Do Not Fret

March 24

Numbers 25

Psalm 37:7-13

Proverbs 8:32-33

Luke 1:26-56

Do Not Fret

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” Psalm 37:7-8 NIV

This one hits a little too close to home. I find myself fretting a lot more than I would like to admit. I can be having a great day and then something happens, someone says something to me, or I find out about something that really isn’t that big of a deal, but I spend hours fretting over it. I get all caught up in the injustice of it and rehearse over and over in my head how I should respond. I let myself get more and more upset to the point that I say or do something I shouldn’t. Often when I look back on it, I realize that my fretting was completely unnecessary. I either didn’t have all the facts and so it wasn’t as bad as I thought or my getting upset didn’t make one bit of difference in the outcome. I am not the kind of person that can just sit back and do nothing when I see a problem. Sometimes this is a good thing because I get things done. But I am learning that I need to seek God before I act. There is a big difference in the outcome of a situation when I take the time to be still before the Lord and seek His guidance and when I just react with my own plan of action. First, my attitude is different. Instead of fretting myself into a state of anger about the situation, God gives me a peace and calm that helps me to think more clearly and react with more love and grace. Sometimes He makes me just keep my mouth shut and let Him deal with it. Although it is frustrating, I must admit that it always turns out better. At other times He gives me permission to intervene, but because He has calmed me down, I am able to respond with a godlier approach and the result is always better than if I had gone in like a bull in a china shop demanding the outcome I think is just. Secondly, when I take the time to pray about the situation and turn it over to God, He intervenes in the hearts of the other people involved so that their reaction is often different. The end of yesterday’s reading said, “and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.” He has our back. We can trust Him. When we leave the results to Him, He will bring about the right result. We may not immediately see the result we want, but He assures us “that in all things He works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)