Poison and antidote Ian Heard

Poison and Antidote
Portions from Psalms 37 & 55

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
The world is a poisoned and poisonous place. The poison is that of the serpent of Eden and it is the soul of man that is affected—that centre of the mind and the senses. The symptoms of the poison are many: anger, confusion, restlessness, anxiety, blame, deceit, shame, despair and many more. Just look around! John the apostle said, ‘we are of God, but the whole world lies in the evil one’ (1Jn. 5:19). To use the colloquialism, everyone has drunk the Kool-Aid!

The default position of the un-regenerate human heart is fretfulness. It’s what characterises the world in which we find ourselves living. About climate; about stocks and shares; about children and family; anxiety about...? (People are creating new ones every day!)

Paul has been teaching about the Ten Commandments—and they were necessary as the antidote, so that by living by them, God’s wisdom would be demonstrated to the world in a people living without restlessness and fear. Given so that following them, mankind could return to His desired disposition for us all—rest. Anyone who sought to live by them immediately engaged God in such a way that He worked in their behalf. Crops flourished, families and relationships prospered, enemies found themselves up against God. He was engaged and working for that person’s welfare and good.
They were designed and given to restore rest.

A Definition: Rest in the Bible means a disposition of cessation and stillness with an accompanying freedom from anxiety; unconcern at events that could trouble or vex, cessation from the necessity to be in control and, peaceful surrender to the purpose of God. Carefree-ness! In Hebrew, three words: NUACH: cessation; DAMAM: stillness and silence; SHAKAN: settled. In Greek ANAPAUSIS: cessation, stillness, recreation.

In Psalm 55 David unloads about those about him who cause distress and afflict him…
‘Fearfulness and trembling have came upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me; So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest’…
REST was the place David coveted and for a moment considered escape as the way to find it. Then he remembered what this God of His is like—what this God of ours does. He doesn’t take us out to find rest: He brings rest in! This is the irony that the world has to see. Its mindset is escape—but for David…‘as for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me…He has redeemed my soul in peace (shalom) from the battle that was against me…Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.’ (Psm 55:18 & 22. I’ll have more to say on that in a few weeks).

There is much to fret about—much to frustrate, anger, and keep us in a state of agitation. Unrighteousness abounds—the agenda of the wicked seems to gain the upper hand. And David—and his Lord say, ‘fret not because of that’. David is saying what Jesus later said, ‘let not your hearts be troubled...’ which more than implies it’s something we allow to happen!
So, David says ‘fret not’ and we could say, ‘HOW?’ He gives us access to the antidote in four specifics. Here they are... and note: there is a reward at every step!
1. TRUST in the Lord and do good...to trust is to put all our weight down on the nature and character of God—and to discover that He is faithful! Trusting is how we discover that He is faithful!
Faith is our active response to what God says—to the word of God. Trust is our active response to who God is; to the nature and character of God. You trust someone because they’ve proved themselves trust-worthy. Our trust is in His faithfulness. Notice that David says that if I will trust, I will dwell in the land feeding on His faithfulness! (Or, enjoying His security). If we trust God, our response is to get on with doing as He does. We will do good to others.

2. DELIGHT in the Lord: not only are we to Trust; actually it’s not enough to trust. Once we trust and begin to LIVE in enjoyment of His faithfulness, we will find that we are delighting in Him. He desires more than trust. His desire is that we be in a place of mutual delight! For as we trust, He certainly delights in us and we will find ourselves delighting in this One who is giving us a ‘land’ in which to dwell where we enjoy His great faithfulness!
I must ask, What is it that I delight in? That is, to what do I look for pleasure and gratification? It is to be Him—not the stuff offered by the world around us! If it is not, it may mean that I am leaving the pathway that leads to rest. When we’re there, where He is our absolute delight, then He delights to give us the desires of our heart...because when we delight in Him, we are in the place where His desires become ours and ours, His! Once we are trusting and learning to delight in Him, it becomes a matter of course to commit our way.

3. COMMIT your road (DEREK meaning road or path or journey)—to Him. And the Hebrew GALAL for commit, means to roll it onto Him. Our way, our path isn’t something we are to be borne down under, but to actually give back to Him, to roll it over onto Him, whatever that path may be. This means ‘hands off’ relinquishment! David says that when we do this, He will bring it to pass and, in it, make our righteousness shine and bring about justice for us!

4. REST (be still, and wait patiently). When (and if) we will Trust, Delight and—Commit, we find ourselves arriving at the destination He desires for us...it’s called REST. Here’s the truth: if I have trusted and put all my weight down on His character and trustworthiness; if I am delighting in Him; if I have committed everything to Him, I can be still!

Jesus said, ‘my Father is working, and I am working.’ He makes His sheep LIE DOWN in green pastures. This is where our strivings cease. Sheep don’t make things happen (nor can they!). Their shepherd makes things happen for them…like, quiet waters, green pastures, paths of righteousness, a table in the presence of enemies. It is a progression. Once I begin to trust, I will be able to ‘dwell in the land feeding on His faithfulness’. Then, He will be my chief delight and will give the desires of my heart; then I will find I can roll over onto Him, my way in it, He will make my righteousness shine and I will come to His place of rest where I am carefree and nothing disturbs. It’s where He wants me.

Ian Heard. September 15, 2019
www.until-we-see.com