Prayer of Psalm 37

Last school year was somewhat tough, as it seems they all are of late. This school year is even tougher in many respects. I don't recall being so unhappy at work in my entire life. Toward the end of last year I remember praying that the Lord would fulfill the promises in Psalm 37 on my behalf. The theme of David's psalm is that though evil men oppose the righteous, God is going to champion the cause of the righteous if they will wait patiently for Him.
Here is a portion of that Psalm:

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 number of insights come to mind:
First, I do not know who is evil, or which schemes of men are wicked. It is not my place to judge that. Therefore, I can only trust the fate of others to the all-knowing God who does rightly judge good and evil. I have not prayed that the Lord would smite some particular person at work, nor turn their plans to mush. In fact, though I admit I've not been very faithful about it, I recall the instruction in the Sermon on the Mount that I should pray for my enemies, and for those who spitefully use me. Seems clear that I am to keep my attitude toward my co-workers in check and leave them to God.


Second, while I wait patiently on God to champion my cause, I am to "do good." Negativity, undermining talk, spiteful commentary and the like are not to be my way. Neither is self-pity and mock-martyrdom to be my attitude. I am to "do good." I've been given a job that I actually can do. While results do not completely predicate on my efforts, I do know how to do my job reasonably well, and that is what I am to do.


Finally, God has repeatedly made it clear throughout the psalm that He will protect the interests of the righteous and frustrate the cause of the wicked. There are hints in the psalm that David knew God would not wrap things up completely in this lifetime.
 "Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked for the power of the wicked will be broken." vs. 16.
However, it is abundantly clear that the righteous will see their reward. They will inherit the land, and enjoy plenty while the wicked wither and disappear.

So it is that I prayed, and am praying again this year as well, that the Lord would somehow make the justice of my cause like the noonday sun. And in a limited sort of way that prayer was answered. This year in our annual department meeting in which we review the test scores of our students from the previous year the test scores of the students in all my classes were higher that those of all the other teachers in nearly every strand. The other teachers, some of whom have been hurtful, undermining schemers as it relates to my interests were made to look at those results and ask how it was that I accomplished them. I still got demoted, in a sense, and no one to date has acknowledged that they were wrong to banish me to the lower grades. However, I took heart from the scene for the simple reason that I saw God answer my prayer.
I bring this up now, several months after the meeting, because again today I was encouraged by what God did on my behalf. Over the past few months as I have struggled to teach classes and students I don't particularly feel suited for, I have seen the wisdom of God's providence even in this. A number of factors have worked out well for me this year and I have been forced to face my own need to repent. I'm not sure when or if God will choose to restore my former status. And I've repeatedly expressed in my prayers that I do not what anything that He wouldn't choose for me. I'm willing to stay or move or whatever He wants. When I look back at what He did for me, I'm all the more inclined to trust his loving wisdom for the present and the future.