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"Do not fret...trust in the Lord...He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday [sun]."
– Psalms 37:1-6 (NKJV, excerpts)
– Psalms 37:1-6 (NKJV, excerpts)
[Freshman Senator Jefferson Smith, the evening of his first day in office:]
"We're going right ahead with my bill for a National Boys' Camp. Where's my briefcase?"
[Smith's newly assigned aide, Clarissa Saunders:]
"You're going to present a bill?"
"Yes, Senator Paine and I decided... [He] said you'd help me."
"It's simple. And I'm helping," she replies sarcastically. "So we knock it off in three or four days."
"A day."
"A day!? Sure! Why not?... Do you mind if I take the time to go get a pencil?"
"Go right ahead.... And lots of paper too!"
[Smith continues, to himself:] "Have you ever had so much to say, you just couldn't say it?"
"Try sitting down," she suggests, returning with the pencil and paper. "Let's get down to particulars. How big is this thing? Where should it be? You have to have all that in it."
"Yes! And something else ... the spirit of it. The idea... how do you say it?"
[Smith looks out his window and notices the U.S. Capitol Dome shining brightly in the night.]
"That's what's got to be in my bill!"
"The Capitol Dome!? On paper?"
"Yes, it should come to life for every boy. All lighted up too. Boys forget what their country means. By just reading 'Land of the Free' in history books. Men forget even more. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day and say, 'I'm free... to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't. I can! And my children will!' Boys ought to grow up remembering that. That [senate] steering committee'll have to see it like that."
― From Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Columbia Pictures Corp., 1939), excerpts.
* * *
In this Psalm 37 series, about de-stressing our lives and feeding on His faithfulness, we've been exploring the many aspects of our Christian walk that are continual sources of stress and burnout. Where Jesus desires instead that we learn to let go and let Him get the job done through us. Where He wants us to yield our neck to His yoke and find rest for our soul (Matthew 11:28-30).
Certainly one stressor for many of us is an ardent desire to be "on mission"—to spread the Gospel, words of encouragement, a message of Kingdom righteousness, through all means possible. Maybe you'd like to write Christian songs, books, a blog (such as this one), or maybe do a podcast. But instead it's become a huge source of stress because—let's face it!—there are literally tens of thousands of net-new Christian books published in the U.S. each year. Everybody and his uncle has a podcast and a couple of blogs, many of which have north of a million subscribers or followers. "Just how," you're thinking, "am I supposed to cut through all that noise and get noticed!?" Or, the latest buzzword ... "Platform! I need more platform!"
Today's verse from Psalm 37 has something to say about platform. About getting noticed. "He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday [sun]."
As with anything else that our Lord Christ commissions us to do, we must be His faithful servants. We must be up and doing. And yet, we mustn't forget that the outcome is ultimately His responsibility! In fact, that is precisely what Jesus made clear to his disciples in His last words before ascending to Heaven:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NKJV)
As one preacher framed this Scripture passage, "The unstoppable mission of God extends through the faithful witness of His people. Notice that 'witness' is a noun. To fulfill His mission, we must be witnesses of Him—of His person."
—Joel Shorey, "Acts of the Apostles Series" (Redeemer Fellowship, Delaware)
So, rather than stressing about how to be effectively "on mission"—how to get noticed with clicks, likes, subscribers, and followers—we ought first to think about being a faithful witness. Because being a witness shines the spotlight, not on ourselves, our words, our message, but rather on the One of Whom we are witnesses.
But, what about the outcome? What if no one ever reads my book, sings my songs, or subscribes to my YouTube channel!? Surely it's not Father God's will for me to be the proverbial tree that falls in the forest, and no one hears it fall! What can I do to get noticed!?
The key is found right in that same verse, Acts 1:8: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me." So, to be a witness at all requires power. And not just any power. Holy Spirit power! (And, remember, the Holy Spirit is none other than Christ with us—in us, doing the work through us—which is yet again the same Law of the Yoke from Matthew 11.)
Think about it...
