Fret Not Yourself....

This morning in my devotional time I was reading in Psalm 37 and verses 7 and 8 caught my attention.

Psalm 37:7-8
Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself--it tends only to evildoing.

The part that really jumped out at me this morning was that both verses warned against "fretting." In the amplified translation it reads, "fret not yourself." Can it be that fretting is something I do to myself?...and it leads only to evildoing? Wow!

So being the lover of words that I am, and considering how looking the words up in the dictionary gives me a clearer understanding of things....I looked up the word "fret" on dictionary.com.

(Have I mentioned how much I love my iPhone? And that I use it in my devotional time almost every morning because my quiet time is downstairs where I can be alone and my computer is upstairs in our bedroom? And I have two apps on it that are becoming almost indispensable to me!? I have Dictionary.com and a bible app that are ever so useful!)


ok, so where was I? Oh, yes, I looked up "fret" on dictionary.com (on my phone--insert smiley face here)and I found this...

fret
–verb (used without object)
1.
to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like: Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.
2.
to cause corrosion; gnaw into something: acids that fret at the strongest metals.
3.
to make a way by gnawing, corrosion, wearing away, etc.: The river frets at its banks until a new channel is formed.
4.
to become eaten, worn, or corroded (often fol. by away): Limestone slowly frets away under pounding by the wind and rain.
5.
to move in agitation or commotion, as water: water fretting over the stones of a brook.
–verb (used with object)
6.
to torment; irritate, annoy, or vex: You mustn't fret yourself about that.
7.
to wear away or consume by gnawing, friction, rust, corrosives, etc.: the ocean fretting its shores.
8.
to form or make by wearing away a substance: The river had fretted an underground passage.
9.
to agitate (water): Strong winds were fretting the channel.
–noun
10.
an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.
11.
erosion; corrosion; gnawing.
12.
a worn or eroded place.

So here's what I came to understand about worrying and fretting myself...when I give in to the temptation to fret, I wear away and corrode my faith, peace, and contentment that God freely offers to me. I torment and vex myself, allowing worry to corrode a path right through my faith and into my heart to torment me.

I have a choice. I can be still and rest in the Lord, leaning on and trusting in Him. Or I can choose to "fret myself."

Today I'm reminding myself to choose the better path.