A Worriers Refuge

 

Do you ever find yourself advising God?

Sometimes we seem to think that we have a great idea about how to right a wrong or get someone saved. We pray things like, “Oh Lord, Give me the opportunity to say ….. and he will change his mind.” Or, “bring the perfect Christian husband for her and she will get saved.”

Does God need to be told how He should work in someone’s life? We sometimes adopt these tactics when we are anxious because it does not appear that God is at work in the situation. We grow more anxious because time is passing.

These words convict me, “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6).

Sigh.

I am not a worrier under normal circumstances. I love peace and work to maintain it. But, sometimes complete peace in our lives is not up to us.

Every now and then something happens that we can do absolutely nothing about. Truth be told,  it usually isn’t our problem to solve but we are the ones feeling the ripples coming through the water.

We pray.

We talk to the people involved (hoping that the problem will be seen our way and be over.)

We talk to other people hoping they will step in and fix everything.

We pray some more.

In the meantime, we lose some sleep, talk too much to too many people, and we forget the power of God to intervene when and how He will. In other words, we worry about the situation.

Many of us know for sure that God is worthy of waiting on. We trust that His ways are higher than ours. We are sure He is not unaware of what is happening. We have asked Him and asked Him to step in and heal the wounds and correct the theology that has allowed the problem.

But in between prayers, we worry. Our faith is not as deep as we thought. Sigh again.

The good news is that these situations do eventually get resolved by the work of the Lord – not the worry or the words we apply to them. Each time He does that, our faith grows and we can remind ourselves the next time that He is faithful and true to hear our prayers.

Will we remember God’s past faithfulness in a difficult time so that we will pray more, talk less, and trust Him to be our refuge and strength?

The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My God, in Him I will trust (2 Samuel 22:3 NKJV).