Fretting Is A Waste

By Our Daily Bread

Read: Psalm 90:10-17

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. —Psalm 90:12

The older we get, the shorter life seems. Author Victor Hugo said, “Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time.”

There’s no sadder example of wasted time than a life dominated by fretting. Take, for example, an American woman whose dream of riding a train through the English countryside came true. After boarding the train she kept fretting about the windows and the temperature, complaining about her seat assignment, rearranging her luggage, and so on. To her shock, she suddenly reached her journey’s end. With deep regret she said to the person meeting her, “If I’d known I was going to arrive so soon, I wouldn’t have wasted my time fretting so much.”

It’s easy to get sidetracked by problems that won’t matter at life’s end—difficult neighbors, a tight budget, signs of aging, people who are wealthier than you. Moses acknowledged the brevity of life and prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

Instead of fretting, feed on God’s Word and apply it to yourself. Strive to grow in God’s wisdom every day. Stay focused on eternal values. Make it your goal to greet your waiting Savior one day with a heart of wisdom, rather than a heart of care.

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear. —Berg

Worry casts a big shadow behind a small thing.