A Pastor's Wife's Journey

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As a pastoral family, no one could ever accuse you of being in the ministry for monetary gain. You find out that prosperity cannot be measured by the number of coins that you can jingle in your purse or pocket or the dollars in your bank account.

Many years ago I wrote a devotion to share at a ladies ministry meeting using Psalm 37:1-11Psalm 37:1-11
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
37 ¹ Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness. ² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. ³ Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on [his] faithfulness. ⁴ Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart. ⁵ Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. ⁶ And he will make thy righteousness to go forth as the light, And thy justice as the noon-day. ⁷ Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, [it tendeth] only to evil-doing. ⁹ For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land. ¹⁰ For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. ¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.  

WP-Bible plugin as my outline. To illustrate the passage I used the example of stirring the following spiritual ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. As I mixed in each item, I pointed out what is needed in order for us to end up with a bowl full of “prosperity” (abundant life in Christ).

What steps should we take?

1.  Trust – Psalm 37:3Psalm 37:3
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on [his] faithfulness.  

WP-Bible plugina – “Trust in the Lord, and do good”. Total trust in God is sometimes difficult but that is the first step to the end result.

2.  Delight – Psalm 37:4Psalm 37:4
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
4 Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart.  

WP-Bible plugin – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of our heart”. That scripture is so encouraging.

3.  Commitment – Psalm 37:5Psalm 37:5
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
5 Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.  

WP-Bible plugina – “Commit your way to the Lord”. Total commitment entails every aspect of our life.

4.  Patience – Psalm 37:7Psalm 37:7
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
7 Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  

WP-Bible plugina –   “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him”. Resting in the Lord and waiting on Him is sometimes difficult. With the prevalence of everything “quick” in our current society, it is sometimes hard for us to have patience and wait.

5.  Temperance – Psalm 37:8Psalm 37:8
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, [it tendeth] only to evil-doing.  

WP-Bible plugin – “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not ourself, it leads only to evildoing”. We should exemplify temperance as we serve the Lord.

As the recipe suggests, all of the above spiritual ingredients should be thoroughly mixed together. The mixture should be placed in a humble heart (verse 11) surrounded with love until it reaches the consistency of spiritual maturity.

These steps cannot be done for one time and then discontinued. It is a continual process of trusting, delighting, committing, being patient and showing temperance. However, the recipe should be stored indefinitely as we mature in our walk with the Lord.

Finally, Psalm 37:11Psalm 37:11
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.  

WP-Bible plugin admonishes us: “But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” The end result of the recipe (always the best part) is to enjoy the abundant life in Christ.

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