Joy-Health (Or, The More We Trust...)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear the LORD and shun evil.

8 This will bring health to your body

and nourishment to your bones.

Prov.3:5-8

The joy that trusting God imparts

Is health to our bones and hearts

Love beckons faith to taste and see

The grace that sets our spirits free

To soar beyond the dread and fear

Of doom and gloom’s leaden veneer

To green pastures and waters still

To rest in the peace of God’s will

Rather than wrestling futilely 

And fretting about what might be

Oh God, instill in me/us anew

The sweet, sweet peace of trusting You

Shield us from trying to be wise

In the logic of our own eyes  

Then, underestimate Your Hand

Because we cannot understand 

But with rev'rent humility

Help us to place our trust in Thee

So through the power of Your word

Our faith and hope are undeterred

...as You satisfy bones and hearts

With health, that trusting You imparts

For no matter what we pass through

Nothing can sever us from You

No height or depth or breadth transcends

Your love upon which faith depends

As joy unspeakable applauds

You, God above all other gods

Who, though we have not seen You yet

The more we trust, the less we fret 

© Janet Martin

I was going to pick a few favorite verses

 from a precious Psalm,  Psalm 37

but every single verse is a stunner!!

This Psalm brims with hopeful truths I need to reread often 

because I am forgetful! (then prone to become fretful)

1. Do not fret because of those who are evil

or be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,

but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

11 But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy peace and prosperity.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

19 In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:

Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,

they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be destroyed.

23 The Lord makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him;

24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

26 They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be a blessing.[b]

27 Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

28 For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];

the offspring of the wicked will perish.

29 The righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

and their tongues speak what is just.

31 The law of their God is in their hearts;

their feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

intent on putting them to death;

33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Hope in the Lord and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,

36 but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]

38 But all sinners will be destroyed;

there will be no future[e] for the wicked.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

Psalm 37, Wait Patiently (a new musical setting)