Forget Fretting

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear in any form. Fear is seen as a spiritual force used by Satan to keep people down. Instead, faith in God is championed as an allegiance, belief, trust, and loyalty to Him. The focus is on accepting the truth of God's word and experiencing His perfect love, which casts out fear. The issue of fretting about evildoers and worrying about the other guy is addressed. The belief that the wicked prosper is questioned, and it is emphasized that God treats the righteous and unrighteous alike. The importance of following God's morality and not being envious of evildoers is emphasized. Envy is seen as fear-based and not rooted in faith. The end result and judgment are seen as more important than temporary worldly gains. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Psalm 37.1 Don't fret because of people-doers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. Why is it we're always worried about the other guy? We're worried about who doesn't like us. We're worried about who's out to get us. We're worried if we don't hurry up, the other guy's going to get there first. We're worried and we're worried and we're worried. Why? It's funny that even though we can call ahead and make reservations for things, we still get worried. We just shift the worry. Instead of worrying about the other guy getting there first, we're worried about the other guy calling in first. We're so worried about the other guy. And you know, it's worse when you start looking at the unrighteous. That seems to be one of the big questions Christians have. Why did the wicked prosper? Oh, that guy's being so unrighteous. Oh, he's such a bad guy. Why does he do so well? Why does he do so well? You know, chronologically speaking, well, sorry, age of book-wise, Job is thought to be one of the oldest books in the Old Testament, written before the first five books of the Bible. Time-wise, it takes place right within the first few books of the Bible. In Job 21, 7-17, there's a long section where basically they're saying, why did the wicked prosper? They lived to see their children grow up and settle down and make grandchildren, and then they enjoy the grandchildren. So even from way back then, the question is, why did the wicked prosper? We're so focused on the other guy. I mean, Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, basically just put the whole argument to rest. He said, you've heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his Son to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. That's Matthew 5, 43-48. So God makes the sun rise, and the rain fall, and all the weather the same, on the righteous and the unrighteous. Are we saying that in some ways God sees us as the same? Absolutely! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-born Son, that whomever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. That's John 3, 16 and 17. So God's not showing favorites. God's concerned about everyone. He wants to save everyone. See, he knows the ultimate timelines here. We have a certain period of time, and then the judgment. Then that's done. It's set in the Father's mind. He knows what is going to happen. So, right up until that point, there's a chance for everyone. Every single one of us. So he's here for the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous. He loved everyone, and he's not looking to judge us. He's looking to save us. He's looking to give us the chance to get out of this boat before it heads over the waterfall. He's trying to save us. Now, if that's the case, why do we get so worked up about the other guy? So, either we're fretting because of evildoers, either because of what they're going to do, or what we're worried they're going to do to us. Like, oh, if they pass this law, we're going to be persecuted. Oh, I don't know how I'd handle that. Or you're being a Christian, you're acting like a Christian, you're living like a Christian, you're very concerned about that, and then people don't react well to you. So they're attacking you, and they're trying to get you in trouble at work, and they're being mean to you, and there's all these things happening to you, and we get so worked up worrying about that. Or we see stuff happening in the news. So an issue that's really big in the world right now is gender identity. That's been building for a few years now. What about the issue of homosexuality? Should they get married? Should they have the same rights as everyone else? How should we treat them? This has been going on for 20, 30, 40 years. What about abortion? Is it wrong? Is it right? So all these issues will come up, and we'll hear teaching in the church about them, and then we start to fret. Oh, what are we going to say? Oh, what can we do? Oh, that guy got in trouble because of it. Oh, that guy got in trouble because of it. Oh, I better not say anything. Oh, maybe I should say something. We get so caught up in the fretting about it because of their lifestyle, their choices. I mean, realistically, I don't have to take a stand. All I have to do is stand on God's stance. Whatever He says goes. And, you know, I will be perfectly honest with you. There are things in my life I would prefer to deal with. I would prefer to do those things or choose to not do them as I want. We're all in the same boat, aren't we? We see things that we like, and