CONTROL, THREAT, WORRY, AND OUR TRUST IN THE LORD

 I want to be in control. It had been the centerpiece of my worry and stress-management strategy. I needed to assure myself that I can handle any eventuality - a flat tire, a cancelled flight, catching the plane on time, sleeping through the night, or just worrying that my back and knees might not hold up. It is just too threatening to think that I will not be able to handle these eventualities.

 

I give these things to God, but worry has such deep roots that it pops up like garden weeds. So I think a lot about how to entrust my fears to God. Here is a strategy that makes sense to me:

 

Knowing that I am not in control and that I cannot entrust to myself with the burdens of life. In fact, I am not supposed to trust myself:

 

·       Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5-7)

 

When I trust in my flesh (myself), I am doing the very opposite of trusting in the Lord. In fact, all of the worry gives me little more than a massive headache. Paul also confessed:

 

·       For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)

 

Remember how the Lord has rescued you! The Psalmist confessed that he had been so tormented that he was unable to speak, but he knew where to find the answer:

 

·       Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (Psalms 77:10-12)

 

Often, all we can do is to remember how our Lord has already delivered us and to wait:

·       Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:5)

 

Jesus also taught us that worry and anxiousness accomplish little:

 

·       “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27)

 

Hyper-control and anxiety are costly.

 

·       Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad (Proverbs 12:25).

 

Our Savior is willing and able to carry our burdens. He beckons us to give Him our cares and anxieties:

 

·       Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

 

Now, from Jesus’ lips:

 

·       “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

According is certainly able to shoulder all of our concerns:

 

·       But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

 

Even now, He is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Even now, we are the product of His workmanship:

 

·       For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

 

This means that we don’t have to worry about our decisions or competence. Instead, it is about Him and not about us:

 

·       I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 3:5)

 

Mercifully, we belong to our Lord. The battle is His! He had assured the terrified King Jehoshaphat and Jerusalem that they would not even have to fight against the unstoppable enemy armies, which were coming against them. They would simply watch as God delivered them:

 

·       Thus says the Lord to you, “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's...You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

 

He cares even about our smallest concerns. Jesus taught us that if God cares about each sparrow, He also cares about the number of hairs we have on our head:

 

·       “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28-31)

 

Therefore, do not hold back any of your worries from the Lord. Even after hearing all of these biblical assurances, we might conclude:

 

·       “I’ve already tried all these strategies, and they don’t work for me. I still worry! I must be the biggest spiritual failure in the entire world.”

 

Don’t despair. We will have to endure some struggles until our Savior returns. However, our Lord has left us with our fears and anxieties so that we’d continue to turn our eyes to Jesus and away from self-trust. He promises:

 

·       The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:18-19)

However, He does leave us with our weaknesses and needs to make us to be like Jesus:

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
(2 Co 12:7–10).