Thursday, October 01, 2009

Do not fret—it only causes harm. Psalm 37:8b

It is extremely difficult at times for me to do what this verse says to do. Do not fret. There have been times that I have laid awake at night fretting over things I cannot control. There is no good that comes from fretting; instead I don't get the rest that I need and my family bears the brunt of that result. At times I can even make myself sick worrying and fretting over something.

The verse in Psalm 37 just before this one says to"Rest in the Lord and Wait patiently for Him." I hate waiting, and waiting patiently can be absolutely excruciating at times! Waiting doesn't mean sitting here doing absolutely nothing. In fact, it means that while I wait for God's timing (His reply on what I'm fretting about), I am to remain faithful in the small everyday tasks that He has given me to do.

As I meditate on this phrase, I am reminded of David in the Bible, the author of these verses. I'm not sure how much of life he had experienced by the time that he wrote these words, but I do know that throughout his life he had many reasons to fret and worry. More than once his life was in danger from someone he loved. He was anointed as king of Israel well before he actually took the throne. He had plenty of opportunities to fret.

Even as a shepherd boy, I'm sure that once he'd been anointed as the next king of Israel, it must have been difficult to go back to the field with the sheep and rest in God and wait for His timing. It was during this time with the sheep that he learned to trust God. It was in faithfully accomplishing the mundane tasks he had each day that his faith grew; God knew that this waiting room- out in the field with the sheep- was the best place for David to develop into a man after His own heart.

As I look at my own life, I realize that I have nothing to really fret about. There is no one trying to take my life, my family are all healthy, and everything we need we already have. Fretting and worrying only ends up taking my focus away from God and the everyday things He wants me to do well for His glory.

If fretting only brings harm, then faithfully waiting on the Lord only brings good- God's best for my life.



1 comments:

Anonymous,  December 6, 2010 at 2:18 PM  

Good point, though sometimes it's hard to arrive to definite conclusions