The Day Between

As the Chair Swivels

While sitting at my desk today, my thirteen-year-old launched into an assessment of our various desk chairs.  His younger brother had received one for Christmas - an odd request for an eleven-year-old, but that’s how we roll.  He ended lamenting that everyone had a comfortable chair to sit in while working on school but his seat was hard plastic.  I assured him that if he wanted a desk chair we would surely try to find him one to which he replied, “Oh no, mom, I don’t really want one.  If I had a nice desk chair, all I’d do is swivel.”

It’s good to know one’s limitations. 

Sometimes I wonder if a woman with ten kids can be lazy.  I have friends that have assured me that this is practically impossible, but still I’m not sure.  I have quite a few things to do at this moment, but I’m not entirely sure what they are because I won’t write them down.  I find writing long lists depressing.  Although it helps to organize my thoughts, the sheer magnitude of the work before me makes me want to lie down, watch an episode of Sherlock, and eat chocolate.  Additionally, I’m such a rebel at heart that seeing tasks written on paper cause me to bristle at the necessities of life.  To quote my three-year-old granddaughter, “Oh, I don’t think so – I don’t want to.”

There’s nothing wrong with taking a break, but avoiding responsibility can lead to unpleasant consequences like unwashed dishes, sticky counter tops, attempting to cook frozen meat, absence of underwear, and a stack of ungraded schoolwork.  It just doesn’t pay to avoid those mundane daily duties when the consequences are so annoying.

Recently I’ve been meditating on Psalm 37.  It is basically an encouragement to not worry about all those bad guys that seem to have it made in life.  God’s going to get them before it’s over – crime doesn’t pay.  I especially like the first eleven verses. 

Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers, for they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.  Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.  Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.  Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.  For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.  Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.  But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

It is easy to get distracted when looking at the other guy.  It’s natural to look for an escape when the road is hard.  It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed by the demands of our high-tech, modern, hurried existence.  Besides the admonition not to worry, commanded three times in those first eleven verses, and the assurance that the Lord has this world and all of us in it handled, what makes me sit up and pay attention is the instruction of how to live while we’re here.

Verse three starts Trust in the Lord and do good.  There’s much in this life we cannot control, but we have a sovereign God who is faithful.  He is worthy of our trust and He is holding our hand - The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in His way.  When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand (Psalm 37:23-24).  We are safe with Him no matter what is around the corner.  

While trusting Him, we must do the work He’s given us.  Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9-10).  

Verse three continues with, Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  Wherever God has placed us, our work is ordained by Him.  Whether it’s dish washing, diaper changing, mounds of laundry, the working world, or the classroom, we need to dwell where He’s put us and be faithful.  Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (Colossians 3:23-24).  

Cultivating faithfulness comes with practice and perseverance – we have to work the land, do the job, plant the seeds.  Dwell in the land – remain, settle, sit, abide – claim your territory and make it home.  Don’t keep wishing for something else.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  To delight in the Lord would be to take pleasure in knowing Him, reading and meditating on His Word because we love it, and rejoicing in the many blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus.  If we do that, He will give us the desires of our hearts, because we won’t desire things that are contrary to what He wants for us.  It is the definition of intimacy – He is intimate with the upright (Proverbs 3:32b), and Praise is becoming to the upright (Psalm 33:1b).

There’s plenty more in this Psalm, but if we can remember three D’s when we are prone to swivel – Dwell, Do, and Delight – perhaps we will be happier in the land of our wandering.

Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage (Psalm 119:54).