PSALM 37:1-9 – “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.”

THEME OF THE DAY: THE CURE FOR ANXIETY, WORRY, AND FRETTING.  I don’t want to be misleading in today’s devotion with the theme.  I know we would like it to be completely true.  How wonderful to have a sure-fire cure that once and for all removes from us the painful experiences of being anxious, worrying about anything, and be free from fretting over life’s many “what ifs.”   Oh, there is the cure. It is called “heaven and being in the Presence of Jesus” but we must wait for the ultimate cure.  However, we can live consistently defeating the intense temptations to be anxious, worry, and fret.  And today’s Psalm is a good place to start.

There are a lot of golden nuggets from the Psalmist in dealing with the beasts of anxiety, worry, and fretting, and I would encourage us to prayerfully work through the Psalm.  We will find much encouragement and help in the daily battles. But I want us to focus on just two truths to arm us against anxiety, worry, and fretting.

The first one is the “biggy”. Here is where the battle is won or lost – “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will act.”  The core truth implied in this verse is that life is too hard, too overwhelming, and, that when we try to control or change circumstances or people in our lives and realize that we cannot, we welcome anxiety, worry, and fretting. The command “commit” is the acknowledgment we need help and notice the promise.  When we commit all that is in life causing us anxiety, worry, and fretting, to God, He has promised to act.  But remember, what we commit to the Lord, we keep with the Lord. Surrendering control of life is the first step to overcoming anxiety, worry, and fretting.

The other application for overcoming anxiety, worry and fretting is another command – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him”. Not easy, but necessary.  Do we realize, in addition to trying to control life, what the fuel is that accelerates anxiety, worry, and fretting?  Busyness. Hurriedness.  Be constantly running around in life at a frenzied pace and see the fruit.  Actually, read of the fruit in Martha’s life – Luke 10:38-42.  It will be the same for us.  To successfully win over anxiety, worry, and fretting, we must be still before the Lord and learn to truly believe that He is in control of all things.  We may say we believe that, but it will not be cemented in our hearts without stillness before the Lord and mediating on His attributes.

So, there is a cure for anxiety, worry, and fretting.  It is ultimately heaven and the presence of the Lord. However, in this life, we can win battles over all three by committing our lives to Him and learning to be still before Him.

PRAYER: Father, teach me to commit everything in my life that is tempting me to be anxious, worry, and fret to You.

REFLECTION: We may fight anxiety, worry, and fretting in the strength of self and fail, or give them to God.