Friday, December 2, 2011

Give God Control and Stop Worrying

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret -- it leads only to evil.

-- Psalm 37:7-8

How often do you worry about something? Anything? Do you worry about money? Do you worry about the safety of your children? Do you worry about what to take to the church potluck dinner?

You don’t really trust God, do you? You don’t trust him to provide for you If you did, you wouldn’t worry.

I’ve always been a worrier. I’ve joked that I should start a business offering to pay people to worry for them. I try not to worry. I know I’m not supposed to but I can’t seem to help myself.

Then God told me why I’m such a worrier: control. Excuse me? I never would have paired worry with control until God told me I was focusing on the wrong issue. No wonder I can’t seem to stop worrying.

I don’t see myself as a person who needs to be in control. In fact, that’s laughable in many ways. I don’t control much of anything in my life right now -- whether it’s when I wake up or how I spend my day. All my time seems to be spent on doing for others. I am most definitely not in control of my life.

But neither is God. Maybe I should put that another way. God is in control but most of the time I live my life as though He isn’t. Why worry about others, about needs and desires, about things I can’t control? And why worry about the impact of others on my days? Certainly I can’t control them and worrying means I’m not trusting God to take care of it all.

I don’t know if it’s possible to live life without worrying about anything. I don’t know if I can give everything over to God’s control and trust Him to handle not just the big issues of my life but the smaller ones as well. I want to. And mostly I think I do. But then I worry, I show that I don’t trust God at all.

So I’m making a promise to God and myself to turn it all over to Him -- everything. I’m sure I’ll slip up. I know I’ll still worry sometimes. I’ve spent a lifetime doing it and I’m not so naïve as to think I can just stop without any slipups. I have to chuckle even as I write that. God can do anything and I can do anything with Christ, who strengthens me.