Devotional - 117 Stop Fretting

"I can't think. I can't think. My problems are so big they take up all the room in my head and I have no space for you."    Anonymous

"Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way when he carries out his schemes. Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil."  Psalm 37: 7, 8   GWT

I read these verses after a distressing phone call from my daughter. I was fretting over and over about her situation. What should I have said or not said? Who is at fault? Is there sin? What verse? What rebuke? How to love like Jesus? My stomach was in knots. I was preoccupied with her, him, me, but not Jesus or others in the body of Christ.

And then Psalm 37 gives me comfort and guidance and a way back to peace and a home that has room for others. Look at the formula.
Vs. 3 "Trust in the Lord..." He is good. He is sovereign. He has a plan. He is love.
          "...and do good things."  Keep praying for others and doing acts of service. Don't hole up in your little dark house of problems, but continue to press outward and upward.
          "Live in the land and feed on His faithfulness."  Remember Christ came so that you might have life and have it abundantly. So stay right where you are. Don't run away. You can count on Christ to take care of things. You do not have to fret.
Vs. 4 "Be happy with the Lord..." GWT  "Delight yourself also in the Lord..." NKJV  Be preoccupied with Christ and His love for you and His all-sufficiency to take care of your problems. He desires your joy to be complete in Him in spite of your circumstances. As you delight in the most important thing the problems fade to their rightful place. Keep the main thing , the main thing.
Vs. 7, 8 "Surrender" and "wait". Let it go! Give it to God! Every time your mind starts to fill up with worry, say out loud, "God, this is Yours." Surrender it and wait for God to work.

So before our week is over I have a hunch each of us will have an attack in some way. We will feel like we have no energy for anything or anyone else but our own problems, but there is always a way out. Turn your eyes upward, our hope is in Him.

I am praying for my children and their spouses but I am not preoccupied or consumed with them only. The Lord keeps reminding me where my focus should be. Be encouraged, delight in Him!!!