yet the Word will say, do this, or the Word will say, do that. You know what? I'm going to go with the Word. I'm going to actively try to go with the Word, and I'm going to ignore what I'm being told because, you know what? God is not out to keep anything good from me. You know how I know this? All good things come from the Lord. That's James 1.17. I know that the Word is true. So I know that that verse is true. So if it's good for me, if it's a good thing, if it's a perfect thing, it's from God. It's good, and He won't withhold that. But just because I think it's good, or I see it, and that's attractive to me, or I'm aware that that thing will feel good, that is not enough for me. So if we go all the way back to Genesis, Genesis 3, Satan has convinced the serpent to let him use the serpent's gift of cunning. Because remember, the serpent was made by God and was declared to be good. And he was the most cunning of all animals. So Satan decides to hijack his gift. Who knows what he promised there. And Satan strolls into the garden in the guise of the serpent and tells Eve about this fruit and lies to her and twists the truth. And what does it say in Genesis 3, verse 6? When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, then she did the thing. And Adam, who was with her, ate it too. So God had said, do not eat of this tree. That's what God had said. But the tree was good for food. And it was a delight to the eyes. It was good looking. It looked good and it was good for food. It was good for food. And it was going to make them wise. So it was a desirable thing. It looked good and it was good for their bodies. It would have felt great to eat it. You know when you have a great meal and you're just like, wow, that was a good meal. This is what that fruit was. God didn't say any of that was not true. But God said, don't do it. God had a morality in mind. He had really good reasons for what He said. And the funny thing is, they're so desperate for this extra knowledge, at no point did God say He wouldn't have taught them those things. It was just this wasn't the way to get it. Because He said no. But they gave in to what they thought and what they felt and they didn't follow His morality. So when you hear about things, lifestyle choices, morality choices, if it conflicts with the Bible, go with the Bible. Go with the Word. It doesn't matter if it's something that feels good. It doesn't matter if it's something that's good for food. It doesn't matter if it looks good, if it's desirable. Say no. Because it won't be good for you. In the long run, it won't be good for you. Well, why is the long run important? Because of that judgment that we know is coming. Because God said it was. So why should we be envious of those who work on righteousness? So we shouldn't fret. We shouldn't be picking up fear because of evildoers. But in the same way, we shouldn't be envious of them. Because envy is based in fear. Why? Because it's not based in faith. And anything that is in faith is fear. Because fear is sin. It comes down to being worried that you don't have it. Worried that it's not enough. Worried that they have it and you don't. Oh, they have it and I don't have it. I'm missing out and they want it. It's a fear baby. And it says, don't be envious of those who work on righteousness. So why should we not be envious of them? Not because of what they're doing now. Not because of whatever riches they have now. It's about the end result. In Isaiah 5, 8 and 9, and then 11 to 12, it says, Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land. In my ears, Yahweh of armies says, surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied. Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night until wine inflames them. The harp, lyre, tambourine and flute with wine are at their feasts. But they don't respect the work of Yahweh. Neither have they considered the operation of His hands. And here we have classic unrighteous people. First group are hoarding, they're expanding, they're pushing out the poor, they're pushing out the less successful, they're storing up for themselves these giant mansions, these huge fields, these giant estates. Or they're out partying, having a good time, enjoying themselves. And neither one of them give two hoots about what the Lord says. And they seem to be doing great. But what does the Lord say? End of the line, they're going to have empty houses. End of the line, they're going to have nothing. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land. Yet for a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for His place, He isn't there. But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Psalm 37, 9-11. This is a theme. Jesus talked about it in Matthew 5, 5. The meek will inherit the earth. Those who wait on the Lord will inherit the earth. Now these aren't meek in the sense of, oh, they don't do anything, they're weak, they're mouse versus the lion kind of thing. No. These are people who wait on the Lord. These are the people that are not willing to push their interests forward. They're interested in pushing the Lord's kingdom forward. And these are the ones who He's going to give the earth to. These are the ones that are going to get the rewards that have been built up. You know, the world, under the instruction of the enemy, they have been amassing resources for decades upon decades. They're