This psalm of David begins with the words, “Do not fret.” These words are repeated in verses 7 and 8. In fact verse 8 reads, “Do not fret—it only causes harm.” The words “do not fret” literally mean “do not get heated.” How many of us get overheated—like a car without water in the radiator—over whatever we might be facing.

David goes on to give us several antidotes to this. Instead of fretting, he encourages us to “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness” (Ps. 37:3). This reminds us that faith is never to be passive, sitting there and doing nothing. Faith is always active and is able to cure fretting. David goes on to remind each of us to, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (v. 4). As we delight ourselves in the God of relationship, His desire will become our desire. He is able to redirect our emotions, just as He did for Paul and Silas in prison, who were singing as well as praying (Acts 16:25).

This then, brings us to our verse, where we are told to commit our way to the Lord. This Hebrew word for “commit” actually means “to roll” one’s way onto God. It has the idea of dislodging our burden from our shoulders and laying it on another. This is exactly what Peter had in mind when he wrote, “casting all your care [anxiety] upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). In both cases the writers are seeking to inform us that we do not need to worry, fret, or have anxiety because of “things” in our lives. We have a God who cares for us and is able to manage the details of our circumstances, whatever they may be.