Psalm 37:1-8
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ...
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ...
Per the Merium Webster dictionary site: Since its first use centuries ago, fret has referred to an act of eating, especially when done by animals—in particular, small ones. You might speak, for example, of moths fretting your clothing. Like eat, fret also developed figurative senses to describe actions that corrode or wear away. A river could be said to "fret away" at its banks or something might be said to be "fretted out" with time or age.Fret can also be applied to emotional experiences so that something that "eats away at us" might be said to "fret the heart or mind." This use developed into the specific meaning of "vex" or "worry" with which we often use fret today.
Are you a fretter? Do you find yourself reacting to what others do and say? Do you easily get offended, hurt, jealous or bothered by others? Do you worry about all the little things, losing sleep and becoming anxious or restless? In Psalm 37, David gives us some powerful life wisdom. He basically says “ Don’t go there!” Why? Because it’s not productive or useful and it gives Satan power over us. In fact, it eats away at our spiritual well being. When we focus too much on what offends us or how unfair life seems, we lose focus on God and His sovereign control over the bigger picture.
David reminds us that the negative impact of evil in this life is temporary. It’s easy to get caught up in current life circumstances and lose our eternal perspective. This present life is tainted by sin. We can’t avoid its impact in our own natures which is why we so desperately need God. We also can’t avoid that we will be impacted by the sinful nature of others. But, we can make choices.
We can choose to “ trust in the Lord”. We are not alone in dealing with the people and circumstances in our lives.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””
Joshua 1:9
We can choose to “ delight ourselves in the Lord”:
By seeking God and filling our days in worship and praise of Him we are able to focus on the bigger, more eternal perspective that truly matters.
“ ...and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Because of the impact of sin on this world, our hearts are evil with evil desires but God can give us new hearts with the right desires in them. As we allow His Spirit to transform our minds He also transforms our desires so they align with His desires. And He promises that one day, He will give us those very desires.
We can choose “to commit our way to the Lord”:
When we stop trying to micromanage our lives and surrender outcomes to God, we will then see that He works out all the details as only He can....for the best.
This doesn’t mean He makes life easy or perfect, but rather, He orchestrates ALL of the details of our lives for the outcomes that glorify Him and promote His divine will.
He uses the challenges and difficulties to mold us and transform us into the likeness of Christ. Every detail...includes those circumstances and people we tend to fret about and be bothered by.
Pay attention to the things you fret about, the circumstances and people that “get under your skin.” These are signals to you of the areas where the enemy wants to gain opportunity to “ eat away at your spiritual wellbeing. “ Don’t let that happen. Make the right choices and let God act on your behalf to transform those challenges into spiritual victories.