not going to get to keep it. It's going to be redistributed to where the Lord wants it. To either unconscious believers who are going to do the works of the Lord, not even realizing they're doing it, or the conscious believers who will use that money and those resources to do what the Lord's want. Do you know what prosperity is? It's the ability to give it away faster than you receive it. To bless others faster than you're being blessed. You know what's great about that kind of word-based prosperity? No one can out-bless the Lord. I mean, that's the best kind of competition to be in. Can you imagine being so unattached to things and possessions and the rat race and the wealth? And so unconcerned about what other people are doing. So unfretful that you don't care about what other people are doing. That you can say to the Lord honestly from your inner hearts, Hey, I bet you I can bless other people faster than you can bless me. Now that's the kind of thing if you're blessing where the Lord tells you to bless that is the most fun contest you can have. You'll lose because the Lord wins. But boy, wouldn't it be fun to bless other people? Wouldn't it be fun to live in faith and not in fear? To not fret about those guys? To not worry about what they're doing? To not be caught up in envy about things they have and what they're willing to do? I mean, I have to tell you there is nothing wrong with wanting to jet set around the world and go to beautiful places and beautiful beaches with beautiful clothes and have beautiful food. There's nothing wrong with that. But you know, I would rather be dressed in old clothes in a dirty house with a broken down car but doing what the Lord wants than jet setting around the world with the finest things. Because I'd rather put Him before stuff. And the only way you can do that is by abiding in Jesus. Because if we're not focused on the Word we're going to get our eyes off of that. We're going to take our eyes off the prize and go on to other things. Now if we keep our eyes on the Word if we keep our eyes on Jesus if we keep that our focus He won't let us have rags. He won't let us have broken down cars. He won't let us have a dirty house. We'll have fine things. They don't have to be the best of the best. But you know what? If you're not going to put things first in your heart maybe they will be the best of the best. As long as you won't take the Lord out of the number one slot there is no reason you can't have it. But if in any way a thing or a finance will get in the way of your walk with the Lord that will make it not good and you will not get it from the Lord. But if you're willing to put the Lord first then the gates of heaven are open to you. The floodgates of blessing are open to you. Because of wanting to fear with your walk. You have to stay focused on the Lord. In perfect peace. Not fretting. Not envious. Not looking at them as the standard of things. You should look at them and feel sorry for them. Because they don't know they're lost. They don't know they're going to go over the waterfall. They don't realize the danger they're in. But if you're not in perfect peace you're going to get caught up with all that mess and you won't be seeing clearly and you won't be hearing clearly and you're going to miss it and maybe you're going to miss the opportunity to witness those people and help save them. We have a promise in Isaiah 26 3-4 You, meaning the Lord will keep whoever's mind is steadfast in perfect peace because He trusts in you. Trust in Yahweh forever. For in Yah, Yahweh is an everlasting rock. That's something you can trust. That's something you can stand on. That is firm footing. You can trust in the Lord. If you're trusting in the Lord, you're not fretting about the unrighteous. If you're trusting in the Lord you're not envious of the unrighteous. You're not pointing to that kingdom and saying, look at that I want that, I want that. You're not pointing to those people that are down there yelling, saying that they want to kill you or knock you off your rock. You're going to be standing on that rock going, this rock cannot be shaken. This rock cannot be climbed. This rock cannot be broken. I am secure in the Lord. And then you know that wherever that rock goes, you will be safe. Safe in a spiritual, eternal way, not in a worldly, temporal way. Because Jesus told us there's going to be persecutions. The Lord promises that there will be martyrs. Doesn't mean it has to be you. But if it is, it's not going to bother you if you're standing on that rock. Because our sufferings are but for a moment. 