find peace, protection, and satisfaction in a surrendered focus upon God. And on the rest of the verse, And He shall bring it to pass, Guzik adds, the one who has this delighted focus upon God will see Him bring these promises to pass. Fame and fortune are not promised, but the true and deep desires of the heart find their fulfillment. To which I would add 1 Peter 5:6-7, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Now for just the word commit or commitment, when we speak about Jesus as our Lord and Savior I would say Commitment is Key. With this in mind, I am excerpting and editing from a FB posting four years and a day ago (italics added) below.
What does it mean when we say, “I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose on the third day and I accept Him as my Lord and Savior?” From simply saying this many (most?) expect to receive eternal salvation. Possible from Acts 16:30-31 when the jailer asked Paul and Silas “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” and they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
However, believing was and is no small thing as pointed out in Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible (paraphrased) on verse 31 above for when Paul and Silas said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,…. It was not with a bare historical faith, as only to believe that He was the Son of God, and the Messiah [even the demons knew this.] for there may be such a faith and no salvation; but for salvation itis necessary to look unto Him alone for life and salvation, to rely upon Him, and trust in Him; to commit to Him the care of your immortal soul unto Him, and to expect peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life from Him.”
James in his epistle had something similar in mind when he gave a six step plan for personal revival in chapter 4. They were: 4:7a 1) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Everything flows from this because to submit oneself means to come into voluntary obedience to a person. 4:7b 2) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The Greek word for resist means to set against, oppose, or withstand. You cannot do this if you are double-minded. Thus the need to first submit to God. 4:8a 3) Come near to God and He will come near to you. Resistance followed by drawing near to God. Turning our wills over to doing His will (v7a) then He will draw near to us, empowering us to follow Him. 4:8b 4) Wash your hands and purify your hearts. Washing one’s hands was Jame’s way of saying “stop doing wrong, stop sinning. 4:9 5) Grieve, mourn, wail … this is a command so that we will stop looking at sin as less than what it is. Instead we must see our sin as something we have done in deliberate opposition to God’s will. Our sin is/was not only morally wrong, but is/was a personal rebellion against God who loves us. Genuine heart repentance requires owning up to the guilt of our rebellion against God. 4:10 6) Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up. Get rid of the attitude and the pride that thinks we know better than God what is good for us. Humble yourselves! is a command requiring submission to God (v7a again). The result – God will lift us up, giving us the ability to stand before Him with joy in our hearts.
Bottom Line: Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Prayer: Heavenly Father – Almighty God, Lead me to commit my life fully and completely to You with great faith in the end result. I can trust in You and Your Son more than anything this life has to offer. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek