PARTICIPANTS WITH THE LORD

As a master-worrier and reluctant doom-embracer, I have found these verses to give me the correction I need:

• do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9 ESV)

These verses provide holistic counsel to find the peace of God through prayer, thanksgiving, trust in God, obedience, and Biblical thinking. They start out with what is most important - trusting in God - and then council us about our responsibilities. These verses teach us that trust in God should not be interpreted to exclude the role we must play.

In fact, God often requires us to participate in His miraculous works. Let me just give you two prominent examples of this. On two occasions, Jesus miraculously fed the thousands with bread and fish. He certainly could have done this without human assistance. Remember, He created the world without our assistance! Instead, He required His disciples to first provide a couple of loaves of bread and fish.

On another occasion, He raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days. However, here too, He demanded that His disciples also play a role. Jesus told them to, "Take away the stone” (John 11:39). Then He instructed them to unbind Lazarus after He had raised him (11:44).

If Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, He could have also rolled the stone away and could have unbound Lazarus of his grave clothes without human assistance.

Likewise, Jesus can have taken away our worry and anxiety without our puny efforts. Instead, He wants us to be His partners, even if only very junior partners.

However, there are times when we are so weak, discouraged, and broken that we cannot even provide a single loaf of bread or to concentrate on what is pure or what is of faith. At such times, He merely tells us to be still, do nothing, but simply to know that He is Lord (Psalm 46:10).

At times, the Lord had told Israel to raise an army to defend themselves against their oppressors. However, when a great army came against the utterly powerless King Jehoshaphat of Judah, He told the Israelites:

• “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf." (2 Chronicles 20:17)

There are also times that we too are only capable standing and seeing, but if this is our limit, then this is enough for our Lord (Matthew 11:28-30).