Resting: The Humble Dance

Peter Fitch, St. Croix VineyardSunday, July 26, 2015

Last week, Psalm 37:1-6

• About Cultivating Faithfulness, with ideas related to vocation and discernment, as well as what it means to “dwell in the land and do good”

• This week, more from this Psalm . . . Verses 7-11, with a continuing contrast between “the wicked” and “the righteous”

• Tangent: Norway’s prison experiment

Maybe better to think of humans?

• Sliding into downward tendencies or learning to climb out of them

• The wicked look as though they are prospering, even taking active steps to hurt others as they clamour for more and more for themselves (unbridled aggression)

• This psalm, along with others, teaches that this path does not win in the end (“those who live by the sword . . .”)

Psalm 37:7-11

7 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. 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.  9 For evildoers will be cut off,But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Psalm 37:7-11

10 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.11 But the humble will inherit the landAnd will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Two great virtues: rest & humility

• Actually, they’re related—it takes real humility in order to learn how to rest

• Resting seems related to “waiting” and reminds us of Isaiah 40: 31-32“those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength . . .”

• Resting and waiting are postures—they do not signify passivity or inactivity (v. 3, cultivate!)

What if I can’t change things?

• Then I can change myself . . .• Victor Frankl’s teaching about 3 kinds of

meaning: active, passive, and the last of the human freedoms—our choice about how we respond

• Song of submission . . .

If it be your will

Resting

• “I rest in the fact that You know me and love Me and desire the best for me in whatever happens”

• “I choose to do all that I can to better my situation because I believe that You love me and that I am worth it; however, I do not do this in a frantic way . . . my ultimate trust is in You and the good that You can bring even out of adversity”

Humility

• Is reflected in the posture of waiting and resting . . .

• I am loved, I am made in Your image, I am meant to live a life that is connected to others and full of meaning, love and joy

• Fighting too hard against others, fighting too frantically for myself, and refusing to fight are all postures that have more to do with pride than humility

An incredible example . . .• Here we have the example of an honest man

learning to do a humble dance as he desires to move forward in life

• There is no overt sign of resting or waiting on God, but I think the work of God and the attitudes necessary for growth are woven throughout

• Do not miss the sign at the end of the video• Why, when God's world is so big, did you fall

asleep in a prison, of all places? (Rumi)