Do Not Fret

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;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.  Psalm 37:1-8

***Fret – worry yourself, get upset, trouble yourself, to cause oneself emotional strain***

When I don’t feel a specific pull to study any certain scripture, I like to find a few verses and meditate on them. I like to read and re-read and find what stands out to me. I might read the same scripture a year or 2 later and different things will stand out to me. I love that about God’s word.

This time the words Do not fret stand out to me. These words are mentioned 3 times in just 8 verses. In other words, don’t worry yourself, don’t trouble yourself, don’t cause yourself emotional strain. When I fret, I cause myself emotional strain. WOW. More importantly, as I’m thinking about it, my emotional strain can cause those around me stress based on my response to my own fretting.

Also, I notice David is telling us to trust, dwell, feed, delight, commit, and rest & wait in God and His attributes. If we do all that, it makes it much harder to fret.

Trust in the Lord, don’t fret

Dwell in the land, don’t fret

Feed on His faithfulness, don’t fret

Delight in the land, don’t fret

Commit your way to the Lord, don’t fret

Rest, don’t fret

Wait patiently, don’t fret

Do not fret—it only causes harm.