Darlene Rose

Psalm 37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
vs 2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.

I opened the scriptures to my morning reading and the word “fret” gave me pause.   “Fret” is written 3x in Psalm 37, and the meaning of it is the same as what is written in Proverbs 24:19, as per Strong’s Concordance.

But, the word actually appears in the King James Version three more times, yet has different meanings.   It does not mean, to worry, as it means in the Psalms and Proverbs.   In fact, in Leviticus 13:55, the word “pechetheth” means “a hole made by decay”.   In Isaiah 8:21, the word “qatsaph” means “to break forth in anger” and in 1 Samuel 1:6, the word “raam” translates into “making the sound of thunder” or “to rage”.

At no point, does the word “fret” mean “to worry or fear”.    In all three Hebrew words, it means, don’t be angry with rage, whether towards others or yourself.

Since I was reading the psalms, I thought I would look at the meaning of “charah” – “To burn with anger, to glow or grow warm; figuratively (usually) to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy:—be angry, burn, be displeased, × earnestly, fret self, grieve, be (wax) hot, be incensed”  It has the feel of jealousy with revenge.

The word “fret” may be used only 8 times, but its Hebrew word appears over 90 times.  It is used when someone is burning hot with anger.

That’s quite a bit different from our common, current use of the word, which sounds more like “Now don’t you fret your pretty little self.”

The act of fretting is beyond worrying.  Worrying seems to be concerned more about being cared for, whether worrying about someone else or about oneself, but worry also bares holes.

Worrying is the fear of not being cared for, while fretting is anger kindled against someone else is being cared for rather than ourselves.  At least in the Psalms and other places, such as when Cain’s anger was kindled against Abel after God accepted Abel’s offering but not his.

But let’s call it all what it really is – in current plain English – it is anger towards God that we aren’t getting what we think we should get.   Whether we don’t see the plan of God for our lives, whether we see the plan of God in other’s lives but not ours, or whether we don’t even consider it the plan of God, we just don’t believe we are getting our needs met.   This burns a hole within us and can destroy us.

As a Natural Health Practitioner, I perk up when I see what unresolved anger and jealousy and stress can take on the body.  It burns holes.  (Leaky gut is literally the gut like cheesecloth, rather than a coffee filter).

But wait!  If we even know what Leaky gut is at all, we read it comes from eating processed foods, sugars, and comfort eating – but I will tell you that something takes place before that.

Acidity.   Yes, certain foods cause acidity.  But, anger directly affects the liver.  According to Livestrong, anger is an emotion that is associated with resentment, frustration, irritability and rage. …..This anger can affect many biological processes that sap energy and cause headaches, dizziness and high blood pressure.

to be continued……