I woke up early, aware of chaos out there. The psalmist said “Don’t fret.”

I woke up tired from two long days, aware of the chaos out there. The psalmist said, “Don’t fret.”

I woke up early, anticipating a very long day of scheduled activities, aware of the chaos out there. The psalmist said, “Don’t fret.”

I read people like me, people like you, getting upset and angry at the words and actions of others and each other. The psalmist says, “Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”

People like me, people like you, write about other people changing, other people stopping, other people repenting. The psalmist says, “Delight yourself in the Lord . . .Commit your way to the Lord . . .Trust also in Him.”

The psalmist is not naive. There is evil. But the psalmist doesn’t let us off the hook if we spend all our energy talking about how crazy they are: “Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”

People like me, people like you, as we stare at our screens getting upset, what can we do? The psalmist turns our attention from them to us. “Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”

Be present with God so you can carry God’s presence with you.

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Read Psalm 37. And read it again. And again.