7 Truths From Psalm 37 for Finding Stability
These days, many of us are feeling scared. Turmoil at home and abroad has left our economy reeling. Chaos seems to reign in the markets. Prices remain high and household budgets are tight.
The economy isn’t in crisis, but it feels unstable, leaving us uncertain and stressed about our financial futures.
Yet we must look to the things that have eternal value: faith, hope, and the treasure that awaits us in heaven.
When times are uncertain, what does God have to say that will give us comfort?
Psalm 37 speaks to our hearts when fear is stalking us. David wrote this psalm when he was older, reflecting on the great questions of his life.
I have been young and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
Psalm 37:25
Let’s discover seven solid principles from Psalm 37 that will increase our reliance on God and anchor us in these days of instability.
1. Decide to Trust in the Lord
Trust in the Lord.
Psalm 37:3
We find true stability in this unstable world only when we trust in God. To trust is to be confident—to possess a strong sense of security. Trust is not an emotion that just springs up in our hearts as does anger, jealousy, or sadness. It is always a choice based on reason.
It’s easy to say we trust God will take care of us, but when financial anxiety looms like an approaching storm, we’re forced to confront our faith level.
Trust in God will not make the uncertainty go away; it means we know He will provide what we truly need. In Christ our hope stands tall, solid, and untouchable. In Him we have a home that outshines the sun, an inheritance that can never perish, and treasures that can never be taken from us. The deed to our heavenly home is signed and sealed with the blood of Christ; the contract is ratified by the Resurrection. And no one will ever take that away.
2. Do Things That Honor the Lord
Trust in the Lord, and do good.
Psalm 37:3
After trust, David tells us, do good—in other words, trust and obey. Trust is an act of the mind, while obedience is an act of the hands and feet. Once we’ve set our minds on the wisdom of God, we get busy doing the things He would have us do.
In 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Paul stresses the idea of both thinking rightly (trust) and then acting rightly (obedience). Right thinking means trusting in an unshakable God instead of in riches that we can’t take with us. And right acting means doing good here on earth, which builds a heavenly nest egg of riches waiting just for us.
The great Christian leader John Wesley lived in a time of financial disruption, with collapsing economies due to the Industrial Revolution.
Wesley saw the crowds of hurting people as Jesus would see them, and he designed ministries to care for them. His ministry became a financial success, and his annual salary grew. Instead of increasing his own lifestyle, Wesley calculated the small sum that he really needed to live on and gave the rest away. He saw it as investing in the things of God, which never perish.
Wesley’s famous words sum it up well: “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”1
When we do things that honor the Lord, we invest in eternity.
3. Dwell on the Faithfulness of the Lord
The Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.
Psalm 37:40
To trust in the Lord is to respond to His faithfulness. David knew from experience that God rewards faith with blessings. As a young man, David had been anointed as the next king of Israel. Then he spent years living in forests and caves as the reigning king hunted him down. He had to do more than merely assent to the idea of God’s faithfulness—he had to stake his life on it.
Life was hard during those long, perilous years. But in time, Saul died, David became king, and he could attest to the fact that God keeps His promises.
Timothy George, the dean of Beeson Divinity School, recalls a story from one of his professors, Dr. Gardner Taylor. He had been assigned to a poor, rural church with a sanctuary lit by a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
One evening he was preaching with gusto when the power went out. He stumbled around in the dark until an elderly deacon cried out, “Preach on, brother! We can still see Jesus in the dark!”
Sometimes, George concludes, we see Him best in the dark. “And the good news of the gospel is that whether or not we can see him in the dark, he can see us in the dark.”2
4. Delight Yourself in the Lord
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
Although I have many earthly delights, my deepest delight is found in the Lord. I can go to Him no matter what is happening in my world, and the amazing truth is that He finds delight in me!
God’s promise to us is that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. But this isn’t a shortcut to prosperity. We don’t delight in the Lord so that He will give us what we want. That approach confuses faith with greed.
No, when we find true and genuine pleasure in God, we find our own desires coming into alignment with His desires. We begin to live in His will, and we pray accordingly.
I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
Psalm 119:16
To delight in God means we must delight in His Word, and delighting in God’s Word leads us to delight in God. And delight in God drives away fear.
5. Dedicate Your Life to the Lord
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:5
Once we have found our deepest delight in God, we realize that we must give all of our lives to Him. This isn’t a temporary commitment. It’s a choice and a contract of the heart. As in marriage, we commit ourselves to that partnership for the rest of our lives.
How can committing to the Lord help us in times of chaos, uncertainty, even loss? In committing to Him, we cast all our burdens upon Him. He becomes our life—the place where we bring our problems, our joys, our marriages, our families, our careers. Life and happiness are no longer dependent on financial success or material possessions. It’s all about Him.
When we dedicate ourselves to God, there is no such thing as being helpless. Even when we face burdens too heavy to bear, and feel we can’t take another step, He can carry the weight for us.
So, why keep struggling with your anxiety on your own? Why not give the burden to Him? Nothing could be more liberating.
6. Download Your Worry to the Lord
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Psalm 37:7
Economic chaos affects everyone. There is a new level of financial anxiety that can present a real challenge to our faith today.
We can face our future with fear or with faith. If you’ve decided to follow Christ, that means walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). That does not mean Satan will give up on you. He will try to chip away at your faith by pointing you to the fear of the moment.
But fear about money—or about anything, for that matter—is never part of God’s plan for us. As Paul writes, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Embed this verse in your mind and bring it to the forefront whenever you feel that first pang of fear.
Faith in God assures us that He holds our lives in His powerful, loving hand, which means no fears can truly harm us.
7. Discipline Yourself to Wait on the Lord
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:7
Waiting doesn’t come easily for us. In this age of instant gratification, we’re conditioned not to wait for anything.
When we face uncertainty, we know we must trust God’s timetable for dealing with it. But what we’d like better is for Him to accede to ours. The fact that we cannot see into the future can convince us that the future is up for grabs. But rest assured, God is completely in control. Though His timing may seem slow to us, from the viewpoint of eternity, it is perfect. God is never early and never late.
Waiting is difficult in the face of the unknown, but it’s a discipline with a huge payoff. Those who wait on the Lord will “inherit the earth” because those pushers and shovers in life’s express line have all burned out, victims of their own impatience (Psalm 37:9). Patient people are happier and healthier, and God will exalt them.
We may cry out, but our hope is intact because our losses are only a reminder of the grand gift that, once received, can never be lost. And it’s worth waiting for.
Citations:
1John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions, volume 1 (London, 1829), 566.
2Timothy George, “Unseen Footprints,” Preaching Today audio, no. 290.
In a world marked by chaos and uncertainty, God has not left us without answers.
Discover what Jesus said about the days ahead—and how His promises give us peace, clarity, and purpose today.