July 4
  
ONE OF GOD'S GREAT DON'TS 

"Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing." Psalm 37:8 (R.V.)

Fretting means getting out at elbows mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say "Fret not," but a very different thing to have such a disposition that you find yourself able not to fret. It sounds so easy to talk about "resting in the Lord" and "waiting patiently for Him" until the nest is upset - until we live, as so many are doing, in tumult and anguish, is it possible then to rest in the Lord? If this "don't" does not work there, it will work nowhere. This "don't" must work in days of perplexity as well as in days of peace, or it never will work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work in anyone else's case. Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself. 

Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious, because He was not "out" to realize His own ideas; He was "out" to realize God's ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God. 

Have you been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God? Put all "supposing" on one side and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing. All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.

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The message here is pretty clear.  But in order to ever hope to eliminate worry from our lives, we must consider that God is "love."  The definition of love, demands that God will not do anything that is not in our best interest.  God is so absolutely sovereign that nothing can happen without His express directive and divine intention.  So when we accept and believe these facts about God character and nature, without the slightest doubt, then and only then can be rid of worry.  Rest in the loving arms of your Heavenly Father as though you were as helpless as an infant.  He will care for you and nurture you and protect you.  He will seldom interfere with His common grace or the natural consequences of our actions.  He will reveal Himself more fully to you in each such trial.  Faith is putting your trust in God rather than yourself.  Worry is evidence of your lack of faith.  Throw yourself with absolute abandon to the love and ability of God.  And always remember that God's plan for you is far better than any you can muster.