A Lens of Faith (not Fret)

Lately, to start the day, I’ve been flipping randomly open to a Psalm. And on this particular day I opened up to Psalm 37. My eyes scanned it, and was like, “yeah yeah, I know this one…” You probably are super familiar with it as I am.

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

Be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass

And wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself 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 act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”

(Psalm 37:1-7)

And in verse 8 it goes on to say, “Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil”. That’s when this Psalm struck a cord with me. I am a notorious fretter or as some of you might refer to it, “a worry wart”. All I have been doing lately is fretting! As I read this, I knew I needed to take a step back and examine the root of my anxiety. And for all those fellow worry warts out there, this Psalm lays out the perfect solution…

1.       Trust that God is faithful! (He never has and never will forsake His people)

2.       Delight in Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart!

3.       Commit your life and your daily ways to Him, then sit back and watch as He acts for you.

4.       Be still before Him and simply wait (“Time is nothing to Him, let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for” (Spurgeon))

5.       And don’t forget to do no fretting as you wait!

I like Charles Spurgeon’s exposition on this Psalm: “Roll the whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not they present fretfulness merely, but all they cares; in fact, submit the whole tenor of thy way to Him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit they judgment, leave all with the God of all.”

When I fret, I make it all about myself! As I read this scripture, I was struck with how self-centered I have made my daily life. It should not be about myself, I should be delighting in the Lord! I am told to rather than focusing on my problems, look to God and delight myself in Him.

I don’t know if you have experienced this, but in times of uncertainty, I have felt a huge burden upon my shoulders. It is as if someone is whispering in my ear, “You aren’t doing enough Sarah, you just need to be doing more.” However, it is in those times, when I have flipped open to scripture and have read passages which speak quite the opposite of what I am hearing. God says these encouraging words (that don’t make sense to my crazy chaotic mind), “Be still Sarah, and wait patiently for Me.”

So my prayer has become simply this: Lord please allow me to see life through a new lens. One of faith, not of fretting!