“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret – it only causes harm.” Psalm 37:8 NKJV
There’s a lot for us to “fret” about these days. Politics. Pandemics. Our own health and well-being. Our finances and our futures. Our kids, spouses, friends, coworkers, bosses, and loved ones. We live in a broken world filled with broken people and broken societies.
The Lord has shown me the verse above more times than I can count. He knows that I have a tendency to fret. When I took the time to do a search on the word “fret,” it caught my attention like never before. According to the Bible, when you fret about something, you worry about it so much that it eats away at you. “Fret” comes from the Old English word “freton,” which means to “devour like an animal.” When you fret over something, it not only consumes your thoughts, but it eventually consumes YOU. Perhaps you have heard it said that it’s not what you are eating that is harming you – it’s what’s eating you. King David had a revelation of this when he wrote, “Do not fret – it only causes harm.”
I’m in my 60s now, and though I am basically a healthy senior citizen, I know that I would be in even better shape today if I hadn’t spent so many years fretting about people and things that I couldn’t change. And I’m in good company because most of the emails I receive from Christians are about their inability to change people and circumstances that are beyond their control. I am convinced that if we prayed more and fretted less, we would see God move more mightily in our lives, and in the lives of our loved ones. The Bible tells us how to enjoy the kind of peace that Christ died for us to have, right here and now. “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, PRAY. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” (Philippians 4:6 MSG)
Oswald Chambers wrote: “All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.” Are you calculating your life, your circumstances, or the world around you without God? Are you forgetting that all things are possible with Him? Let the fret go – and lay hold of the peace that He has for you today!
Lord, forgive me when I allow myself to fret and worry. Help me to see everything and everyone from Your perspective from now on, so that I can enter into and enjoy the supernatural peace that is Your will for me. Remind me often that nothing is impossible for You, nothing is too difficult for You, and nothing can hinder You. (Luke 1:37; Jeremiah 32:17; 1 Samuel 14:6) Thank You for teaching me how to forgo fretting, so I can receive Your absolute best every day in every way!
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