What if anxiety is just an
opportunity
to trust God more?
Imagine how different your perception would be if the phrase “Thank you for this opportunity to trust You more” was rehearsed more than “God please change this.” Because the truth is, He is changing it. Nothing will stay the same. But new circumstances will bring old frustrations unless God changes you.
Thank You, God, for the opportunity to change.
How kind of the Father to not leave as we are. He lovingly prods us, guiding us to an end of His divine provision. If He changed our circumstances without ever changing us, then we would be completely ill-equipped to handle what we’re praying for.
God is changing things.
But new circumstances will bring old frustrations unless God changes you.
My Bible plan has me in 1 Samuel right now, and I’ve been thinking a lot about David. Talk about an anxiety-inducing life plan… When God saw fit to anoint a new king, the prophet Samuel was not expecting it to be a shepherd boy. And David wasn’t exactly living the high life.
He was overlooked while caring for his father’s sheep in the fields, to the point that he didn’t even get the initial invite to Samuel’s welcome party.
He is anointed to be the next king of Israel, then sent right back to the sheep.
After some time, David finds himself in the palace for the sole purpose of keeping King Saul calm – the same king who wouldn’t even recognize him when he showed up on the battlefield and called Goliath’s bluff.
That part gets me. David served the king in chapter 16, but when he shows up in chapter 17 – the only one brave enough to take on a giant – Saul has to ask his commander to find out who that boy is. I think this reveals a lot about Saul’s heart.
Thank You, God, for the
opportunity
to change.
But Saul isn’t the point – back to David.
So he’s anointed to be king, then he serves the king, then he kills for the king. But what next?
He runs from the king. Saul has it out for David and he spends years on the run, hiding in caves instead of sitting on thrones. It would be so easy to ask, “God what are you doing?” but instead, we have psalm after psalm of David declaring that he trusts God.
We have biblical accounts of David in a cave with the opportunity to kill Saul and force his way to the throne. But instead he says, “I will not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.” He took advantage of the opportunity to trust God more.
David waited seven years to become king. And in that time, God used every moment, every encounter to equip him to handle the crown. As a result, David wasn’t just a kid playing dress up in King Saul’s armor; David was a true royal.
There is actually a greater cost to following Jesus than just giving up the life that I can see…
I have to be willing to give up everything I can’t see.
But if David had not spent time in the fields defending the sheep from lions and bears, then he would not have been skilled to fight Goliath.
If he had not fought Goliath, he would still be the forgotten servant of King Saul.
If David had taken the opportunity to kill Saul and rush God’s timing, then he would have missed out on the chance to strengthen his faith in God.
Thank You, God, for the opportunity to trust You more.
The longer we wait for God to make good on what He promised, the easier it becomes to doubt. I get it. I’m living it. So we have to go back to what we believe about Him. There’s a reason Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
At the time Jesus said this, the disciples had already given up their lives to follow Him. That tells me that there is actually a greater cost to following Jesus than just giving up the life that I can see – I have to be willing to give up everything I can’t see: my understanding, my desires, my timetable, my preference.
He knows something we don’t. He sees what we cannot.
And He is better to us than we can imagine.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!