The Sin of Fretting

Have you ever considered the sin of fretting and the damage it causes?  At Ammudim Ministries, we are dedicated to helping God’s people be pillars of truth in the midst of a crumbling world.  After all, Ammudim is simply the Hebrew word for “pillars”.

But even though you and I may know a lot of truth and truly be pillars, if we fret, even pillars can begin to crumble and wear away…

Some of the definitions of fretting in Webster's 1828 are: To gnaw away; gives the sense of unevenness; to corrode or wear away; to agitate violently; to vex; to chafe by rubbing….

I think you get the picture.  When we fret there is something or someone whose speech and actions are gnawing at us, rubbing us raw, and making us angry and/or fearful.  Not a place we want to be for very long and certainly not a way of thinking and speaking that will make us strong pillars of truth.  Just the opposite.  It will weaken us as pillars and we may even begin to crumble spiritually, mentally, and even physically.

But it can be hard not to fret…. Especially when people do things that we know or think they should know better than to do.  We get infuriated and demand “justice”.

This statement will probably offend someone, but how many believers are fretting over politics right now?...  I see sons and daughters of God so agitated, so anxious, and letting political leaders and those on the other side of the aisle just gnaw away at them.  And they don’t realize that they are forfeiting their strength.

Now there is nothing wrong with standing up for what is good and right, but we cannot fret… The Bible says so.

Psalm 37 is one of, if not my favorite psalm.  It is hard to say because I have favorite psalms for different circumstances in life, but Psalm 37 is always a comfort when I find myself, well, fretting.  Let’s have a look at the first 11 verses and I will comment a little along the way.

Psalm 37:1-11 NKJV

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

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

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

9 For evildoers shall be [b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Now let's break it down verse by verse

1 A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

I told you the Bible said not to fret!  And what are we not to fret about? The thing we hate most as pillars of truth…evil.  That does not mean we are not to be concerned not care about those that are being harmed by evil, but we are not to fret as defined above.  Oh, and for good measure don’t envy people who have great riches because of unjust gain.

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

This is why we don’t have to fret!  Because there will come an end to their evildoing one day!  Do not be temporally tormented over temporal things when we are eternal beings.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

I like how this says, “Trust in the LORD AND do good.”  Many people say they are trusting the LORD, but their life doesn’t show they are doing much good… I wonder about that sometimes.  In the midst of evildoers and the enemy’s devices to get you to fret, trust the LORD instead and do good, even if no one else is.  Keep forgiving, keep serving,  and be sustained by His faithfulness toward you. Feed on His faithfulness and do not choke on the sins of others.

4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Enjoy the LORD.  It will make you stronger in the LORD than a thousand men’s willpower combined.  The enemy demands we fret about what he is doing in the earth.  You don’t have to obey his demands.  Enjoy and delight yourself in the LORD and the desires of your heart, that you may be fretting over whether or not will come to pass, will come to pass.

5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

Speaking of coming to pass, look at what this verse says.  But now another action is inserted here that actually proceeds trust in the LORD.  That action is to commit your way to the LORD.  We really have no basis for the LORD's faithfulness to us if we are not committed to Him and His ways.

One more thing to note is the time factor we may fret over.  Our Father’s solution for us not to fret is not to tell us when difficult times will end, but rather to commit our way to Him, trusting Him, and at some point in time, He will bring it to pass.  Either we trust Him to come through or not, and if we don’t it is an open door to fret.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

Many times we fret over injustices done to us.  People slander our reputation and harm us with words and maybe even actions.  Some of you have suffered abuse and maybe you fret about the past.  We fret to get even, we fret to feel safe because we control situations when we fret.  Listen, God will justify you.  Follow His leadership and His Spirit and make decisions based on His ways and truth and I believe that you will find your righteousness and justice to come to pass not just in the life to come, but in this life.

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

I would say that rest is the exact opposite of fretting.  When we fret we do not sleep well, we don’t listen well, and we simply do not function well.  When we are at rest our spirit, our minds, and our bodies function great and we will feel strong.

Again, examine your heart for any unrest over the evil and atrocities that mankind is doing right now.  Yes, please care and help where you can… But do not fret.  It is a command.  Pillars do not fret.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm.

I love how simple and practical the Bible can be.  Stop being angry.  Many will say, “I can’t help it, the feelings overtake me”.  Well, that means that you are not in control of your will in this area and need deliverance.  Listen, I know feelings can be strong, but the Bible indicates it is a choice more than a feeling that overtakes.  Make a choice, even say it out loud if you need to. “I will not be angry at…”

Then it says to forsake wrath.  That is angry judgment.  The Bible just says to leave it alone and turn your back on wrath. That is what it means to forsake something.

But I think this next little phrase might be the most motivating to me to not fret.  Do not fret, it only causes harm.  This is very clear to me.  Fretting will only cause harm.  That means it will never produce life, righteousness, or health.  It will NEVER produce righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Wow, you know what that means?  Fretting is not from God and His Spirit.  When we fret we are not walking with the Spirit. That got my attention!

9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

This is really what it is all about.  We must remember that evildoers are temporary, but the righteous are eternal.  Our faith in the blood of Yeshua, Jesus, is counted unto us as righteousness that we may inherit eternal life without evil in our midst!

I know for me when I am fretting, it is because something has happened that will affect my life now, but not in eternity.  My reward is not here it is in Yeshua's Messianic Kingdom to come and you know what Yeshua said about that?  That no one can take that from me!  So why should I fret?  That would only separate me from the hope of my reward.

10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

What a statement.  Think about all this evil that we are exposed to every day on the news, social media, magazines, etc…  Sometimes it feels like we can’t get away from it, but there is coming a day according to this verse that we will actually look for it, but will not be able to find it.  It will have been judged and done away with and it will bombard our hearts, minds, 5 physical senses, families, and relationships no more!

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalm 37:1-11 NKJV

Don’t fret about those in charge of the earth right now through governments and power.  One day it will be ours to rule and govern in assistance to Yeshua, Jesus, and our Father, and the overarching experience we will all have at every moment is Shalom, Peace.

Be blessed,