Do Not Fret

Consider now the lilies...

Philippians 4:6-7 

Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every situation let your petitions [specific requests] be made known to God through prayers, with thanksgiving. And then God’s peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

If you’ve been following my On Walking With God substacks (and my Happy Hour podcasts) for a while now, you know I have often said, “Thoughts are things; words have power; and definitions are important.”

Dictionary.com defines FRET this way:

To feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent

With all the turmoil going on across America and around the world, it certainly is easy to fret: feel worried, be annoyed, experience discontent and struggle with anxiety. But the Bible is clear about ‘fretting.’ We are told clearly: DO NOT FRET or DO NOT have anxiety about ANYTHING.

We are to rest in God. Exercise our faith and trust - you may want to read this again. Recall that faith is an “unshakable knowing” that He’ll take care of it - whatever It is - and the result will be in *His* time.

Faith is knowing we have already received what we prayed for. Then, we trust His plan. He can see our entire life; He knows what’s coming to us years from now.

We only see what it right in front of us.

Another thing that is often difficult to do: be patient. You may want to re-read this again too (about patience).

One of my favorite passages regarding worry - or fretting - is from the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus directly addressed anxiety by saying:

Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying?

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies grow in the field: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! [Matthew 6:25-29 - HCSB]

When we give it all to the Lord, toss Him the keys, we take control over the circumstance(s) that are causing us to fret. With the issue squarely in God’s competent hands, we have confidence the best possible outcome will be so. We need to fully embrace that “With God, all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)

TRUTHS FOR TODAY

• Psalm 40:1 - “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.” (CSB)

• Matthew 6:34 - “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (HCSB)

• Psalm 37:7 – Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you that in the midst of personal chaos and the growing global instability, our solace is You. Lord, we pray that You to heal the wounds that divide us. May Your divine hand be seen by all as You create miracles in our midst. Thy will be done. In Jesus Name, Amen.