Church of God Offerings
Fret Not. Trust. Delight. Commit. Rest. Fret Not. Rob Montgomery is pastor of The Church of God at 1850 Bethesda Rd in Batesville. He and his wife Amy have four daughters, Emma, Madison, Kaylee, and Lydia. After serving over 22 years in the U.S. Air Force, Rob and his family now call Independence County home. After a life of service in the military, Rob is dedicated to a life of service to others in the ministry.
Fret not. Trust. Delight. Commit. Rest. Fret not. Reading this set of words in that order brings a clarity and focus to my mind and to my heart. You will find these words in Psalm 37. This is a rich passage of scripture and I want to encourage you to read over it slowly. Focus on the word choices, the message, the exhortation, and the hope that springs from the page. David begins this chapter by expressing his frustration over the evil that he sees in the world. I would argue that evil is present in every generation. However, Isaiah 40:8 tells us, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” In other words, if I examine David’s words in our generation, in the midst of the evil that is in this world that causes me to worry, I can have strength. David does not spend much time on the wicked before he proclaims that evildoers will not last. In the midst of the evil, he exhorts us to “Trust in the Lord,” “Delight thyself also
in the Lord,” “Commit thy way unto the Lord,” and “Rest in the Lord.” He then takes time to remind us of the judgment that is coming upon the wicked. David says, “his day [the day of the wicked] is coming,” “The arms of the wicked shall be broken,” “the wicked shall perish,” and “the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.” David finishes this psalm by reminding us that the Lord is our “strength in time of trouble,” “the Lord shall help,” the Lord shall deliver, and the Lord shall save. The key to it all is trust. Will times of fretting come in our lives? The answer is a resounding yes! But if we can learn to trust the Lord, our fretting will turn to delight. Trust removes worry. Trust destroys anxiety. Trust eliminates concern. Once we trust in the Lord and we experience delight, we are then well able to commit our ways to him. I can say with confidence, once you commit your ways to the Lord, it is then you will find rest. Rest on this earth is not forever. That’s why, after we experience rest, when something comes our way that causes us concern or worry, we start over and fret not, trust, delight, commit, and rest again. N
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