"No Worries" - Crosswalk.com the Devotional - Aug. 22, 2012
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No Worries
By Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com Editor
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
A few nights ago, I was driving back home when I reached a stoplight just in front of my apartment. It was late, I was the only car on the road and to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention. I automatically made a left turn into the nearby parking lot and suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a flash. I felt my stomach twist into a knot. Had I just turned on a red light? Had that flash been a traffic camera? Was I going to get fined?
In retrospect, it wasn't that big of a deal, but I was still worrying about it the next day when I went off to work. Would I be receiving a ticket in the mail? How much would I have to pay? With a poor driving history and not much money in my bank account, all I could think about was the humiliation of having to pay a fine and watching my insurance rates go up.
It's amazing how we let fear and insecurity rule our lives. If something as small as a possible traffic ticket can ruin our whole day, how will we be able cope when real tragedy strikes? Surprisingly, many Christians can't let go of their worries, or worse, don't seem to know how. Philippians 4:6 reads "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Despite this, I think we sometimes hesitate to bring our problems before God. It may be because A.) We don't want to sound like we're whining to God, or B.) We know that praying to Christ does not guarantee things will turn out the way we want them to.
But there is more to praying about problems than simply asking God for a solution. God wants us to rely on him fully, even in the worst circumstances. When we give our cares to Him, we are reminded that He loves us, and that He is in control. I'm pretty sure that soon I'll have to pay for running a red light, but by bringing my worry before God I was able to accept it and move on. Don't let life's worries get you down. As my Dad used to say, "The most common phrase in the Bible is ‘Fear not.'"
Intersecting Faith and Life
Is their anything you're worried about? Take some time to simply pray about it to God.
Further Reading
Matthew 6:25-34
