Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Reflecting on 1 & 2 Kings, the late Eugene Peterson writes, “Sovereignty, God’s sovereignty, is one of the most difficult things for people of faith to live out in everyday routines. But we have no choice: God is sovereign.”
Maybe the difficulty is because of the control freak living in me. The Bible calls it my flesh–a sinful disposition to shove God off the throne, convinced I could do a better job. Admittedly, I’ve had to learn the hard and stressful way that I can’t carry the world (or even a tiny part of the world) on my shoulders.
Peterson is right again, saying, “Human beings, no matter how well-intentioned or gifted, don’t seem to be able to represent God’s rule anywhere close to satisfactory.”
Do you see the opportunity here? We are not expected to be sovereign. We are not designed to control the circumstances of our lives.
Implication: We may freely resign from playing God and repent for the futile and foolish coup.
Grace invites me to take the weight of worry off my shoulders by putting it into the hands of Jesus, surrendering to a Savior who not only can carry the world in his hands, but allowed those hands to be pierced on my behalf.
Am I willing to believe and rest in that today? Are you? How about we believe and rest together — to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord, give me the grace to give you my worries that you would receive glory and I would experience new joy, peace, and rest.