Fret Not

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!

Psalm 37:7 (ESV)

“Why does someone so good and nice suffer a painful death and die young, when others do bad things and live long?”  

This was the question my cousin asked from the back seat of our rental car as we left my mother’s memorial service. He was reminiscing about the recent loss of his mother-in-law. She was a good person, stricken months earlier with pancreatic cancer. He was angry. It wasn’t fair.

I nodded in agreement, but his question caught me off-guard.

Maybe that encounter was meant for me to care and sympathize with his confusion. I pray we will have future opportunities to re-engage in tough conversations. I’m thankful my cousin has questions and concerns on life and death.

It’s understandable to become agitated by the seemingly charmed lives of evil doers. Those of us in Christ fret over the ways of the wicked and how they appear to prosper, but we are told three times in this Psalm to “fret not.” 

Fret not. We tend to think of fretting as worrying or being anxious. 

But the word fret, in the Hebrew language, suggests more. 

The word means: “to burn; to be kindled; to glow with anger; to be hot or furious.” In other words, don’t get angry over the wrongdoing of others.

The following verse makes this connection between fretting and anger. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil (Psalm 37:8 ESV).

So, what are we to do instead? Look at a few other verses: Trust in the Lord and do good (v. 3); Delight yourself in the Lord (v. 4); Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5); and wait for the LORD and keep his way (v. 34). I want to share these truths with my cousin one day.

Heavenly Father, may we not burn with anger when the wicked prosper. May we trust you always.

Karen Sims