Fret Not

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;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

But the meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose way is upright;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

Better is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will remain forever. Psalm 37


The Psalms have proved comfort to me over and over again. I use them as a tool for prayer, repeating the words over several times as a prayer. It is a reminder to me that we are all hurt and broken by selfish, heartless people. We can be prone to dwelling on the hurt, caught up in wondering why the worst folks seem to get ahead. These ancient words, sing out of our human condition, and bring to light God's faithfulness to us, despite how things might look or seem. God is acting for the meek and the faithful. These slights and pains we suffer are temporary and God is moving on our behalf. We are held lovingly by the Creator, we are sheltered in God's arms and we are forever in God's heart.

Today I ask God to help me remember all the promises we have been given. When deeply hurt by the abuse of others, may we rest in the love of God which is our forever. May we not spend our thoughts in anger but rather put our time to the care of others trusting God with our worries and cares.