Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7 (GNT)]
Relieve me of my worries and save me from all my troubles. [Psalm 25:17 (GNT)]
My doorbell rang and, by the time I got to the door the FedEx man was walking away, having left a large box on the porch. As he backed out of the driveway, I shouted a thanks and brought in my latest order from Amazon.
Let’s pretend that we’re FedEx drivers and we arrive at the designated recipient’s house. After ringing the bell, the man of the house answers and we show him the package. Unlike my delivery man, however, we don’t leave it with him. Instead, we get out the packing slip and tell him the contents of the box. Then we open up the carton and show him everything in it. Finally, we tape it up again, lug it back to the truck and stow it there for another day. I’m not sure why we won’t leave the carton but perhaps we’re afraid the man of the house won’t take good care of the precious shipment. The next day, however, with even more packages loaded in the truck, we do the same thing, bringing the boxes to his door and then returning to the truck with the same load. Eventually, we need a hand cart to carry all those cartons to the door, the truck gets overloaded, and we want to quit. How easy our job would be if we’d trust the recipient enough to leave the packages at his door where they belong!
Just as the FedEx man always leaves my packages, we’re supposed to entrust our cares and concerns to God the first time we come to His door. It does no good to carry our worries and fear to the Lord’s doorstep if we won’t leave them there. It’s futile to unpack our sorrow and anxiety for God if we just repackage them and keep carting them around. We need to trust that once we’ve given our concerns to God, He’ll tend to them. Moreover, instead of a friendly wave or thanks, God will give us His peace when our worries are left at His door.
Heavenly Father, how often we give you our troubles only to take them back again. Reassure us of your strength to handle any and all of them so we willingly leave our problems with you. May we always remember your incredible love for us so that we know our cares are safe in your hands.
Worry is the antithesis of trust. You simply cannot do both. They are mutually exclusive. [Elisabeth Elliot]
Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives. [Francis Chan]
Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6-7 (GNT)]
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When my children were younger, there were several occasions that I wanted to pretend I had no idea to whom they belonged! There was that time one noticed (and used) the red emergency stop button on an escalator, or another discovered the meaning of the “domino effect” after pulling over one stanchion at the airport and seeing another ten follow suit, or one managed to be so nasty to the babysitter that she went home in tears, or when hotel security came knocking because of spitballs dropping from the window of our children’s adjoining hotel room. I really didn’t want to admit I knew them, let alone had given birth to them. We expected better from our children and their conduct certainly didn’t bring honor to our name. Unfortunately, their behavior, while unacceptable, was a somewhat unavoidable and unpleasant part of their growing up. Fortunately, those times of boundary testing are long over and I am now proud that they bear my name.
Writing about my granddaughter yesterday made me think about birth defects. In actuality, all of us have what could be called birth defects—it’s just that some are more obvious than others. While all of God’s children have defects, none are defective. I consider a young man at our Florida church. Cerebral palsy keeps him strapped into a wheel chair and his physical limitations are immense. There is, however, nothing defective about this bright young man. I ponder the enthusiastic grocery worker with Down’s syndrome. She may have an extra chromosome, but there is nothing defective about her. I think of a fellow at church who has no ears. He may be deaf but there is nothing defective about him, nor is there anything defective about a friend’s grand born with only a partial arm and hand or my grand, with her heart defects and learning issues. They are all marvelously made—different from others, but no less wonderful.
I have a small wooden box on my desk—my “God box.” It’s where I literally give my concerns to God; right now there are three items in it. The first is a photograph of a little girl. It is my grand, a sweet child with three congenital heart defects—none of which is going to disappear and all of which promise more trouble in the future. She also has learning issues—none of which will dissipate and all of which will cause more difficulty as she progresses into higher grades. The second item is a medallion from a sobriety program. It represents several people I love who have battled alcoholism or addiction—a battle they will continue to fight daily for the rest of their lives. The third item is a laminated card on which is written Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer. That one is for me.
What makes us happy? Could it be a phone call from a good friend? Is it when we’ve made a profit in the stock market or received a large commission check? Are we pleased when our checkbook balances on the first attempt or when the accountant informs us that a large tax refund will be in the mail? Are we happy when someone sends us flowers or our child brings home a good report card? Does finding the ideal gift for our spouse’s birthday or receiving the perfect gift for ours give us happiness? Would we be happier if we could enjoy two weeks at a luxury resort or had a state-of-the-art home theatre or gourmet kitchen?
From today’s verse, you might think I’m going to say that God will never give us more than we can bear. That Christianese sentiment, however, comes from 1 Corinthians 10 and is about temptation, not difficulties and afflictions. The belief that God will never give us any burden or challenge we can’t bear puts the emphasis on us and our strength rather than where it should be—on God and His power! In 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote of being so burdened beyond his strength that he despaired of even living. Clearly, there will be times in our lives when we will be given far more than we can possibly bear by ourselves.
