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Empty Shelves (PSalm 37)
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won’t soon be forgotten. In hard times , they’ll hold their heads high; when the shelves are bare, they’ll be full. Psalm 37:18-19 (MESS)[/perfectpullquote]
Have you been to the grocery store lately? If not, let me give you some insight on what’s going on in one of the busiest places in our culture right now. It depends on the day, but there is always something out of stock. In the beginning of this season there was a shortage of toilet paper. It was bizarre how all of it just disappeared, like the night before senior prank! I may have said too much. There are some days you can go into the store and there is no chicken or other kinds of meat. I heard a mom lamenting because they had run out of baby food. How does that happen? We have come to expect the unexpected. I hope you have recognized how God continues to keep His promises and remind us that He is in control despite what is missing from the grocery store shelves.
Today’s Psalm may be the closest thing to a Proverb we have in the collection of Psalms. It also feels like Psalm 1 as you see the writer contrast the lives of those who follow God and those who don’t. In Psalm 37 there are four major sections that focus on the calling of followers of God: (1) a call to persevere in faith in order to enjoy blessing (1-6), (2) a call to hold fast to integrity (7-20), (3) a call to demonstrate faith living a life of wisdom that leads to blessing by the Lord (21-33), and (4) a call to wait and trust on the Lord driven by His promise of salvation and peace (34-40). These callings are a challenge for all of 1 us right now, but God is faithful and has made himself very “present in our time of trouble” (read Psalm 46 for encouragement about God’s presence in our lives during the tough times).
We must keep focused on the “revealed will of God” at this time. Which is detracted by being good citizens, honoring and praying for our leaders, holding our heads high, and seeking God’s wisdom every day. When we do this the Psalmist reveals that even “when the shelves are bare they will be full.”
The Psalmist emphasizes the protection of God in His final statements: “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in the 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.”
The next time you walk though a grocery store and see empty shelves, please remember that as believers in Jesus we are called to hold our heads high in those moments and testify with our lives that even “when then shelves are bare” we know that God’s abundance is still evident in our lives. He will provide both spiritual and physically all that we need. Let’s all be challenged together in these areas as we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ.”
– Missing all of you, Pastor Chuck
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