I
don't know about you, but we seem to be living in what I would call,
"fretful days." So, what do I mean with such a statement? Well, let's
unpack the word, fretful, and see if we can begin to understand what the Bible
has to say about being...FRETFUL?
First
off, In
the Bible, "fretful" means to be worried, anxious, or
irritated. It can also mean to be distressed or burned. The word
"fret" comes from the Hebrew word charah, which can mean to burn or
be angered. It is the root word which charred comes from. And that seems
to be a prevalent displayed emotion that we see occurring in almost every area
of our lives these days. If you happen to watch the evening news on any
channel, the images are filled with angry people, shouting down their "opposition,"
all the while demanding that their viewpoints and the things they want are all
that matters....therefore, they should have their demands met and to Hell with
others who disagree...and thus the rise in fretfulness in our society. But
God's Word tells us in Psalm
37:1: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers; be not envious
of wrongdoers!" and in Psalm 37:8: "Fret not
thyself; it tends only to evil"
And
this is where the roaring lion known as Satan gains his foothold on both
believers and unbelievers. He is constantly roaming the earth, seeking whom he
may devour with his lies and his schemes to deceive. He is constantly at odds
with us if we are believers as we seek to live our lives for Christ in these
fretful days; days when our country and our way of life as a free and
God-fearing nation hangs ever so precariously on the brink of extinction.
So
what are we to do? The answer to that question is found in 1 Peter 5:8-9, which
reads: Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the
devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay
strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers
are suffering just as you are.
So
how do we resist the devil and remain strong in our faith? Here are some
stepping stones that may keep us on the pathway of living for Jesus, strong and
steadfast in our faith...and without the fretful mindset that has beset our
world, and especially our country.
In the Bible,
fretting is often seen as a lack of trust in God. The Bible
encourages believers to trust in God instead of fretting. Fretting is a
lot like a cancerous tumor....it starts out small and then, in no time at all, it has consumed the host
and spread its poisonous venom throughout the entire body...so how do we avoid
fretting and being weak in our faith as we trust that God is truly in control?
Some
ways to avoid fretting include:
·
Be
still and trust in God....HE ALREADY KNOWS THE OUTCOME!
·
Waiting
on God...when He moves, YOU MOVE WITH HIM!
·
Displaying
patience in His plans....DON'T RUN AHEAD
OF HIM!
·
Trusting
God to control the situation....HE IS SOVEREIGN, YOU ARE NOT!
·
Trusting
God with the outcome...HIS PLANS ARE ALWAYS PERFECT!
·
Praying
fervently...NOT FRETFULLY!
·
Leaving
the fretting behind...STANDING STEADFAST IN YOUR FAITH!!!
So,
don't spend another day, or even a second of that day, fretting over the things
that the devil and his demons send your way. YOUR GOD IS READY, WILLING AND
ABLE TO THWART ANY PLAN OR SCHEME OF THE DECEIVER WITH POWER FROM ABOVE...AND
GOD'S JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO CALL ON HIM AND HE WILL ANSWER WITH HIS MIGHTY
POWER; THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CLAIM HIS PROMISE...
IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN STAND AGAINST US?
Standing
firm....fretting not,
WPQ
Poem
for the day....
Troubles
are the devil's work
As
he seeks to spread his lies...
Telling
those who would believe,
God
never hears their cries.
For
if our God was truly on our side,
Why
do bad things come our way?
The
fretful things that rob us of joy,
Seem
to happen to us each day.
But
when we put our faith in God,
He
helps us defeat the deceiver...
Making
us a steadfast warrior
And
a consummate believer.
So
don't give in, don't you fret;
The
best is yet to come....
For
one day soon, Jesus will return;
And
we'll be going home!
WPQ
© February 2025