Fret Not
September 1, 2022
“Fret Not”
Blessings folk!
Repeatedly we are instructed, commanded, encouraged, exhorted, etc. by the Lord to “fret not”.
“Fret” - to be hot, to be furious, to be incensed, to be displeased, to burn/kindle
The word translated “fret” has more intensity than one my expect.
Hear what the Lord says…
Pro 24:19-20
Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not envious of the wicked,
for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
ESV
Note the detail.
We are not to “fret yourself”.
Do not cause yourself to burn hotly with fury because of evildoers.
So easy to say.
So hard to do!
But give close heed.
What is the driving force behind the “fret”?
Why the evildoers?
It is not because of the evil done.
We are to hate/reject evil.
What is the issue?
Envy!
Envy of the wicked causes fretting over the wicked.
We are envious.
We wonder “why God does not deal with them”.
We wonder why the wicked seem “to get away with it”.
The Psalmist felt the same way in many Psalms.
But, fret not!
The evil man has no future.
The wicked will be addressed.
Their light will be put out.
God will deal with it.
For us, fret not.
Be not envious.