Fretting and Trusting
I have recently found myself fretting more and trusting less. I went back to one of my favorite Psalms (37), and looked up what Spurgeon had to say from his Treasury of David, as well as digging a bit deeper into word meanings. Here's some of what I found.
Trust - to attach oneself, to confide in, feel safe, by confident, secure, rely on. The basic idea is associated with firmness or solidity. This type of hope is a confident expectation, not a constant anxiety. We can truly relax when we know God is in control.
Commit - to whirl, roll, turn, to roll oneself upon. The picture is rolling oneself upon the Lord, trusting (Ps. 22:8), commiting one's life to the Lord (Ps. 37:5; Prov. 16:3).
From Treasury of David:
"To fret is to worry, to have the heartburn, to fume, to become vexed...Faith cures fretting...True faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for fretting. ...Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing of thy spirit...There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours...Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah, should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon, our soul should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a profound relish for his dainties...Roll the whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not thy present fretfulness merely, but all thy cares; in fact, submit the whole tenor of thy way to Him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all...Our destiny shall be joyfully accomplished if we confidently entrust all to our Lord.
"'Rest in the Lord'...To hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of Providence - that is what every gracious heart should aim at...'and wait patiently for Him'. Time is nothing to Him; let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for...we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life, but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis the whole arrives...be not enticed into premature judgments - they dishonor God, they weary yourself."
Prov. 3:5, 6 - "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him (know him), and he shall direct thy paths."
As I spend my time learning to know Him better and meditating on His beauty, there is no way I can fret at the same time! I am reading 2 or 3 pages a day from Stephan Charnock's book The Existence and Attributes of God. I highly recommend this great book to you. Don't be put off by its size or older English. Just read a bit at a time and you will find yourself on your knees in worship of this awesome God Who has loved us with an everlasting love! I can't take it in!!!
Trust - to attach oneself, to confide in, feel safe, by confident, secure, rely on. The basic idea is associated with firmness or solidity. This type of hope is a confident expectation, not a constant anxiety. We can truly relax when we know God is in control.
Commit - to whirl, roll, turn, to roll oneself upon. The picture is rolling oneself upon the Lord, trusting (Ps. 22:8), commiting one's life to the Lord (Ps. 37:5; Prov. 16:3).
From Treasury of David:
"To fret is to worry, to have the heartburn, to fume, to become vexed...Faith cures fretting...True faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for fretting. ...Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing of thy spirit...There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours...Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah, should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon, our soul should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a profound relish for his dainties...Roll the whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not thy present fretfulness merely, but all thy cares; in fact, submit the whole tenor of thy way to Him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all...Our destiny shall be joyfully accomplished if we confidently entrust all to our Lord.
"'Rest in the Lord'...To hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of Providence - that is what every gracious heart should aim at...'and wait patiently for Him'. Time is nothing to Him; let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for...we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life, but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis the whole arrives...be not enticed into premature judgments - they dishonor God, they weary yourself."
Prov. 3:5, 6 - "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him (know him), and he shall direct thy paths."
As I spend my time learning to know Him better and meditating on His beauty, there is no way I can fret at the same time! I am reading 2 or 3 pages a day from Stephan Charnock's book The Existence and Attributes of God. I highly recommend this great book to you. Don't be put off by its size or older English. Just read a bit at a time and you will find yourself on your knees in worship of this awesome God Who has loved us with an everlasting love! I can't take it in!!!
posted by Violet | 9:53 AM
4 Comments:
You are reading Charnock? Hubby had talked about that book and read some of it and tried to get me to do the same, but I am afraid it will be over my head. I am trying to read one called The Gagging of God by D.A. Carson, but I am a bear of very little brain and he is a man of very big words. I will keep plugging away. You have encouraged me.
P.S. I found you from your comment over at Molly's blog.
Hi Leigh Ann,
The size of Charnock's book alone can be quite daunting, but it is sooooo rich! Take it in small doses and you will be duly rewarded. I have not read "The Gagging of God" by D.A. Carson, but am going through his two volume set "For the Love of God" which goes along with the reading schedule developed by Scottish minister Robert Murray M'Cheyne a century and a half ago.
Thanks for checking in here. I have appreciated your comments at CH and on Molly's blog.
I didn't know about "For the Love of God". I have followed the M'Cheyne plan, but it would be nice to go through it again with the books. What you said on AiM about the study of God's Word is so true. To be grounded in it is so helpful when reading other books. I am constantly reminded that I need It more and more, and my roots need to go deeper and deeper into it. It was a blessing to read those thought in your comment.
I am a bookaholic and in the past have needed to go on a fast of extracurricular reading (other than the Bible) for a season just to get my perspective back in line. It is so easy to become confused by listening to so many differing voices out there - all having valid points to make, but many times competing with God's Word being first and the foundation for everything else. There is nothing that compares to the thrill of discovery from the study of His Word. The best part is the Holy Spirit knowing how to apply it specifically to me.
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