Resting Calmly

Resting Calmly

Read: Luke 12:22-31

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”

Luke 12:25-26

“Pray, and let God worry.”

—Martin Luther

IN WORD Not only are we not honoring God when we let our minds run wild with worry about outcomes, we also are not being very practical. There is really very little we can do to effect real change in a situation. We can do our part, certainly—God expects to be active and obedient to His promptings—but we are never the master of circumstances. He is. The more we try to control them, the more we unwittingly wrestle control from Him. At the bottom of this wrestling is a mistrust that He actually does work all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). Whenever we try to exercise control, we reveal our suspicion that God’s sovereignty might not be reliable. We are saying, in effect, that we trust our own intervention over His.

Jesus certainly never condemns our attempts to work in His kingdom and be obedient to His purposes. He expects our active participation in His plan. But when we worry, we indicate that we are striving for more than obedient participation. We are aiming for the role of mastermind behind the circumstance. Faith has no part in this worry. And where there is no faith, there is no rest.

IN DEED Worry is such a difficult state of mind to maintain, but we accept it so often. We let it affect our moods, relationships, and health. It becomes larger than life.

Jesus essentially tells His disciples to let God take care of the things He has promised to take care of, and to fulfill the role only of a disciple—to act in faith and obedience. It’s an easy place to be, if we’ll stay there. It’s an acknowledgment that He, in all His sovereignty, is supremely trustworthy—that He desires no bad thing for those who love Him. The responsibility for change is left to Him, and the only responsibility we assume is to faithfully follow His lead. Wherever He leads, we can calmly, restfully go.