One of God's Great Don'ts

Here is the devotional reading for July 4 from My Utmost for His Highest. It is entitled, One of God's Great Don'ts. The key verse is "Do not fret--it only causes harm." (Psalm 37:8)

Fretting means getting ourselves "out of joint" mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, "Do not fret," but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It's easy to say, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to "rest in the Lord" then? If this "Do not" doesn't work there, then it will not work anywhere. This "Do not" must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.

Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God's plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.

Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.

Oh dear ones, how true this devotional is and I know firsthand about fretting. We do become overwhelmed and just at times spiritually forget Whose we are . . . a spiritual amnesia; (2 Peter 1:2-15). No doubt each of us have had those moments or perhaps we're right in the midst of a moment. In the Amplified, Psalm 91:1 reads this way, "He WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. Isn't that powerful? Wow!!!

On the other hand, there are times when we as believers are doing exactly what God has called us to do. It may not make any sense to us or those around us. However, because of our sinful nature to want to be "in control," we either interfere or unintentionally discourage other believers in Christ because we assume God works this way in our own lives, thus He must work the same way in others; we kind of put the "Lord in a box." It's so easy to jump to conclusions, isn't it? Then misunderstandings occur and perhaps friendships strained and so forth.

Nehemiah was called by the Lord to rebuild and repair the wall. We're all familiar with the story in that he did encounter opposition from many fronts. Let's not be tempted to be "Sanballats and Tobiahs" with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We're to build each other up and to encourage one another. Perhaps it would be helpful to take TIME and to LISTEN; 2 precious gifts and commodities we have to offer. We may see how the Lord is working in other believer's lives and even appreciate one another's role within the body of Christ even more. Otherwise, the enemy gets the victory and joy is robbed all the way around.

During VBS, I had signed up to do Registration which I helped out to some degree. However, the Lord redirected my path day 2 of VBS and had me in the Preschool Resource Room. It wasn't something that I had planned. The Lord had need of me in a room filled with paints, teaching supplies, books, puzzles, glue and so forth. Not a glamorous job but one uniquely suited for me and allowed some wonderful and unique ministry opportunities to encourage Preschool teachers all week during VBS. My late Dad hammered this verse into the fabric of my life. We read in 2 Corinthians 3:17 (Amp), "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). What becomes the problem when we quench the Holy Spirit's workings and tell Him what to do or what we will do. Or what we think others should be doing this or not doing this.

There will be times in each of our lives where the Lord calls us away from the distractions for a season. Do not be afraid of that reality. It's during those sweet times of fellowship, the Holy Spirit draws us closer to the Father. Rest in the Lord dear ones, He knows what is best for each of us. That I'm totally certain of.

My heart's desire and heart beat is to love the Lord will all my being and to be about encouraging and strengthening the body of Christ. When our eyes are on Christ . . . we see Him!