People don't visit your church to check out your clever programs, the color of your curtains, or your magnificent worship band. Well, yeah, a few people are looking for those superficial things. But what's driving most seekers who walk through the doors? They're hoping to find Jesus and experience His living, loving touch! "Is Jesus here, or isn't He!? Because I've visited a lot of churches where He simply wasn't in the building. So, tell me—no, show me!!—I want to find Jesus. Is He, or is He not here?"
As Eliza Doolittle's character lamented in the musical rendition of My Fair Lady (Warner Bros., 1964): "Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words!... Is that all you blighters can do?... Sing me no song! Read me no rhyme! Don't waste my time, show me!"
And it's no different with the written or recorded word. If we're looking to get out the Gospel, the glorious message of God's love and righteousness—whether in a book, a blog, a podcast, whatever—nobody gives two figs about our clever words. They want to find fresh bread from Heaven. Most seekers aren't even sure what it looks or feels like, but they know that they'll know when they've found it!
In conclusion, what wet-behind-the ears Senator Jeff Smith understood, which emanated from the deep wells of his patriotic being, was that nothing done in Washington—not even a simple senate bill to establish a boys' camp—was of any consequence unless it embodied and radiated the brilliant light of the American spirit: love of country, freedom, and justice for all. The Capitol Dome shining in the night!
So, how do I bag that elusive "platform"? How do I "cast my bread (words) upon the waters" in full assurance of faith—rather than gnawing stress—knowing that I will "find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1)? How can I be sure that people will listen, that "His Word will not return ... void" (Isaiah 55:11)?
The answer is, when it's His Word, not mine. People are looking, listening, for that fresh bread, warm and bursting with the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. Words that bring light into darkness, hope in the midst of despair. Words that show them, not just tell them, that God is alive and abounding in love for them. They're looking, but it's like finding a needle in the haystack of "Words! Words! Words!"
"We're going right ahead with my bill for a National Boys' Camp. Where's my briefcase?"
[Smith's newly assigned aide, Clarissa Saunders:]
"You're going to present a bill?"
"Yes, Senator Paine and I decided... [He] said you'd help me."
"It's simple. And I'm helping," she replies sarcastically. "So we knock it off in three or four days."
"A day."
"A day!? Sure! Why not?... Do you mind if I take the time to go get a pencil?"
"Go right ahead.... And lots of paper too!"
[Smith continues, to himself:] "Have you ever had so much to say, you just couldn't say it?"
"Try sitting down," she suggests, returning with the pencil and paper. "Let's get down to particulars. How big is this thing? Where should it be? You have to have all that in it."
"Yes! And something else ... the spirit of it. The idea... how do you say it?"
[Smith looks out his window and notices the U.S. Capitol Dome shining brightly in the night.]
"That's what's got to be in my bill!"
"The Capitol Dome!? On paper?"
"Yes, it should come to life for every boy. All lighted up too. Boys forget what their country means. By just reading 'Land of the Free' in history books. Men forget even more. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day and say, 'I'm free... to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't. I can! And my children will!' Boys ought to grow up remembering that. That [senate] steering committee'll have to see it like that."
― From Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Columbia Pictures Corp., 1939), excerpts.
* * *
In this Psalm 37 series, about de-stressing our lives and feeding on His faithfulness, we've been exploring the many aspects of our Christian walk that are continual sources of stress and burnout. Where Jesus desires instead that we learn to let go and let Him get the job done through us. Where He wants us to yield our neck to His yoke and find rest for our soul (Matthew 11:28-30).
Certainly one stressor for many of us is an ardent desire to be "on mission"—to spread the Gospel, words of encouragement, a message of Kingdom righteousness, through all means possible. Maybe you'd like to write Christian songs, books, a blog (such as this one), or maybe do a podcast. But instead it's become a huge source of stress because—let's face it!—there are literally tens of thousands of net-new Christian books published in the U.S. each year. Everybody and his uncle has a podcast and a couple of blogs, many of which have north of a million subscribers or followers. "Just how," you're thinking, "am I supposed to cut through all that noise and get noticed!?" Or, the latest buzzword ... "Platform! I need more platform!"
