1Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;2for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.5Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:6He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.9For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

As I write this, on the morning of 12th September 2025, the last 24 hours have given much cause for fretfulness. We awoke yesterday to the dreadful news of a young husband, and father of two children, being callously cut down in broad daylight on a university campus in Utah. His crime? Speaking his mind. Suddenly the world feels a little more scary.

But if we are honest, we would have to say that we didn’t just start to feel fretful yesterday, although it may have been considerably exacerbated by what we read about, or witnessed. For a number of years now the world has felt increasingly shaky. Tensions abound in many diverse places. The dark clouds of war and violence loom on the horizon.

So how we need the repeated exhortation, ”Do not fret”. The alternative spelled out in this psalm is a trustful life: one of quiet confidence in God, doing good, waiting for Him to act, knowing that in the end ” “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” Julian of Norwich.

”Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Ps.30:5NLT