Anxiety: Worrying About Things Out of Your Control

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV

“Pray for wisdom to deal with whatever is worrying you. Pray that God will act to change the circumstances according to His will. He doesn’t always do what we want Him to – but He knows what’s best for us, and He can be trusted.” Billy Graham

I confess. This is my “biggie.”

Little things.  can cause anxiety. Case in point: my new little dog. House trained. Not when it’s zero degrees. Sigh… Customer service, good customer service, seems rare. I’ve been fighting with an internet provider. When needing something, get ready for voicemail or a website. The personal touch is absent. Out of my control.

Big things. Then the news, financial worries, and health worries crowd out all the peace and thankfulness in our hearts. I’ve been around the sun over 70 times, and I’ve never seen the world as it is today. Out of my control.

In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called a Wonderful Counselor. We may use a human counselor, but the promise to counsel us with his loving eye upon us is true. It reminds me of the old adage: Nobody knows how much they need God until God is all they’ve got. He is always present.  Human beings can’t be. Through illnesses, deaths, financial woes, and overcoming bad habits, a still small voice directed me. Sometimes I acted on it, and sometimes I went my own way. My first year of marriage, my husband was overseas on a minesweeper. No contact until they were out of the combat zone. I had a baby, little money, and my family lived far away, but each day there was promise and hope. I learned, and am still learning, that God is all.

Musings

Be patient. More importantly, be kind to yourself and others. The father always comes through at just the right time. We don’t open a cocoon too early, but let its mystery unfold perfectly into a beautiful butterfly. We don’t dig up the seeds we planted to see how they’re growing, but we patiently water and feed them and rejoice when they sprout. We wait, without anxiety and with hope.

Prayer

Dear Father,

If we let anxiety stop us, nothing will get done. In fact, much of daily life can paralyze us. With your all-knowing and caring counsel, we live, love and rejoice.

You can be trusted,

In your son’s name,

Amen.