Do Not Fret Yourself
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalms 37:7—NIV)
Paul gave us a commandment:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8—NIV)
Fretting, that is, thinking about things that are not true, not noble, not right, not pure, not lovely, not admirable, not excellent or praiseworthy, leads to sin.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. (Psalms 37:8—NIV)
I do not know about other countries of the world, but I do know in America people sit in front of their television, or read their paper, and fret about what is taking place in the world. Even among Christians, fretting is not considered to be sin. But it is because it goes against the admonition of the Scriptures.
Fretting because of the evil we see in the world is against the will of God for us. We have been exhorted to rejoice in the Lord at all times. We have been told that if we delight ourselves in the Lord He will grant us the desires of our heart. Why are we fretting?
Fretting is part of our sinful nature. We fret because we perceive injustice, or because matters are not going the way we think they should. We forget that all things are working together for good for those who love God, who have been called according to His eternal purposes in Christ.
Fretting is a sign we are living in the flesh. We are not setting our mind on things in Heaven. We have not placed our treasures there. We are clutching the earth and trying to make it over according to our own understanding.
The Bible states that Jesus sits as King of the flood. Jesus is in absolute control over every person and circumstance. He has authority over all of mankind as well as over every part of the earth. When we fret because of what is taking place in the world we are doubting the power and wisdom of God.
Fretting causes us to hate other people. We forget that our warfare is spiritual and not of the flesh. The problem is that of the fallen spiritual lords who reside in the heavens. The weapons of our warfare are not those of human effort or ability. God is willing that all people be saved, even the most wicked. But we curse those who are behaving in a manner of which we do not approve. We should be praying for them, rather!
In the days to come we shall see injustice, moral perversions, the wickedness of the world’s leaders as they seek their own glory and benefit while announcing how they are benefiting mankind. We shall hear the pronouncements of the social philosophers, the educators, the psychologists as they seek to legitimatize pedophilia and other abominations. Women may be paid to conceive so the organs can be reaped from the baby about to be born.
Every abomination imaginable shall come forth in the near future.
How are we to respond? We are to laugh with God.
I may have lost some of my readers by saying this, but let me explain.
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,"I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." (Psalms 2:2-6—NIV)
"The One enthroned in heaven laughs"!
What is God laughing about?
He is laughing because the mud of the earth is endeavoring to break through the constraints that God has placed on mankind.
The problem arises when God stops laughing!
It is this understanding of God’s supreme power and control, His determination to give Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the world for His inheritance, that causes us to laugh with God as the "ants" crawling around on the ground shake their fist at their Creator.
But how can we laugh when newly born infants are having their brains sucked out so as not to inconvenience the mother? She must have her "reproductive rights," you know.
We laugh with God, not because a horror is not taking place, a horror protected by the American Constitution, but because the little one is taken by the angels and carried into the Paradise of God. There is no tragedy here as far as the infant is concerned. The tragedy involves the doctor who murdered the human being and the mother who authorized the murder. The proud and rebellious among us suppose they have managed to evade the laws of conscience. But they have succeeded only hanging themselves, as did Judas.
The laugh we laugh is not one of merriment because the doctor and mother have hung themselves. The laugh we laugh is with God. It is the laugh of the Conqueror, the One who knows that He controls all things and His enemies shall one day know His terror. It is a laugh of confidence, of future joy and peace, of perfect faith in God, His righteousness, His love, His almighty power.
The next time you read the paper and note the abomination of the day, laugh with God, but not because you delight in evil. God never delights in evil. You laugh because you know the innocent shall be avenged and the meek shall inherit the earth.
It is not true, as one lawyer said, that while the meek may inherit the earth the lawyers will win in court. The truth is, the meek shall inherit the earth and also win in court.
God, His Kingdom, His righteousness, ultimately shall prevail. This is why we laugh along with God. It is the laugh of total confidence in God.
One of the greatest evils and destructive forces of the coming days will be that of fretting. If Satan can persuade us to curse what is taking place he can rob us of our peace, our joy, our confidence in God. In a manner of speaking, when we are fretting we are acknowledging that Satan is triumphing over Jesus Christ. We are giving honor to the adversary.
No matter how perverse and morally wrong the future conditions may become, just remember that God is in control. He easily could have prevented Adam and Eve from sinning in the beginning. He could have spared mankind the six thousand years of howling insanity we have endured, all the sickness and pain that have been part of it. But God is bringing forth sons, sons who will govern the creation throughout eternity. God’s sons must be totally aware of the nature of evil and the consequences of rebellion against God. They must be proven and proven again in the fires of earth. This is the reason God permits the destruction of the nations to continue.
God, the Potter, has made much of the circumstances of earth expendable in terms of His supreme purpose of bringing forth brothers of Jesus Christ. Nations rise and fall like flowers in the field. But the royal priesthood continues on its path toward perfect conformity to the image of Jesus Christ and perfect, untroubled rest in the Person of God through Christ.
The future is bright with promise, although the history of the earth will continue its path downward toward the depths of wickedness of the personality of Satan. In the darkest hour the light of God will rise on the saints. The Commander in Chief will descend from Heaven. The kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. He keeps the best wine until the last.
The path of the righteous shines as the light until the rising of the Sun of righteousness.
There is great glory ahead of us. Therefore we lift our eyes from the cesspools of earth knowing that not one hair on the head of the righteous will perish; all will be raised in the day of resurrection.
