fretting

“Read that story again, Mama!” If you have children and read to them, you’ve often heard this. I bet—once upon a time—you even said it. I know I drove my mom crazy, pleading for my favorite stories when I was little.

It seems we never tire of stories that bring us joy and comfort. It’s not that we don’t know the story; we just want to be reminded of it again. Author Samuel Johnson wrote, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.”I woke today with a deep need for reminding of some specific verses from Psalms 37.

“Do not fret,” the Psalm begins. That’s the feeling I woke with today. At first, I thought I felt angry, but I could think of no object for my anger. It was a nebulous fretfulness, evidence that my heart needed to be unburdened.

Are you fretting? What about? Speak it. Breathe it into the ears of God and let Him bear the burden. It’s His joy to help us obey His commands.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” (Psaml 37:3). Trust that God cares. Trust that He wants to help you. Trust that He is good, powerful, and full of loving-kindness and tender mercies. These reflections will help us move on to the good works He’s prepared for us.

In my unsettled state of mind, I thought I had failed to pay some bills that were now past due. I have to feed on His faithfulness because I am not always faithful. After confessing my neglect, I went to pay the bills. I discovered I had paid the bills after all. I was less of an airhead than I thought I was. How silly I was to fret!

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Part of delighting in Him is appreciating His will. As we do, His will becomes ours, and He faithfully does His will in and through us. This is why when we “commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:4).

One of the things I’ve fretted over is getting a Bible study I wrote published. I feel like it’s do-or-die. I’ve put it off too long. But my anxiety hints that I’m believing a lie and not trusting God’s timing and His power to bring it to pass or, in this case, press.

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way” (Psalm 37:7).

Ahh—rest—that’s what I need. Rest and patience. I used to think impatience was the opposite of patience until I read Ecclesiastes 7:8, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” I’m struggling because I’m proud and want things done on my timetable. Repentance requires me to wait humbly, to wait with a quiet spirit. The truth from this verse I memorized with my granddaughter sums it up best, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.”

Yes, I needed reminding. Thank You, Abba, for reading me these verses from Psalm 37 again!