No matter how hard we try, there will be days where we wish we could just stay in bed, or take that extended vacation to the Caribbean. Many times, the reasons for these feelings are caused by outside sources or people. Maybe it’s a boss who belittles and only sees what is not right without seeing all the good things you do. Or perhaps it is an unexpected bill, valid or not. It could even be a friend or family member who lets their negative emotions get taken out on those around them, including you.
Max Lucado tells the following story. “How can a person deal with anxiety? You might try what one fellow did. He worried so much that he decided to hire someone to do his worrying for him. He found a man who agreed to be his hired worrier for a salary of $200,000 per year. After the man accepted the job, his first question to his boss was, “Where are you going to get $200,000 per year?” To which the man responded, “That’s your worry.”
You really can adopt the philosophy that by giving everything up to the Lord with confidence and faith, you can change the things you can actually change. The things you cannot change, you give them up to the Lord with faith He will handle things in His timing according to His plan. Giving something up to the Lord means you do not give in to stress or worry, but you trust and further strengthen your faith in Christ by doing so. Your faith strengthens ten-fold when you’ve given up to Him and then you see how He handles it.
Through faith, we give EVERYTHING up to the Lord, not just the ones we stress about. Worry and stress are actually a demonstration of a lack of faith in that God will handle all things according to his plan.
Rick Warren says, “The more you pray, the less you’ll panic. The more you worship, the less you worry. You’ll feel more patient and less pressured.”
James 1:2-4 says it best:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
He continues in James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Trust in the Lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
© 2017 Marty Hill – Administered By Quaddot Productions – All Rights Reserved