Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Today's reading in Psalm 37.

This Psalm of David opens up reminding people to not worry themselves about the evil people around them. They shouldn't fret, they shouldn't be envious of them. We should instead remember that they are like grass...soon to fade.

David then goes on to remind us about what we should do.

• We should trust in the Lord and do good. Don't just trust God and sit around the house. Do something, do something good!
• We are to dwell in the land. God gave it to us. Live in it. Make it your home.
• We are to befriend faithfulness. Not sure what that means... does that mean we make faithfulness a priority, or that we make friends of faith-filled people?
• We are to delight in the Lord! Delighting in the Lord, and he will give us the desires of our heart. Did you ever notice, that when one is truly delighting in the Lord, how his desires become your desires? Neat how that works.
• We are to commit our ways to the Lord. Trust him. He will act.
• He is the Lord, he will show what we are - bringing forth our righteous and justice.

Instead of the fret that this psalm opened with, instead we to be still before the Lord.
Ah...just being still. Waiting, resting...being quiet within.
Certainly is a lot nicer than the tension one gets from worry and fret or anger.

I have to admit, I love this line: Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Do you see what worry does? It leads to evil. It's takes your eyes, mind, spirit off God and puts them on something else. God wants us being still before him. Fretting/worrying is not doing that. It's focusing on something other than God and that scripture tells us is leading to evil.

Good reminder for me. Some days I'm prone to worrying about how I will do everything or get it all done and so on and so forth ... AHHHHH not good for me, for my relationship with God, and does nothing for the peace and quiet within this house.

Much of this Psalm has seemed a contrast between the permanence of those who love the Lord and live the way he wants them to and those who don't. The wicked shall not last. These verses seem to sum that up well.

27Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
28For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.

34Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

37Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
38But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

Let me, let us, live the way God wants us to. In stillness before him. Doing good. Living in righteousness and justice. Delighting in God, knowing he will bring us our heart's desire.