2 Corinthians 4 17 We need to keep the word of the Lord first and foremost. If we're looking at that, we're going to have the tools we need to knock the enemy down. In Ephesians chapter 6, it goes into the armor of God. And that armor of God protects us, because it's what the Lord gives us. It's the tools that the Lord gives us. So Ephesians 6, 10-18 are verses that you should look at every single day. And put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit, the feet fitted with the preparation of spreading the good news. These are the tools we need to block every attack of the enemy. These are the things we need to stand. And we do that by abiding in Jesus. We do that by keeping the word first and foremost, because Jesus is the word. The Holy Spirit is there to remind us of things in the word, to correct our behavior, and basically shine the light on the path that Jesus has laid down. If we walk that path that Jesus has laid down, we're going to end up with the throne. Because the Holy Spirit is Jesus' righteous spirit. And Jesus is all about the Father. He points to the Father. He did that when He was on earth. Don't look at me, look at the Father. If you see me, you see the Father. If you know me, you know the Father. He is our path to the Father. Through His body, through the blood, we get to the Father. Because we need His righteousness to stand before the Father. So we need to focus on the word so we can focus on Jesus. So we can hear the Spirit clearly, and we can get to the throne so we can worship the Father. With my soul, I have desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me, I will seek you earnestly. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26, 9. That means the judgments of the Lord are not always a bad thing for the world. Sometimes the world goes wrong, and the Lord judges them. And when He does, it's a good thing for everyone else. Because they see it, and they can see that He's real, they can see that He means business, and it opens their eyes to the possibility that perhaps what they think and what they want is not the most important thing. We live in a culture where we're turning to feeling and calling of fact. They're saying that your feelings can determine reality. That any given feeling, whether it's a feeling about your gender, a feeling about your sexuality, a feeling about your job, a feeling about the words you use to describe yourself, a feeling about your nationality, a feeling about your political affiliation, that these feelings are so important that they define your entire identity, and that they should control how the world around you works, and how everyone else should interact with you. Now that is absolutely ridiculous if you think about it, because feelings are subject to change. A lot of change. Frequent change. How can we build stable identities based on feeling? Well, the thing is that we can't. It is, in fact, impossible. But as believers, we can focus on Christ. If we focus on Christ, we do not have to worry about that. Why? Because we are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were treating by us. So we beg you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For Him who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5, 20-21. So we don't need to base our identity on a feeling. We can base our identity on Jesus. On being the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Without Him we are nothing. In Him we are the righteousness of God. And let's face it. If you're the righteousness of God, what reason do you have to envy? What reason do you have to fret? What reason do you have to have fear? You can live, breathe, think, walk, talk, and speak faith. Because you, in Jesus, are the righteousness of God. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Exodus 14, 15. Lord, I don't want to do that. Lord, that's hard. Lord, I have a problem. Lord, do you see those guys coming at me? Sound familiar? If you're choosing to walk by faith, sooner or later there is going to be a roadblock. Why? Because the enemy wants to stop you from walking in faith. He doesn't care if you paddle in the kiddie pool. There's nothing there that can derail him. No one listens to the babble of little kids. Go swim laps? Get competitive? Do the deep end plunge? That could get people's attention. That could cause some real waves. He doesn't want that. He will block you. Stupid things to get you to pick up irritation. You don't have that as a natural thing in your spirit. Bigger things to get you to choose anger. You don't have that either. Threatening things to get you to turn off in fear, or at least stand still. You haven't been given a spirit of fear, either. We stand and we cry out to God saying, Help! Why me? Oh, forget it! And any number of other things. But God is a God of motion. Of go-forwardness. Don't let the enemy stall you. Sure, if you get past this one, he'll have another test for you. The enemy has many years of experience that tells him we will stop, and we will back up. Because in the natural, you do that. In the natural, sometimes you need to go back to get ahead. But in Christ Jesus, forward is the way to go. If you're doing what he told you to do, you cannot go wrong. Push on. Go forward. Do what he has called you to do, and rely on the tools he's gifted you, which enable you to do what he's empowered you to do. When you were obedient, when you were humble enough to know you need him to do it, then there's nothing you cannot do with him. In him, by him, through him, Jesus does it all. So don't cry out. Cry victory, and go forward in Jesus. As we close, remember that you have worth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the black. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that he loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you, just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, by this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only-born Son into the world, that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin, and it casts out our fear, too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because he first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.