Tug of…One
I feel like sometimes I get into a tug of war with God, but I’m the only one “tugging.” What I mean is, God says, “Do not fear, don’t worry, cast your cares,” and I do well for a little while. But if I’m not seeing immediate results, somehow I find it necessary to take matters into my own hands. As if to say, “God, You tried but I’ve got this now. Thanks anyway.” Meanwhile His ways are higher, He’s all knowing and He knows what’s best. If I’d just trust that He knows what He’s doing and that He will take care of me and FOR me then I could save myself the time and the messes caused from me “taking things into my own hands.”
Something I’ve realized through all of this is, God is patient. Very patient. Because in spite of all my efforts, in spite of my need to take control, He stays the same. He still takes care of things, when I finally let them go. So, in the game of tug of war, He always wins. When I say tug of war I mean, I can give God my cares, I can cast them all on Him, but when I choose to worry about them and take them up again, I find myself holding onto them leaving God with no hand in it. We are blessed with free will. Therefore, God will never push us out of the way to help us. He won’t push us out in order to do good. So, when I take up the care, I’m also removing God’s hand and power from the situation.
In so many words I’m saying, “God I’ve got this. You can leave now.” Sounds a lot like pride, huh? That has me thinking of the scripture that says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) So in my moments of pride, I’m missing God’s grace for the situation. Worry can not now nor will it ever solve anything. But why is it so easy to go there? Meanwhile, I’ve seen God’s faithfulness in my life. Not once but over and over and over. In fact, every new day is proof of God’s faithfulness. To answer my question, I think that worry is what we choose when we feel like we’re in a situation that not even God Himself can take care of. But, He’s God! He’s bigger than the financial issue, bigger than the relationship issues, He’s bigger than the disease AND He has ALL the answers we’ll ever need!
I believe it’s all about where our attention is. If I’m attending to His Word, day and night. Keeping it before my eyes and keeping it first place. Allowing it to change me and allowing it to grow and develop my relationship with Him, worry has less of a place. There’s no condemnation. God is gracious! Thank God!! But there comes a time where we really need to examine what it is we believe. If I say I believe in God and that I trust Him, then I need to trust that I can give Him my cares and trust that He will take care of it. I don’t have to hold on to them, because He’s got it. Even if I don’t see results today, next week or even next year, I can trust that He is working things out together for my good. So, everything is going to be all right because God has got me covered! And if I need proof, I can remind myself of His faithfulness to me in past situations. Or the fact that He promised to send Jesus and He DID! Jesus was sent here because God is faithful!
The life of faith can be hard. But you can find surety in God’s Word! As you study and meditate it and spend time in His presence, your heart will begin to lean more and more into Him! You’ll look to Him and give Him all that concerns you because you know that you can trust Him! And maybe it’s not easy, but it’s worth it. God loves us enough to WANT to take on our cares so that we don’t have to. As His children, we should not be burdened down with anything! He’s our caretaker. Let’s learn and CHOOSE to let Him perfect that which concerns us like only He can and we’ll never have to play “tug of war” again—at least not with God!
Be Encouraged:
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)