Today's verse from Psalm 37 has something to say about platform. About getting noticed. "He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday [sun]."
As with anything else that our Lord Christ commissions us to do, we must be His faithful servants. We must be up and doing. And yet, we mustn't forget that the outcome is ultimately His responsibility! In fact, that is precisely what Jesus made clear to his disciples in His last words before ascending to Heaven:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NKJV)
As one preacher framed this Scripture passage, "The unstoppable mission of God extends through the faithful witness of His people. Notice that 'witness' is a noun. To fulfill His mission, we must be witnesses of Him—of His person."
—Joel Shorey, "Acts of the Apostles Series" (Redeemer Fellowship, Delaware)
So, rather than stressing about how to be effectively "on mission"—how to get noticed with clicks, likes, subscribers, and followers—we ought first to think about being a faithful witness. Because being a witness shines the spotlight, not on ourselves, our words, our message, but rather on the One of Whom we are witnesses.
But, what about the outcome? What if no one ever reads my book, sings my songs, or subscribes to my YouTube channel!? Surely it's not Father God's will for me to be the proverbial tree that falls in the forest, and no one hears it fall! What can I do to get noticed!?
The key is found right in that same verse, Acts 1:8: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me." So, to be a witness at all requires power. And not just any power. Holy Spirit power! (And, remember, the Holy Spirit is none other than Christ with us—in us, doing the work through us—which is yet again the same Law of the Yoke from Matthew 11.)
Think about it...
People don't visit your church to check out your clever programs, the color of your curtains, or your magnificent worship band. Well, yeah, a few people are looking for those superficial things. But what's driving most seekers who walk through the doors? They're hoping to find Jesus and experience His living, loving touch! "Is Jesus here, or isn't He!? Because I've visited a lot of churches where He simply wasn't in the building. So, tell me—no, show me!!—I want to find Jesus. Is He, or is He not here?"
As Eliza Doolittle's character lamented in the musical rendition of My Fair Lady (Warner Bros., 1964): "Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words!... Is that all you blighters can do?... Sing me no song! Read me no rhyme! Don't waste my time, show me!"
And it's no different with the written or recorded word. If we're looking to get out the Gospel, the glorious message of God's love and righteousness—whether in a book, a blog, a podcast, whatever—nobody gives two figs about our clever words. They want to find fresh bread from Heaven. Most seekers aren't even sure what it looks or feels like, but they know that they'll know when they've found it!
In conclusion, what wet-behind-the ears Senator Jeff Smith understood, which emanated from the deep wells of his patriotic being, was that nothing done in Washington—not even a simple senate bill to establish a boys' camp—was of any consequence unless it embodied and radiated the brilliant light of the American spirit: love of country, freedom, and justice for all. The Capitol Dome shining in the night!
So, how do I bag that elusive "platform"? How do I "cast my bread (words) upon the waters" in full assurance of faith—rather than gnawing stress—knowing that I will "find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1)? How can I be sure that people will listen, that "His Word will not return ... void" (Isaiah 55:11)?
The answer is, when it's His Word, not mine. People are looking, listening, for that fresh bread, warm and bursting with the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. Words that bring light into darkness, hope in the midst of despair. Words that show them, not just tell them, that God is alive and abounding in love for them. They're looking, but it's like finding a needle in the haystack of "Words! Words! Words!"
Why not pray ...
"Dear Father,
Let me be part of that City on a Hill, of that Capitol Dome shining as a beacon of righteousness in the night, hallelujah! I desperately need Your power—I need You, Your Holy Spirit anointing and presence—so whatever I speak or write, it will be as an oracle of God. With Your words of righteousness whispering in the earpiece of my heart and flowing forth from my mouth and my keyboard to 'bring Good News to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and liberty those who are oppressed.' [Luke 4:18] Then I'll know that Your words of righteousness, spoken through me, will bring forth a harvest of righteousness. As I trust You for the outcome.
In Jesus' name. Amen."
---
Originally published as a “Bradstix” devotional on the National Minute of Prayer Facebook page 6/15/2025.
Copyright © Brad Fenichel 2025 All Rights Reserved
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