Fretting or trusting? The choice is yours

Recently, I began reading Psalms 37. It was a familiar passage; however, I had not visited it in a long time. As I read the passage, it seemed so relevant to our current state of affairs here in our nation. Psalms 37-1-9 (NIV) says: “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. “Take delight 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 do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. “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. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” “Do not fret,” is stated three times, and when I thought of the word fret, I pictured someone wringing their hands. I researched the original translation of the word in the Hebrew, and it had a totally different meaning than what I pictured. The word fret, from the Hebrew and the Strong’s Concordance, means “to glow or blaze with anger.” Wow. I see a lot of anger and hatred flying around our country with Republicans, Democrats, conspiracy theorists and, unfortunately, with Christians. This makes me sad that we cannot value relationship just because someone has a different train of thought, questions us or agrees with us. Satan loves to cause strife and division in families, churches, denominations and among friends. For those of us who walk with God, I feel it is simply a negative strategy to rob us of peace and distract us from what God really wants us to do, which is to lead people to Jesus, pray with the sick, comfort those who mourn and love like he does. James 3:16 (KJV) states: “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” We see the evidence of our nation blazing with anger and in strife toward one another, and it has allowed evil to flourish. God tells us in Psalms 37 how we need to conduct ourselves. Our forefathers wrote it on our currency, “In God we trust,” but we have strayed from trusting God and doing good. This passage also says to delight ourselves in God. To me, this means to be fascinated with him, direct my attention to him and commit my way to him each day. God instructs us three times to not blaze with anger, but to trust in him, so it must be important. If you are guilty, let me encourage you to repent, trust, commit your way to God and get back on track. God wants to use you and me to show those around us the love of Christ and the joy of walking with him. When we do this, Psalms 37:10 (NIV) says, “the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” Psalms 37 also tells us to hope in the Lord, wait on him, turn from evil and do good. When we do these things, we obtain the promise found in Psalms 37:37 (NIV), “…there is a future for those who seek peace.” So, do not fret and step into your future.

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie is a native of the Hill Country, a podcaster, author, writer and speaker. Contact her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com. You can also purchase her book, “Thriving Through Seasons of Grief,” or listen to her podcast on her website, www.kathleenmaxwellrambie.com