Fret Not

Psalm 37

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 37

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God).

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

⁶ And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

⁷ Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰ For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found.

¹¹ But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹² The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth.

¹³ The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly (blameless in conduct and in conversation).

¹⁵ The swords [of the wicked] shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is the little that the [uncompromisingly] righteous have than the abundance [of possessions] of many who are wrong and wicked.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the [consistently] righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright and blameless, and their heritage will abide forever.

¹⁹ They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰ But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away.

²¹ The wicked borrow and pay not again [for they may be unable], but the [uncompromisingly] righteous deal kindly and give [for they are able].

²² For such as are blessed of God shall [in the end] inherit the earth, but they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

²⁴ Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.

²⁵ I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

²⁶ All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely].

²⁸ For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.

²⁹ [Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.

³³ The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.

³⁴ Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.

³⁸ As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.

Not blog on Christmas?  Yeah, right!  That is what I told myself.  I knew it would never happen.

Today I am sitting in my living room.  We had heard of severe weather advisories, but I didn’t think it would include my part of Texas.  The plan had been to go to my mother’s for seafood gumbo and around four o’clock to the movies.  My mother called last night and said the weather was supposed to  be bad and she and Daddy were backing out of the movie part of it.  As I read the news this morning it actually looked like the bad weather would not come this way.  We would be on the very outskirts of it.

As I sat in my living room, suddenly a huge gust of wind blew against the house.  It blew and blew and blew.  I heard the whistle of it.  Now I hear the thunder.  Sirens are going in the distance.  The wind is from the south so it is hot and we are having to use the air conditioner.  Tonight it is supposed to get into the 20s and 30s.  As the gust continue I call for hubby.  I don’t want to be alone with this going on.  A little shudder of fear goes through me.  My son has to drive back home in this tonight. 

My husband is slow at everything he does.  This was part of what attracted me to him and now it is part of what aggravates me and he knows it.  I think he pokes now just to get me riled!  I called out and heard nothing.  Then I call out a little louder with an edge to my voice.  I can hear his footsteps slowly heading this way.  “What?” as though nothing in the world is going on.  I point to the window and say as calmly as I can, “LOOK!!”  His response to me is a simple, I am not impressed, “Yeah”.  Even Gracie is sitting at the glass door and looking at me as if to say, “Even I know this isn’t right!”   Soon my husband leaves the room to play on the computer until Sunshine wakes up. 

As I sit with Gracie watching as the weather worsens God reminds me of how so many times He is just like hubby in His approach to me.  I call out for something that is of great and serious importance to me.  Not always does He answer me right away.  Just like hubby, He is aware of my inner storm, just like hubby He is coming to my aid, but since I don’t see it right away I cry out louder and many times in frustration.  Then He comes, looks at the trouble and back at me as though to say, “What is the big deal?” He has already won the battle for me.  He has told me this hundreds of times in the Bible!  Jesus was crucified and was raised from the dead, making satan a laughing-stock by parading the power and authority satan stole from Adam throughout heaven.  It is a done deal, but yet I fret! 

I worry I am not saying everything correctly, I am not hearing His voice and maybe I am not doing what I need to do, I am not this and I am not that!  If it all messes up, it is my fault!  I could go on but this is a blog not a thousand page book!  I remember Joyce Meyer saying God spoke to her one time and said, “Joyce, I am not as hard to get along with as people think I am!”  He isn’t!  Love always rescues when it can, Love always is near to the brokenhearted, Love sets the captives free, Love forgives and forgets, and Love remembers we are but dust and God’s mercy renews toward us with each new morning!   Love keep its word, Love never forsakes, Love never blames.  God is love!  His love for us is deep and consuming!  What does consuming mean?  It means it consumes all that hinders us from going to the fullest potential on the inside of us!  He isn’t consuming us, He is consuming what is an enemy to us and our peace, joy and righteousness in this life!

I speak peace to you, dear reader!  May God’s prepared in advance blessings abound to you!!  Merry Christmas!  I will l see you soon!!