“Do not fret.” Do we, as moms, follow this?
David uses the word fret three times and all three in one psalm, Psalm 37, verses 1, 7, and 8.
The Hebrew word for fret means to glow or grow warm, to be angry, to kindle, to blaze up, to be hot, to be furious, to burn.
Our English definition is tempered somewhat. In part, it means to feel or express worry, annoyance, or discontent, to agitate, torment, irritate, or vex, to wear away or consume by gnawing, friction, etc. Used as a noun, it means an agitated or irritated state of mind, annoyance, vexation, gnawing, a worn or eroded place, etc.
Ahhh! Look what we do to ourselves with our worrying and fretting. They irritate, gnaw at, erode, and torment our “sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7) (Sound mind means an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind or to moderation and self-control.)
As David said not to fret in the Old Testament, Paul tells us in the New Testament not to worry at all, about anything. You know Philippians 4:6-7, right? “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)
And what did Jesus say? “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious and troubled [with cares] about your life.” (Luke 12:22a Amp)
With all the to-do lists, obligations, duties, and circumstances going on in a mother’s life these days, frustration, worry, and fretting visit on a regular basis. If we focus on the negatives, our lives get out of kilter.
When that happens, worry and fret expose our lack of faith and trust in the Lord and does nothing for us. Well, I take that back. It is stress and it causes all sorts of physical ailments. Margaret Bottome said, “A fretful disposition is not conducive to a healthy body.” Any doctor will agree with that.
Paul gives us a prescription for just this thing (as we read but in another version of Philippians 4:6-7), “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (The Message)
If we are worried or fretful, agitated or irritated, wanting to control the future or if we allow the daily cares to erode and gnaw away at our peace of heart and mind, we are trusting in self, not needing the Lord’s help.
Do we allow frets to take over our lives, or do we exercise self-control? Scripture admonishes us not to cling to troubling thoughts nor let them build up as heated frets. We are to discipline our hearts and minds to “live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7 NIV)
“I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”
(Ps. 16:8 NLT)
Mom, are you fretting or trusting?
Lynn writes devotionals and inspirational stories. She has one book waiting to be published in 2015 and is working on a second one. Her greatest passion is to fulfill God’s call on her life to encourage others and glorify the Lord with her writing. She currently writes for several sites and writes bi-weekly on her site, Heading Home. http://lynnmosher.com
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