IMPERATIVES FOR GOD'S OPERATIVES -- Devotional for May 23, from "Good Seeds"

TRUST in the Lord, and do good. DELIGHT yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. COMMIT your way to the Lord, and He will bring forth your righteousness as the noonday. REST in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (Psalm 37:3-7).

I like that word: operative. Used as an adjective, it means efficacious or effective. But when used as a noun, it refers to someone who exerts power or influence over things or people. It could refer to a craftsman, an artisan, or a mechanic. But it is sometimes used to describe a secret agent – and this is the operative definition I’m thinking of here. Paul wrote, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating the world through us on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to Him” (II Cor. 5:20). Christians are agents for God, representing heaven to earth’s inhabitants. The Bible says God "knows those who are His," and the world knows, too – and we know – by the kind of life that we live. Someday the saints will “go marching in,” past those heavenly gates to our eternal home. But right now we stay busy living for Jesus in “enemy occupied territory” (as C. S. Lewis describes the position of God’s operatives on active duty). The lifestyle we are known for is defined by four specific commands, or imperatives, listed in Psalm 37:3-7 (let the three-seven connection in this Scripture reference be a mnemonic device to hone us in to this wonderful truth): #1 – TRUST in the Lord. David sang, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). And Paul wrote, “God forbid that I should boast in anything but the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:14). It’s interesting how the words boast and trust are used almost interchangeably in these verses. So, my fellow operative, how are you doing in the trust department? #2 – DELIGHT yourself in the Lord. When your mind is free from the normal obligatory tasks of daily life, what themes, what delights does it default to? When concentrated thought and hard work finally give way to leisure and pleasure, what does your heart come home to? Is it Jesus? Is He the theme of your song? Do you think of Him all the day long? #3 – COMMIT your way to the Lord. Do you turn to Him for guidance, for help, for provision…first? Or is prayer your last resort? #4 – REST in the Lord. Where do you go for R&R? Your home? Your best chair? Your comfortable bed? Does spending time with Jesus feel like an obligation to you, or is He the one you turn to in the midst of your obligations? He waits for your attention. Do you wait patiently for His intervention, healing, and soul comfort?