Fret Not

Psalm 37: 7b

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Do you ever have a problem with this or am I alone. Well, you can rest today and I will preach to myself. I am sorry but I do struggle right here. I should be holier than this but here we are. I see people behaving poorly, mean-spirited and selfish and then I get all holier than thou because they are prospering more than I. I had to have a conversation with God about this just this week. You know what surprised me the most about it? It was that He let me say my peace. Before I actually opened my mouth and let the junk come out I checked my heart and found that He will let us talk about our stuff, even our unholy stuff. You know, He was not the least surprised that I am not yet perfect nor that I had these feelings.

I encountered this once before in my life. I witnessed people living the high life who really did not behave very nicely to God’s people. Well, one of the ended up in prison and the other died young. That is why God has us pray for these folks. And that is the worst rub of all – when we have to pray for the bad actors but then, I’m not all that pretty at times either so hopefully someone is praying for me. Yes, it is easy to chaff at praying for those who are prospering even amidst their wickedness but when God tells you something to do it is for your benefit that He is instructing you. There is something inside of you that needs breaking through and our Father knows that when you pray for these folks you do yourself a favor as much as you do them.

God says, “Don’t fret.” In the 8th verse we find out that fretting only leads to evildoing. Somewhere in that fretting is jealousy and the complete absence of the love that Jesus brought into the earth. In fretting is stress to your heart. It is another one of those things which will steal life from you like unforgiveness and a judgmental attitude. God wants you free. He wants to give you that abundant life that Jesus promised. All of His instruction, then, is intended to lead you into abundant life.

As hard as it is for me to say and as hard as it is to do, let us agree to pray for these people. When they are enjoying the fruit of your prayer they will never even know that God is granting them favor and blessing because of your intercession for them. I know that can sometimes cut deeply but know this, your Father is very proud of you and in this way you can actually give Him joy. You will get your turn, well, at least I am counting on it. Let us do our work in our own hearts so that we may glory in all that the lord has for us. But let us not fret or instill anger and jealousy in our hearts. Be at peace. Shalom.