Surrendering Worry

Surrendering Worry

Read: Luke 12:22-34

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Luke 12:25

“Worry is an intrusion into God’s providence.”

—John Haggai

IN WORD “Do not worry.” It is one of Jesus’ most frequently repeated commands. It is also one of the hardest to obey. Worry comes naturally. We say we just can’t help it. (We can.) We say it’s just part of who we are. (It is part of who we were naturally, before faith in Christ—not now.) We justify it by saying that Jesus wants us to think responsibly about the future. (There’s a huge difference between being responsible and being worried.) And as much as we think we admire people who do not worry, we may criticize them as being “too laid back” or lacking a serious outlook on life.

Our problem with worry is a heart issue. It’s all about whether we are surrendered to God. Do we really trust Him to take care of us? Do we believe that He will lead us in His will and that His will is always good? Do we really value His plan, even when His plan leads us through difficult circumstances? If the answer is “yes” to all of these, then we have perhaps recognized Jesus as Lord in the way that He desires. But for most people the answer to these questions is “no”—at least occasionally, if not frequently.

Think about what’s really in your heart when you worry. If we are worried and anxious, we don’t really accept His lordship, do we? If we have really submitted to Him, we trust Him to handle our lives. They are in His hands, and whatever He chooses to do with them is all right with us, even if His will is difficult. The path is His, the means to live it are His, and the outcomes are His. This is what surrender is all about. And if we’re really surrendered, we’re not worried about it.

IN DEED Are you in a difficult place? You have a choice: You can trust that it’s either God’s difficult place (or a place from which He will soon provide deliverance); or you can wonder if He’s lost His grip on your life and let you wander too far out of His will. The only issue is what your heart chooses to believe about God.