You might say, I hear you Clarence, but what happens when you pray, trust, and have faith but the situation does not immediately change? The answer is you keep trusting and you keep casting your worries upon Jesus.
Worry, fear, and anxiety are emotions that are common to all of us. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of people worrying or being afraid. Hannah was concerned because she could not bear any children for her husband, Elkanah. Gideon was fearful of the Midianites and needed constant confirmation that God had called him to defeat them. Even Joseph was concerned when he discovered his fiancée Mary was pregnant and he knew he didn’t do it (I guess I would be concerned too).
The reality of life is that there are going to be moments when worry creeps in. The question is, how do you handle the worries of this life? Many times, what you need to do is a matter of remembering the truths you know in Scripture. Many of you can probably quote those Scriptures better than me, yet you may still struggle to give up your worries to Christ. I know exactly how that feels because I have been in that place as well. When this happens, you must remember and then apply what you know to be true.
Giving up your worries is not always something that happens in a moment (though it can), usually it happens as a process, and that is what I want to walk you through.
Here are five checks that will help you in your struggle to give your worries to Christ.
1. The Fact Check
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27).
For all the things I have ever worried about in my life, there is one truth attached to them all. Not one of my worries ever changed my situation. The worries created in me anxiety, sleepless nights, and fear over what would happen. However, they changed nothing.
My friend, you can worry all you want, and the worry will not cause the situation to get better. It certainly won’t make it go away. The first thing you must face is the fact that your worries are not helping you. Medical studies have shown that worry can affect your overall health. Here is a quote from WebMD regarding the effects of worrying on your body.
“Chronic worrying can affect your daily life so much that it may interfere with your appetite, lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep, and job performance. Many people who worry excessively are so anxiety-ridden that they seek relief in harmful lifestyle habits such as overeating, cigarette smoking, or using alcohol and drugs.”
Your worries are not helping you, and they are not changing anything. Knowing this does not automatically stop you from worrying, but hopefully it’s the wake-up call to move you to want to give your worries to Jesus.
2. The Faith Check
“If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:31).
When you get past the reality of what worry is doing to you, it is now time to recognize the source of the worry. The source of the worry is not the situation. That is only the symptom. The root cause of the worry is a lack of faith and trust. Whenever I experience worry in my life, I can always tie it to uncertainty. I am unsure of the outcome, and I stop trusting that God is going to help me in my situation. This creates worry and anxiety, and it is all tied back to faith and trust. When I get in this place, I try to figure out how I am going to solve the problem, and that usually leads to more worry.
Removing faith and trust from the equation does not make the situation better. It often makes it far worse. Identifying the cause helps move to the next step.
3. The Focus Check
When you are facing challenging situations, there are two places you can focus. You can focus on the problem, or you can focus on God, who is bigger than the problem. One focus brings worry. The other focus brings peace.
In 2 Kings 6, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. Whenever the king of Aram set a trap for the king of Israel, Elisha instructed him what to do and the trap was thwarted. When the king of Aram discovered it was Elisha helping the king, he sent horses and chariots and surrounded the city Elisha was in, intending to capture him. Here is what happened next.
“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?’ the servant asked. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17).
If you are worried right now about anything, it is because your focus is in the wrong place. You might be like the servant of Elisha, focusing on what is surrounding you, when you need to focus on God, who is surrounding your situation. To shift your focus, you need to pray that God would open your eyes. Ask him to help you see he is bigger than the situation and those with you are far greater than anything coming against you.
That’s why worship is so important, because it lifts Christ in your eyes and helps you focus on the God who is bigger than anything you are going through. When you see Christ in that place, it becomes easier to trust him and give him your worries.
4. The Family Check
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matthew 6:31-32).
It is easy to forget amid worry that God is not just your God, he is your Father. You are not just someone praying; you are family. That means God doesn’t love you and care for you like you are a servant. He loves and cares for you like you are his child, because that is what you are. In moments of worry, don’t forget this relationship. Lean into it. The one thing Satan would want you to do is question your relationship with God and to doubt his love for you. He might whisper things like,
“If God cared, why would he allow you to go through this?”
“God doesn’t really care about you because he hasn’t answered your prayer concerning this.”
“I know God said he would never leave you, but where is he in this situation?”
These are all lies which are not designed to bring you peace but to increase your anxiety. Satan knows the more worry and anxiety increases, the greater the possibility that faith and trust diminish. That’s why you cannot forget you are family and God loves you as his very own.
How God responds in each situation is not the ultimate proof of his love. The proof of his love is in the cross. Remembering the cross can help you remember God’s love for you. If you can trust God with your salvation, which is the most important thing, then surely you can trust him with all your worries. Because of what Jesus did on the cross you are family. Regardless of what your earthly family may be like, this is family you can trust.
5. The Fatigue Check
You might say, I hear you Clarence, but what happens when you pray, trust, and have faith but the situation does not immediately change? The answer is you keep trusting and you keep casting your worries upon Jesus. In this Christian journey, many have fallen victim to the belief that you pray once and everything is supposed to change immediately. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you must continue to endure.
In Scripture, everything did not happen instantaneously. Do you realize Abraham waited twenty-five years before Isaac was born? It was also about fifteen years between the time David was anointed king and he actually sat on the throne. I am not saying you will wait that long, but if the answer does not come immediately, it does not mean God has forgotten you.
If you are waiting or even fatigued, that’s when you go back to the place of prayer and worship. It is there you will find grace and strength to endure, so you are not overcome by life’s worries. The more time you spend in God’s presence, the more faith and trust you will build. This will lead you to giving Jesus all your worries.
Final Thought
Hopefully I have jogged your memory a little drawing your attention back to Jesus. I want to leave you with three simple recommendations.
- Keep seeking God
- Keep casting your cares upon Jesus
- Don’t walk through this journey alone
The answer to your worries is found in God’s presence, where he can replace your worry with peace. The motivation to keep believing can come from God’s word and God’s people as they encourage you in your struggle. By dwelling in God’s presence, meditating on his word, and surrounding yourself with people of faith, you will find it easier to give your worries to Christ. In exchange, he will give you a peace that surpasses your understanding and ensure you stand under the trial, regardless of how long it lasts.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
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