R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Thoughts for R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Women
If you’ve read this Midlife Divorce Recovery blog for very long you know that I’ve been reading through the Bible this year. Our church encouraged this in January by providing Bibles at cost with selections from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs every day. The readings are always enlightening, even though I still struggle with parts of the Old Testament that are hard to reconcile with my puny little concept of a reality called God that can’t be described or fully understood. But every day, something jumps out at me from these readings, and it’s exciting to discover those gems early with a new day ahead of me and a warm cup of coffee in my hand. So often the words bring new encouragement and surety in the days of confusion and distress that are inherent in a midlife divorce. I quoted from my reading yesterday, and I’m going to again today because they are so appropriate and hopeful.
This is from Psalm 37:1-11
“Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
Trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
The justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
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.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
Do not fret – it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
But those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
Though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”
I want anyone who reads this blog to “do good” today. And twice David says, “Do not fret.” That’s hard on this divorce road, but today, just decide not to fret about anything. And then, grab hold of the promises contained in this reading: “he will give you the desires of your heart;” “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn;” “Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” Those are promises worth grabbing and holding on to! The key is trusting in the LORD God of all the universe, this very day August 20, 2009. Is that amazing or what?!!! By the way, when you “Delight yourself in the LORD,” how does that affect the desires of your heart? Think about how you can Delight in the LORD today at work or at school or at home. The better we get at delighting in the LORD, the more clear the desires of our heart will be. Soon, we will begin to notice how God is bringing those desires into rock-solid reality right before our eyes.
