Psalm 37
 It was about 6 months after my divorce took place. The girls' dad came to pick them up for a visit. It was summer, warm, just getting ready to rain outside. His car pulled up, his girlfriend in his front seat. I stayed in the house, kissed my girls goodbye, and watched through a crack in the blinds as they pulled out of my driveway and drove away.
I had been doing really well around that time. At first after my husband left I couldn't talk to God about it. I was just so angry, so hurt, so bitter. I bottled it all up inside and turned up my rock music full blast, drowning out the heartbreak inside. The injustice of it all was more than I could bear. Finally, after about three months, I gave it all to God. I collapsed at the foot of His throne. I cried. Cried until every bone in my body moaned in agony. But that was over. I rarely cried anymore. I started to see sunshine. God started to show me the hope in my future.
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
This day was different, though. As the girls pulled away, some of those old feelings of injustice and heartbreak started to well up in my heart. It started to rain. I could hear the loud pitter-patter of each drop on the metal roofing of my front porch. Knowing, from learning months earlier, that I need to run to God in my pain instead of away from Him, I grabbed my Bible. I sunk into the chair on my covered front porch, deeply inhaling the fresh rain air. With tears in my eyes, I cried out "God, I need an encouraging word from You. Please speak to my heart and comfort me. You have experienced rejection, injustice, and heartbreak. Show me your wisdom."
I opened my Bible. God's loving hand guided me to Psalm 37.
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
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 little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
(NIV)
I cried as I read.
This time, however, they were not tears of sadness and anger.
They were tears of comfort and joy.
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