Friday, March 16, 2012

Trust God With The Details

“Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who put the stars in the sky and established the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppression? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies from morning till night?” -- Isaiah 51:13

What did you worry about today? Oh, come on! I know you worried about something. Almost everyone does. It doesn’t change anything. Worry doesn’t solve problems. But we do it anyway.

I worry about the future. I’m not alone in that. Some people worry about affording retirement. Others worry about paying the rent or mortgage. Still others are concerned about providing for their children.

Sometimes worry can motivate us. In that way, it’s not always bad. Worry can motivate someone to get a better job or save more money. But worry can also destroy our health and our relationships. Worry becomes the focus rather than people.

I’ve come to realize that worry doesn’t change anything because I can’t change those around me. I can only work on me. And what I want most of all is to follow God and do His will. So why do I worry so much about what other people think or what other people want from me?

But I do. Don’t you? We want people to like us. We want to have friends. We want our families to love us. We want to be smart and successful and valued by others. And it doesn’t happen, well, it hurts.

People can just be so unpredictable. Just when you think things are going well, something else pops up. Most of us have had someone like that in our lives at one time or another. I once had a boss who said one thing when she meant another. And not just to me. Another person asked her about it. She just chuckled but didn’t offer an explanation. I’ve always believed it was a power thing fueled by insecurity.

It doesn’t really matter. I tried to please her. Others tried to please her. No one could. She wasn’t an awful person. She just didn’t have a clue. I learned a valuable lesson about trying to please impossible people. Don’t even try.

When it comes down to it, we need only please God. If we do His will, everything will be fine. It doesn’t mean we won’t have rough waters. We will. But we’ll be headed in the right direction and we’ll be supported by the Creator of the universe.

So stop worrying about things you can’t change and people who will never be satisfied. Focus your time and attention on God. He’s got your back. Trust Him.