Psalm 37:1-9

“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.” vss. 7-8

There is a plague of fretting going on in our world and it has infected millions of people, and unless we’ve quarantined ourselves from every kind of media, it’s likely crept into our homes as well. Sometimes we lie in bed at night thinking about what we’ve seen and heard in the course of the day and we can’t even sleep. The worst thing is that we can’t do anything about the things that we’re upset about. The people we think of as scoundrels are going to keep on doing as they wish and their supporters, often people we know and love, will continue to offer their backing.  And it makes us mad! The psalmist advises us to back off–our fretting will do absolutely no good. In fact, he says, it leads only to evil, and we know this to be true. Losing our temper, getting angry can only result in the loss of deep and abiding friendships. What should we do? “Be still before the Lord,” the psalmist says, “and wait patiently for him.” If the people we’re upset about are indeed scoundrels, they will fade away like the grass, and our losing sleep isn’t going to hasten that day one single bit. And if we’re the scoundrels? Well, praise God, we’re not going to be around much longer either!

Thought for the Day: What do I fret over?