June 8

A Cure For Anxiety

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. — Ps 37:5

This psalm from which our text is taken breathes the spirit of optimism. The Psalmist says: “Do not fret. Evil is transient, evil-doers shall be cut off in a little, while the wicked shall not be.” You will not remove the evils of the world by all your anxiety, or by wrath. It is not worth while to lose your peace of mind. Be quiet in your heart, full of prayer, looking up to God that He would interpose to deliver.

In this Psalm there are excellent preservatives of the inward tranquillity of the soul when face to face with anxiety, or with high-handed wrong.

Trust in the Lord (Psa 37:3). Reckon on Him. Expect great things from your Almighty Guide and Friend. He cannot fail you.

Delight in the Lord (Psa 37:4). If your life twines about earthly things, of course you will be at the mercy of externals. Familiarise yourself with God’s way of thinking and looking at things. If this is the bent of your life, you will lose your taste for things of the earth, while you will have great desires for the things of eternity, and God will give you perfect satisfaction in these, because He will give you Himself! The petitions of the heart (R.V. margin) are very sacred to God, and He never, never forgets them. “He shall give thee the petitions of thine heart.”

Commit thy way unto the Lord (Psa 37:5). The margin suggests “Roll thy way upon the Lord.” It is not enough to roll the responsibility of selecting our way on God in the great crises of our life. We must do so in the small decisions of every hour. Our lives are made up of trifles. To neglect these is to leave it to drift at haphazard. We need perpetually to look up to our Heavenly Friend, saying, “I cannot see over the hedge, I must leave with Thee the decision whether I should go this way or that.”

Rest in the Lord (Psa 37:7). “Be silent to the Lord” (R.V. margin). There is so much clamour in the world, and often our heart becomes filled with its noise, so much so that we cannot hear His still small voice. But when every sound has died down into silence, we shall hear the voice of God telling us of things which will answer our questionings and still our doubts. Let your requests be made known unto God, and His peace shall sentinel your heart against all intruders.

Prayer

My God and Father, enable me to roll my way upon Thee, to trust Thee, and to believe that when I stand with Thee in the perfect daylight I shall understand what now I take on trust. Amen.