ORLANDO CHINESE CHURCH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
JANUARY, 2001

Do Not Fret

Psalm 37

It is not uncommon to fret: when you are cheated, taken advantage of; when others seem more successful than you, enjoying a higher stature, when you feel hurt and jealous, "I should be the one standing on the podium"… etc. Fretting is like a horse gnawing the bit, keeping on gnawing, and in the end hurting itself. If we allow it to continue gnawing in our hearts, in the end it is we ourselves that would get eaten away, leading to evil and wicked deeds. Therefore you should be careful about the followings:

  1. Unfairness: Life is full of unfairness. For example, you have a very rich aunt. You expect that your name is on her will. Then, you find out that you are not and she leaves you with nothing. You are hurt, so you are gnawing in your heart.
  2. Jealousy: People like to compare themselves with others. "Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." (verse 7) When we see others become successful and popular, jealousy creeps in at no time. Whenever we think about it, especially before bedtime or waking up in the middle of the night, the bitterness keeps gnawing our hearts away.
  3. Anger and Rage: As bitterness persists, it develops into anger, which then turns into rage, leading to evil (verse 8). This is a very complicated reaction and will cause us a great deal of harm and damage.
    • If there is no peace in our hearts, we cannot concentrate on the good deeds that we should do. Whatever we do, wherever we are, working, sharing with brothers, or even worshipping our Lord, the anger and rage will surface and destroy our peace.
    • Because of jealousy, our blind conceit twists our thoughts and makes us lose the perspective of our lives. We do not give thanks to what we already have. We do not remember all the blessings bestowed by our Lord. We forget that the Lord knows our difficulties and is more than willing to help us out. We do not remember His promise that He would be with us always. As we continue to forget the great promises of our Lord, we no longer have a thankful heart to Him.
  4. Affected our Temperament: When we are cheated and lose money, we stop caring and giving to others. Verse 26 says "They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed." We lose trust in others after we are swindled. We avoid others after we are hurt. We lose the gentleness of our hearts. Instead, our temperament is enveloped by anger and rage. "What is so good about him, I can do better!" Pride manifests its ugly face quietly and secretly in us. I am going to tell you a story about a sister in our Lord. She lived in north Scotland. One day, after a Christian conference in London, she was waiting for her train at the station. She decided to stop by a coffee shop for a cup of tea, which came with a bag of five biscuits. A young black man came over and sat down before her. And they started chatting. The sister opened up the bag of biscuits and took one, the young man reached in and also took one. She was not happy, thinking that the young man had no manner: "at least he could ask first." After a while, our sister took another biscuit and the young man again took one. Out of politeness, she did not say anything. Then the young man smiled and pushed the last biscuit to our sister, who was extremely annoyed by this time with the his manner, and therefore refused. The young man ate the last piece and walked away. Our sister was grumbling about how rude the young man was to the waitress and went to her train. When she reached for her ticket in the bag, she then discovered that her own bag of biscuits was still in her packet! Many times we think that we are being mistreated but actually it is we who mistreat others. Fretting not only affects our behaviors but also our temperament.
  5. Deteriorated Health: As a doctor, I know by experience that a lot of patients came and said that they did not have appetite, losing weight… Most of the time it was the bitterness in their hearts causing all these symptoms. It has already become quite serious when they come for treatment.
What should we do when we fret?

  1. Divert our attention from our problems to the Lord. Verse 3 says "Trust in the Lord and do good." Divert our attention to our Lord. "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil." (verse 8) In Genesis 31 12-13, God pointed out that He knew all the trickery Laban had done to Jacob. Since Jacob had made a vow to God, His faithfulness had given Jacob every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat from Laban's flocks.
  2. Rejoice in the Lord: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (verse 4) Philippians 4:4 also says "Rejoice in the Lord always." Whatever we lose, our Lord will give them back to us. If we have everything in the world except the Lord Himself, we have nothing.
  3. Trusts our Lord: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him…" (verse 5) Tell the Lord everything and all your feelings, and then commit your way to and trust in Him. "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
  4. Be still and quiet before our Lord: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him, do not fret…", because it causes us great harm. Let the peace of Christ make us to be still and quiet before our Lord, guide and guard us. Even we may have to wait for a period but as long as we do not hold any grudges and it will be fine. Waiting gives us some space to learn how to be patient for long and, to develop perseverance. The process of waiting, in which we learn how to listen to what God has to say to us, is an integral and significant part of our Christian life. In Psalm 73: 21-26, the poet "saw the prosperity of the wicked" and he fretted, until he "entered sanctuary of God;" and understood their destiny in God's plan. Then the poet realized that he "was a brute beast before" God, having forgotten how precious God was. "Whom have I in heaven but you and earth has nothing I desire besides you… but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Therefore fretting is not a minor thing. It does great damage to the children of God. It even affects the whole church. We need to avoid fretting, put our attention to God and make God our joy. Praise Him and give thanks to Him. Put everything in His hands. Wait patiently and quietly before our Lord. He will take over all our problems and anxieties.

May you have complete peace in our Lord.


Vessel and Lesson


It was near the end of 1989. My wife and I were still living in Hong Kong and had not accepted Christ as our personal savior. One night my parents called me from Orlando. They told me that they had used all their savings to purchase a small motel. When I heard the news, I was kind of worry. So my wife and I decided to come to visit them in Orlando early in 1990.

I found out that my sister and my mother slept in a small room behind the motel office. My father slept on a wooden board that he had to take down and put up every day. Outside the small room was the US 17-92 highway. Sleeping in the small room behind the office was like sleeping in the middle of the highway. I felt so sorry for them that I could not hold back my tears. Why? Why did God make my parents to suffer like this, though my mother was such a devoted Christian?

My wife and I moved to the States in 1997 and 1998 respectively, and settled down in Orlando. One after the other, we accepted Christ as our Lord and personal savior. We started participating in different church activities such as Bible study and Sunday worship. Now when I looked back, I have a completely different perspective from when I asked the first why.

Thank God there are roses at the roadside. Thank God that roses have thorns. Thank God the spring is warm and sunny. Thank God the fall is chilly and gloomy. Thank God for this motel which was recommended by a brother. Thank God that He used this motel to teach us a lesson.

If not for this motel, my wife and I definitely would not have come to the States. At that time our lives in Hong Kong were very good. We would not have accepted this gift from God and our lives would still be in darkness, sin and transgression.

Because of this motel, our family is unified and more caring.

Because of this motel, my sister had changed her career to become a realtor. Thank God that He uses my sister as a vessel to help others and prepare our move to Orlando.

Because of this motel, God brought my wife here from thousand miles away and used her as His vessel to become the Sunday school teacher for the kids.

Because of this motel, my parents were severely injured during a robbery on Christmas Day last year. Thank God that He used my parents as His vessel to manifest the faith of a Christian. Thank God for the love and caring among brothers and sisters. From the very beginning to the end, my mom did not lose her faith but was even stronger than ever before, knowing that our Lord would relief them from the motel business.

Thank you God, according to your own time, in July this year, you sent a buyer and the motel was sold at our parents' asking price. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Roman 8:28).

Thank you Lord that you have blessed us dearly. Not only my parents were relieved from the motel business, so was I. I no longer need to rush to the motel to help out after work. I strongly believe that God will use me as His vessel. If He calls me, I would surely answer, "Lord, my God, your servant is right here."

Then, at the fall retreat this year, I was asked if I could serve as the maintenance person for the Bumby church. I knew this is God's time and I replied "yes" quickly. Thank you Lord! (H. Sun)