wor·ry /[wuhr-ee]
-verb (used without object)
to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
-verb (used with object)
to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.
Is worry really that similar to torment? No wonder this nation is filled with so much stress! As Christ-followers, we are told countless times to “cast all our cares upon him,” but do we really do it? Sometimes I believe I enjoy having a big “worry” in my pocket. I feel like it gives me something to work toward fixing. I take it out from time to time to bask in the stress of it—to rationalize the pint of ice-cream I ate last night, or the short response to a co-worker, but I generally just linger in the tension, expecting to come up with a solution…on my own.
This morning I was reading “The Art of Listening Prayer,” and I felt like God was speaking directly to me through it. Seth was addressing worries, and there were some key portions that really stuck out to me and made me stop to ponder my current state.
Worries introduce the lie that God either doesn’t care or that he lacks the power. They are rooted in the conclusion that we are not God’s children, adopted into his family, but are in fact more like orphans with no one to look out for us…It’s impossible to simultaneously entertain a worry and to trust God…When we worry, we assume ownership of the problem, figuring that if it’s going to be resolved, it’s up to us…It isn’t enough to decide to stop worrying. That only addresses the symptom of the real root—the thought, “I am an orphan. I am responsible for my own provision”—which in turn results in an inability to trust God (Barnes, 143-144).
This was a “light bulb” moment for me, and when my roommate came into the kitchen, where I was sitting, I couldn’t help but share this delectable little morsel with her. There was so much applicable substance to my life from those two short pages.
After doing my ALP devotional, I set it aside and grabbed my bible. I have slowly been moving through the New Testament over the last few months, and I began to read in James this morning. The first heading was “Trials and Temptation.”
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (James 1:5-6).
First off, I believe we all lack wisdom (some more than others), so we should all be calling upon God. Secondly, we have to actually
believe He is going to resolve it—not necessarily the way we expect, though. Go figure! Apparently God wanted me to realize something today. Have I been expecting to accomplish things on my own? Have I acted as if I were an orphan, assuming matters were up to me to resolve? Yes, to both! As I said, it was rather a light bulb moment, and several things came to mind that I have been trying to accomplish on my own. Handing my burdens over to him is a daily struggle for me.
Each preceding generation, and especially ours, has been honing in the skill of independence as if it were what life was about. Society has taught us to be tough, self-sufficient, and autonomous. How freeing it is when I
do hand my burdens over to Christ. Peace flows, love envelops me, and joy arises. Why then do I desperately grapple to hang on to my burdens, feeding them and protecting them as if they were a dependent little pet? I encourage all of us to lay down our worries at the foot of the cross and rest easy in him. How much more peace would we find if we freely cast all our cares upon him! Feel free to keep me accountable to this, as it
is a daily battle.
