Psalm 37:1-22 (KJV): fret not thyself with...those who prosper in their own way

From Psalms

Psalm 37
(Of David.)

¹Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
      neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
      and wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land,
      and verily thou shalt be fed.
⁴Delight thyself also in the LORD:
      and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

⁵Commit thy way unto the LORD;
      trust also in him;
      and he shall bring it to pass.
⁶And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
      and thy judgment as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:
      fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,
because of the man who bringeth wicked
      devices to pass.
⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
      fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
⁹For evildoers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the LORD,
      they shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
      yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth;
      and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plotteth against the just,
      and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
¹³The LORD shall laugh at him:
      for he seeth that his day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked have drawn out the sword,
      and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
      and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
¹⁵Their sword shall enter into their own heart,
      and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶A little that a righteous man hath is better
      than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:
      but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knoweth
      the days of the upright:
and their inheritance
      shall be for ever.
¹⁹They shall not be ashamed
      in the evil time:
and in the days of famine
      they shall be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish,
      and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs:
they shall consume;
      into smoke shall they consume away.

²¹The wicked borroweth,
      and payeth not again:
but the righteous sheweth mercy,
      and giveth.
²²For such as be blessed of him
      shall inherit the earth;
and they that be cursed of him
      shall be cut off.

I love the lines, "fret not" for many reasons.  It kind of reminds me that one of the biggest things addicts tend to do is worry.  When we worry we make things bigger than they really are.  We make their consequences more dire.  The effort more significant.  And our situation much worse than it needs to be.  One of the best pieces of advice I've received, and I believe it comes from Dale Carnegie, is that worry uses a lot of energy and produces nothing, when you're worried about something the most effective thing you can do is pray.

When we pray we show our trust in the Lord.  Many times in Psalm 37 we see this recurring theme.  Fret not...trust in the Lord.  Verses 1, Fret not thyself because of evildoers. Verse 7, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way.  Verse 8, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Fret not,  and wait on the Lord, because the promises and the rewards of the righteous is much greater than the prosperity of the wicked.  The righteous has the fruit of the holy spirit - this is much better than the prosperity of the wicked.  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.  I know this because my life is largely greater in the way of the Lord than the days when I was following the wicked and struggling with my addiction.  Call it karma, call it fate, in due time God will always make sure good will come to the people who commit their way to the Lord.

Thanks for letting me share.