Recently I’ve been reading the Psalms as my daily devotion.
I find great wisdom and comfort in them. I’ve read the book of Psalms several
times and it never ceases to amaze me that I always find something there that I
never saw before. Take for instance Psalms 37:1-8:
Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Don’t fret--it only causes harm.
Sometimes I let things upset me
more than they should. The on-going events surrounding gay marriage, the daily
assault on Christianity, ISIS and the direction our nation is headed has really
distressed me. I’ve been fretting a lot. Fret means to cause to suffer
emotional strain, to eat or gnaw into, corrode. David is telling me that I
should not fret what evil men do. I know I shouldn’t let it “eat me up” (v.1,7
& 8). I need to trust in the Lord (v.3 & 6), delight myself in the Lord
(v.4), commit my ways to Him (v.5), and rest in the Lord (v.7). Why should I do
this? Because fretting only causes harm (v.8). To whom? Myself. It not only
erodes away my health it can also eat away at my spiritual life by causing me
to become disheartened. Paul told the Galatians in Gal. 6:9:
…let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart
He told the Thessalonians in II Thess 3:13:
…brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
Yes the world is full of evil and
will continue to be until Christ returns. Should I not be concerned? Yes, I
should be concerned, but I shouldn’t fret about it. God is still in charge.
God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. - Psalms 47:8
What can I do about it? I can place
my trust in the Lord knowing that He will make things right and all will be
accomplished according to His will. (Psalm 37:5). I should pray for my
government that they will make right decisions (I Tim 2:1&2). I must
realize that this government is here because God put it here to carry out His
purpose (Rom 13:1-7). I can use my rights as an American citizen to let my
congressman and senators know how I feel about such issues. I can exercise my
right to vote when issues are placed on the ballot and I can vote for
candidates that I think have a moral view on these issues. But even if all this
should come to pass, I still should not fret about it. I need to leave it in
God’s hands and to his judgment. In His time he will take care of such evil
doers.
And besides all that, this world is not our home, we are just passing through. So let’s stop fretting about things we have no control over.Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the wicked; for there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. - Proverbs 24:19-20
As easy as it is for us to fall into the negativeness of "fretting" (worrying about things that we cannot do anything about), it is the mature person who gains a wise understanding to keep as far away from fretting as possible. Doing so among others causes them irritation at minimum and may even be the leaven that spoils their own disposition toward a positive attitude.
ReplyDeleteI also need to learn this lesson or at least work toward understanding that trusting in God and praying to Him is of more benefit regarding use of our valuable time here on this big blue marble called planet Earth...