When Anxiety Comes

I watched anxiety darken her face. Where would the money come from?

Our family budget has taken a severe hit over the last five years. Recently, we struggled through a summer without the income my wife was receiving from keeping an after-school child. As the start of the new school year approached, she was informed that her services were no longer required. A change in jobs had eliminated the necessity for after-school care. Now what?

While we were worrying, God was working. Having recently changed churches, we were now attending a church that needed a custodian. Though there wasn't money in the budget to hire one, several individuals in the church pledged enough to hire someone. We were hired. And the pay? Exactly what my wife had previously earned.

In spite of God's warning, I tend to hold onto my cares and worries instead of giving them to Him.

1 Peter 5:7 – Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT)

I've bumped into many anxious situations in my lifetime, but I've learned to pass through them knowing that God wasn't the author. This enables me to view and respond to them differently. My circumstances are never out of control when God's in control — nor does God allow anything designed to arouse worry and anxiety.

Satan is the troubler of my mind, emotions, and experiences. He knows that he can't steal my eternal security, so he attempts to rob my peace by sending a few trials and uncertainties. The proper response — even though I must continually remind myself — is to give my worries and cares to God. He cares for me; Satan doesn't. When I respond properly to troubling situations, others are impressed, my light for Christ shines brightly, and my faith explodes.

Are you giving your anxieties to God or attempting to carry them yourself?

Prayer: Merciful Father, when anxious moments make an appearance in our lives, give us enough faith to turn them over to You and not worry. Amen.