Live And Enjoy!

December 9, 2025

Scripture

“Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security.  Take delight in the Lord, and

he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:3-4

Live And Enjoy!

David describes the blessings and possibilities that come to you when you trust the Lord God with all of your heart, mind, and soul as well as follow where the Lord leads you and obey what the Lord asks you to do.  He does not hesitate to tell you the promise of the Lord God for you is life and joy.

In Psalm 37:3-4, David writes; “Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security.  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 

It is possible to live in the place the Lord God has promised to us and it is possible to enjoy peace and joy in our relationship with the Lord God.  In other words, when we trust in the Lord and obey the Lord’s Word in our life, we are given the promise of a place and the promise of a peace that passes all our understanding (cp. Philippians 4:7).

About 500 years before David lived in the nineth century B.C., a land was promised to God’s people.  It was a special place with all kinds of agricultural abundance as well as the assurance this was where the Lord God wanted His people to be.

In Exodus 12:25-28 we hear; “When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance.   And when your children ask you, ‘What does this observance mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” 

As the Lord God set His people free from slavery in Egypt (about the fourteenth century B.C.) so they could be live in this new land, the Lord God established an annual and perpetual observance so God’s people would never forget the Lord had promised a place and a peace that only the Lord God could give them.  The act of setting God’s people free to live in a place and to know God’s peace is still remembered today in the Passover Feast. 

David knew in his day as well as in our day it is important to remember that through what only the Lord God can do in us and for us will we ever see the fulfillment of God’s promise for a place and a peace for us today.

I have lived in a place where I did not feel welcome.  I have lived in a place where I did not know the presence and power of the Lord God.  I have lived in a place that caused me to wonder if I would ever be where the Lord God wanted me to be.  In that place, there was a very long season in which I did not know much of God’s precious peace.

Instead, my soul was restless, unsettled, and agitated.  My mind was confused, troubled, and disrupted.  My heart was fearful, impatient, and worried.  It was difficult to hear the voice of Jesus for me.  It was a struggle to feel the presence and power of the Holy Spirit working in me.  It was near impossible to believe I was in the right place or to know my Heavenly Father’s gift of peace.

Some days I wanted to hide, some days I wanted to run, and too many days I wanted to quit on the Lord God, push away other people, and give up on my self.  I did not know the promise of a place of God’s choosing for me to be and I did not have the assurance of being at peace with the Lord God. 

It was an awful season.  And, it can be an awful season for you when you or someone about whom you care are experiencing lack of place and lack of peace today.  There are three things we can do when we are living in a season when we are not sure we are really living and really enjoying life. 

In Psalm 37:3-4, David writes; “Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security.  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 

+First, we go deeper in our trust in Jesus through prayer, reading the Bible, and visiting with other Christ-followers.

+Second, we do good by engaging in acts of kindness and humble acts of service for other people, especially the poor.

+Third, we take delight in the Lord through our gratitude for what the Lord has done in our worship for who the Lord is, and in our hope for what the Lord is about to do.

The Lord God has promised you a place and a peace that only the Lord can give you.  I invite you to open yourself to the promises of the Lord God for your life today so you may know His joy.

Reflect

Are you in the “place” the Lord God has promised for you today?  Consider your job, your home/city, your volunteer work, your church, your friends, etc.  Is your place today the place the Lord God has chosen and/or wants you to be?  What would need to change for that to happen? 

Are you in the “peace” the Lord God has promised for you today?  Consider your relationship with each member of your family, your relationships with your friends and co-workers, your relationship with Jesus, etc.  What would need to change for that to happen?     

Pray

Lord God, I know someone who does not feel they are where you want them to be.  They are struggling right now; they are confused, unsettled, and afraid.  Some hard things have happened to them, some dreams have been broken for them, some hope is not living in them. 

Use me, if You need, to speak a word of encouragement to them, a word of Your healing to them, a word that offers a future with hope to them.  Give them a place of Your choosing as well as a peace that only You can give.  I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Act

If you are not living the life and are not filled with the peace and joy the Lord God has promised to you, take a careful appraisal of the place and the relationships in which you find yourself today.  If God’s peace, the love of Jesus, and the joy of the Holy Spirit seem too little right now, take an inventory of what might need to change.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you make a list, make a timeline, and make a plan.  Then, ask yourself what is getting in the way of taking the next step.