We know also that every wicked word and act will come up for judgment. Those who managed to evade punishment in this world, who slipped and slid around in their cunning treachery, will be held in the iron hand of God and give an answer for every point of their behavior. They will not be able to trick their way out of punishment in that day, as they have managed to do on the earth.
So we rest in God. We do not fret ourselves when we see wicked people puff themselves up and receive the acclaim of the multitude. We know their day will come soon enough. Rather we make sure that we are pleasing God ourselves so we may rest in the day of trouble.
Paul says:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8—NIV)
We have been commanded: Think about what is true!
Think about what is noble!
Think about what is right, what is pure, what is lovely.
Think about what is admirable.
Think about all that is excellent or praiseworthy.
Because of the ascendancy of wickedness in America it is extraordinarily difficult to turn aside from our fretting and dwell on that which is true, noble, and right. Most of what we read about in the newspaper is false, ignoble, and wrong.
This is why we have to set aside a place and time for prayer each day.
This is why we have to meditate in the Scriptures continually.
This is why we have to place everything on the altar of God.
This is why we have to live in and by Christ.
This is why we have to put on the whole armor of God.
This is why we have to learn to live in the heavenlies.
This is why we have to confess and renounce our sins promptly.
If we do not do these things we will keep falling back into fretting. But God will help us think about things that are wholesome, even when we are living where the throne of Satan is.
The Bible is true. We do have eternal truth to dwell upon.
The heroes of faith of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews are noble. We can choose to think about them.
God’s ways always are right. We can dwell on them.
The aborted fetuses and little children who play in the holiest part of the Paradise of God are pure. We can think about them.
The Lord Jesus Christ in His palace is lovely. We can think about Him.
The wisdom of God in bringing forth His eternal Kingdom is admirable. We can meditate on that.
The ways of the Lord are excellent. Think of how He has guided you throughout your lifetime! This is something to consider.
All that God does through Jesus Christ is praiseworthy. This is undeniable.
We are to think about such things continually.
The next time you read the paper or watch the television, and you are tempted to fret about the incredible wrongness of it all, think about the Bible; about the heroes of faith; about God’s righteous ways; about the infants in the Paradise of God; about the Lord Jesus Christ in His ivory palace; about the wisdom of God; about the ways of the Lord; about how God has guided you throughout your lifetime; about all that God does through Christ.
Force yourself to dwell on these things. Realize Christ is in control of the world. To fret and chafe about the conditions of the world is to reveal our lack of faith and confidence in God.
The weapons of our warfare are not physical but spiritual. The Christians will never succeed in substantially removing evil from our nation by politics or armed rebellion. This is to fight Satan’s fire with our own fire, and Satan is the master of fire.
If we Christians are to change the moral decline of the United States, the first thing we must do is to make sure we ourselves are living in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to God. Having made certain this is the case, we are to lift up holy hands and pray! pray! pray!
Then we are to do whatever Christ tells us to do. We cannot solve all the problems of war and famine, but we can do the one thing that Christ directs us to do, whatever that may be.
Having obeyed the Lord fully, we then are to rest with God and laugh with God. We are to be joyously triumphant in Christ at all times, knowing that righteousness will prevail in the end.
We see, then, that fretting is a sign of ignorance and unbelief. We do not know what God has promised; and if we do, we do not believe it enough to rest in God’s power and love.
When we are fretting we are giving a bad testimony to our family and friends. We are portraying to them that Satan is triumphing over Jesus Christ. Also, we are not showing a heart of compassion toward the people who are being victimized by Satan.
We may rail against the homosexuals. But one of the most anointed of today’s composers of Christian music is a converted homosexual. Who knows what Christ will do with someone who today is trapped in wickedness? We are not to curse those who are bound but to pray for deliverance for them. We know this is the right thing to do, but Satan causes us to rage against his work in other people—so utterly perverse is evil!
I keep repeating the following. This is because none of these can be omitted without jeopardizing our spiritual well-being during the spiritual oppression of the future.
We absolutely must set aside a place and time for prayer each day.
We absolutely must meditate in the Scriptures continually, if we are fortunate enough to own a Bible. In some places in the world it is against the law to own a Bible.
We absolutely must place everything on the altar of God.
We absolutely must live in and by Christ at all times.
We absolutely must put on the whole armor of God.
We absolutely must learn to live in the heavenlies as well as on the earth.
We absolutely must confess and renounce our sins promptly.
We absolutely must stop fretting. We have many wonderful things to contemplate and we must force ourselves to think about them. The evil in the world is going to come to maturity. If we have not made a practice of refusing to dwell on the evil, and forcing ourselves to consider the marvels of God, we may lose out with God altogether because of our cursing the darkness.
I know of a good Christian man, a truck driver, who became so angry over the cheating and self-seeking of his dispatcher that he would go down at night and slash tires. I guess I heard the dispatcher’s name a thousand times, because my friend, the driver, would bitterly complain about how so-and-so was cheating the drivers.
When I was in public-school work I came into conflict with people who were of a liberal persuasion, to say the least. The perversity of their reasoning and actions would result in my complaining to my wife when I got home.
Audrey would say, "They’re getting to you, Bob."
Then I would pray until I could let go of the evil and think about the Lord. It wasn’t easy, but I survived.
Had I not learned to ignore the perversity I might have done something that would have brought harm to others or myself.
Truly, we must gain the victory over fretting, because fretting leads only to sin.
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