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Playing the Long Game.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Patience?

Biblical patience isn't passive — it's active endurance. Waiting with expectation, not resignation. James, Paul, and David all learned it the hard way.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Revenge?

The Bible says revenge belongs to God — not you. That doesn't mean injustice is okay. It means you're not the one who fixes it with payback.

Psalms 37 — Why the wicked don't win, and what to do while you wait

8 min read

Key Takeaways

David's testimony after a full life isn't that the righteous never struggle — it's that they're never abandoned. That's a different promise entirely.

"Be still" isn't passive — it's a deliberate act of restraint, choosing not to let someone else's shortcuts dictate your emotional state.
David watched a wicked man spread out like a thriving tree. He walked by again — gone. No trace. That's the expiration date on cutting corners.
There's a difference between knowing God's word and having it rooted in your heart — one is information, the other is the foundation that holds when everything shifts.

📢 Chapter 37 — Playing the Long Game ⏳

This is — older now, looking back on decades of watching how life actually plays out. And he has something to say to anyone who's ever watched someone cut corners, game the system, or do the wrong thing and still come out on top — and thought: why does that work for them?

Inside this Chapter

Hope Anger Faith Anxiety Justice Patience Comparison Self-Worth

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What Does the Bible Say About Patience?

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What Does the Bible Say About Revenge?

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37 is David's answer. Not from theory. From experience. It reads like a letter from someone who's seen enough to know how this story ends.

Stop Watching Their Highlight Reel 🌿

opened with the thing most of us won't say out loud — that gnawing frustration when people who don't play by the rules seem to be doing just fine:

Don't lose sleep over people doing wrong. Don't envy the ones who cut corners to get ahead. They look solid now — but they'll fade like grass, wither like a plant in the summer heat.

Trust in the Lord and do good. Stay where you are. Be faithful. Make the Lord your deepest joy, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Hand your path over to God. Trust him — and he will act. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice bright as the noonday sun.

Here's what David is really saying: stop comparing timelines. The person who seems to be winning right now? Their success has an expiration date. Grass doesn't last. But compounds. It's the difference between a flash and a foundation. You don't need their path. You need to trust yours.

The Hardest Instruction in the Psalm 🤫

If verse 4 is the most quoted line of this psalm, verse 7 might be the hardest to actually live out:

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Don't get worked up over the person who's prospering through manipulation and schemes.

Let go of anger. Release the bitterness. Don't let frustration drag you into doing wrong yourself — it only leads to more damage.

The ones doing evil will be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land.

Give it just a little more time — the wicked will be gone. You'll look for them and they won't be there. But the humble will inherit the land and enjoy deep, abundant peace.

"Be still" isn't passive. It's a deliberate act of restraint — choosing not to match someone else's energy, not to obsess over their success, not to let their choices dictate your emotional state. In a world that rewards the loudest and fastest response, stillness is almost radical. Everyone's refreshing the feed, checking the score, reacting in real time. says: put the phone down. God's got this.

God Sees the Whole Board ♟️

painted a vivid picture of what the wicked are up to — and how God responds:

The wicked scheme against the righteous, grinding their teeth in contempt. But the Lord laughs — because he can see their expiration date coming.

They draw their swords, bend their bows, aiming at the poor and vulnerable, targeting anyone who lives with integrity. But their own swords will pierce their hearts, and their bows will snap.

Better to have a little and live rightly than to have everything the wicked have accumulated. Because the strength of the wicked will be shattered — but the Lord himself holds up the righteous.

There's something almost startling about the laughing. Not out of cruelty — out of perspective. He sees the whole board. The person scheming against you thinks they're winning. God already sees the final move. And he's not worried. Which means you don't have to be either.

Like Smoke 💨

kept building the contrast — the blameless and the wicked, set side by side:

The Lord knows every day of the blameless, and what he gives them will last forever. They won't be humiliated when hard times come. Even in seasons of scarcity, they'll have enough.

But the wicked will perish. The enemies of the Lord are like wildflowers in a field — beautiful for a moment, then gone. Like smoke, they vanish.

The wicked borrow and never repay. But the righteous give freely, generously. Those God blesses will inherit the land. Those he curses will be cut off.

That smoke image is worth sitting with. You've seen it — someone builds an empire on dishonesty, on taking advantage of people, on cutting every corner. It looks impressive for a while. Then one day you look up and it's just gone. No trace. Meanwhile, the person who gave quietly, lived generously, stayed faithful when it cost them something — their life tells a completely different story.

Held When You Fall 🤲

This is where the psalm gets personal. shifted from contrast to testimony:

The Lord establishes the steps of the person whose way of life delights him. Even if they stumble, they won't be thrown down for good — because the Lord is holding their hand.

I have been young, and now I'm old. And in all my years, I have never seen the righteous abandoned or their children left begging for bread. They are always generous, always lending, and their children become a blessing to others.

Turn away from evil and do good, and you will live securely forever. Because the Lord loves justice and will never abandon his faithful ones. They are protected forever — but the children of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and live in it permanently.

Read that middle part again. "I have been young, and now I'm old." David wasn't quoting a he'd heard. He was testifying from a full life — decades of watching. And his conclusion wasn't "the never struggle." It was "they're never abandoned." That's a different entirely. It doesn't mean life won't be hard. It means you won't face it alone. And the one holding your hand when you stumble isn't going anywhere.

Roots That Go Deep 🌳

turned to what makes a person different from the inside out:

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. Their words reflect what's right and fair. The instruction of God is rooted in their heart — their footing doesn't slip.

The wicked watch the righteous, looking for any chance to take them down. But the Lord will not hand them over, and he won't let them be condemned at trial.

Wait for the Lord. Stay on his path. He will lift you up to inherit the land, and you will watch when the wicked are removed.

There's a difference between knowing God's word and having it in your heart. One is information. The other is formation. The person whose steps don't slip isn't someone who never faces opposition — David just said the wicked are actively hunting them. Their stability comes from something internal. Something planted so deep it holds even when everything around them is shifting. That's what it looks like when truth moves from your head to your foundation.

The Tree That Disappeared 🍃

closed with a striking image — something he saw with his own eyes:

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading out like a thriving, deep-rooted tree. But I walked by again — and he was gone. I looked for him, and he couldn't be found.

Watch the blameless. Study the upright. There is a future for the person of peace. But those who rebel will be completely destroyed. The wicked have no future at all.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord. He is their fortress when trouble comes. The Lord helps them and rescues them — he rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

That tree image is haunting. You know the person David was talking about. Maybe you do too — someone who seemed untouchable, influence everywhere, roots going deep in every direction. Then one day you walked past and the lot was empty. Gone. No forwarding address. Meanwhile, the quiet person of — the one nobody wrote articles about, the one who never went viral — they're still here. Still standing. Still at refuge in him. That's the long game. And David, at the end of his life, is telling you it's the only game worth playing.