Do Not Fret

Psalm 37 is a place where the Lord brings me to time and time again. If you are anything like me and your tendency is to get angry when you are hurt then this is for you. Listen up and do. God will bless you. You might not always see it or feel it, but He will. 

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.

 

This Psalm starts out with Do Not Fret because of evildoers......it is said  in other ways depending on the version you read. Lets look at them.

Do not fret because of evil men. 

Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed.

Do not fret because of evildoers.

Don't worry about the wicked.

Don't bother your head with braggarts.

Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers.

Do not be troubled because of evil-doers.

Do not get overly upset with evildoers.

Verse 8  says it again:

Do not be angry and frustrated!  Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others––it only leads to harm.

Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes--it only makes things worse.

Put an end to your wrath and be no longer bitter; 

do not give way to angry feeling which is a cause of sin.

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret–– it only causes harm.

Time and time again God has spoken this Word to my heart. In times of difficulty, distress, anguish, injustice, etc.... He tells me, He tells you, Do not fret......it only causes harm. So what do we do when we are hurt, misunderstood, treated unfairly? Confess to the Lord the anger, hurt, etc... you feel towards that person or about that situation, call it what it is, sin. Fretting is a sin that only leads to more sin, vs. 8.  When we do what He tells us to do, He will take care of us, He will deal with him or them or it.

Trust Him
Do good
Delight yourself in Him
Commit your way to Him
Be still before Him
Wait patiently for Him
Refrain from anger
Turn from wrath
Do not fret - it leads only to evil

Ask the Lord to show you where this applies in your life. But remember this, not only will God deal with that which we commit to Him and trust Him for, but He will deal with us. As a child of God you are being, as you present your body, which is a living sacrifice, transformed into His image, His likeness. So get yourself up on that altar and let Him consume you, if you climb back down off of it, just put yourself right back up there. Keep on keepin' on! Trust Him. :)

Current Read........

I am currently reading a Christian parent's manual "Correcting Your Child in Love" a Biblical guide for loving discipline by Abner Sumrall. I am so enjoying his straightforward simple approach. It is a Bible study in discipline, of which, if we don't first apply to ourselves won't have any validity in the raising up of our kiddos.

I grew up with my parents, especially my dad, saying, "Do as I say and not as I do". Well, that really doesn't work. And even if that isn't your own mantra, it will be played out in your behavior before your children if you, as a Christian, haven't surrendered your heart and life to Him. I will say that my parents did not know the Lord and therefore did the best they could on their own in raising us kids and it caused me, more than anything, to not want to make the same mistakes that they made. I remember distinctly telling myself that I would do it better when I had kids of my own. In some ways I did. The early years of my child rearing were without Christ in my life. But thank God for saving me just in time to train up my kids in the way that they should go....Proverbs 22:6 so that when they are old they will not depart from it.

It's funny I remember always saying that we should have been given a manual in raising up our kids. That was before I became a Christian. Which I now know is the Bible itself and Christ in me.

As I am writing this, my oldest son, now 23, is singing "I love You Lord" over the internet air waves. Leading worship for an awesome church in Jacksonville, Oregon, "Applegate Christian Fellowship". Anyways, I love the Word that says, "I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in Truth".

Taken from the back of the book, Correcting Your Child In Love presents Christian parents with a clear, concise Biblical guide on how to lovingly discipline their children during their early developmental years. Included within this parent's manual are "Seven Steps To Correcting Your Child In Love" along with numerous personal illustrations and applications. Today's Christian parents generally do not know how to lovingly discipline their child. With political correctness being a driving force in our culture, the lack of loving Biblical discipline is evident not only in the behavior of our children but also by the often ineffective interaction of parents with their children in attempting to train them appropriately. Correcting Your Child In Love, if prayerfully applied, will develop mutual respect between parent and child and bring peace to your heart and to your family. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." III John v. 4

The  "Seven Steps To Correcting Your Child In Love" are summed up in an acronym he uses RESPECT. I highly recommend this book to any parent that wants to raise their kids up in a Godly manner. You will not be disappointed.

Read your Bible and pray every single day!

So here, we will be reading our Bible every day and praying every day. This is meant to simply encourage a daily relationship with Jesus, who is the Word. And who, by His Spirit, speaks to us through the Word of God. We will not just mearly 'read' it, but be 'doing' it, and feeding our Spirit and building up ourselves in the most holy faith. For faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word.
 So lets start out by praying and asking the Lord to speak to us as we read the Word. Read through it in its entirety.

       Psalm 1 

 ¹ Blessed is the man
       who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
       or stand in the way of sinners
       or sit in the seat of mockers.

 ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
       and on his law he meditates day and night. 

 ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
       which yields its fruit in season
       and whose leaf does not wither.
       Whatever he does prospers.

 ⁴ Not so the wicked!
       They are like chaff
       that the wind blows away. 

 ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
       nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 

 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
       but the way of the wicked will perish.

If there is something in particular that jumps out at you, talk to the Lord about it, this is praying. Take note of it. Perhaps memorize that portion of scripture for the day, meditating on it. 

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night".

Be blessed to day as you walk in the counsel of the Lord and are being planted by streams of water! See you tomorrow :)