We’ve all trusted God to some extent. It’s great. But we’ve also said, “I’m stressed out, so let me go rely on this other way of life to comfort me… but then I’ll come back to you, I promise.” And we expect God to act like nothing ever happened. Now is that really a fatherly thing to do?
Here’s a quick glimpse at my weekend: The Rock, visiting with friends on mission in the dorms, studying at coffee shops, entertaining an old friend from high school, church, helping a woman I just met set up her wedding reception, and a meeting. So it wasn’t a bad busy. It was a restful and enjoyable busy. But it stole away from the time I felt I needed to finish a huge project due Monday.
I’ve been struggling lately to hear from God in my daily Bible reading, but on Sunday I was reading a devotional which said the following:
Are you worn out from ongoing problems? Are you weighed down with stress and worry? Jesus is the only real solution. Approaching the Lord in prayer allows us to cast our burdens on Him so that He can sustain us (Ps. 55:22). Today, ask Him to assist you with everything. By helping you with your burdens, He can supply rest for your soul, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:29-30).
It was one of those “Do you seriously believe this stuff?” moments. Is Jesus seriously the only solution to my problems? Often when I’m stressed, what comforts me is buckling down and getting stuff done. I mean, if I spend more time reading my Bible and praying, I would still have less time to do my stuff, even if I believe that prayer is powerful.
But God really convicted me: “Megan, are you really gonna trust me today? With everything? Don’t think I don’t care about your homework just as much as you do. I’m gonna take care of you — I’m your Dad!”
So I thought, this is really real. I’ve been asking God to work wonders in my life. But how do I expect divine intervention if I’m not really expecting it? To expect something is to ruined by its absence if it were not to show up. To expect something is to make room — to prepare a seat at the table so nobody is hungry and everybody isn’t sitting on each other’s laps. In the life of the Christian, there must be a desperation and emptiness in the thought that, apart from God, we are hopeless to be complete.
So I made room for Jesus. I am a person who is prone to despair. My natural tendency is to retreat and try to solve everything in my own strength or in my own mind. But God has been beckoning me: “I created you to be happy, to rejoice in me.” So I told Him that I would do it. I would choose to be happy because Christ gave me that freedom.
There were so many times when I was running late or stressed out or tired of being around people. But I remembered the bargain, that my life belongs to God, whose wish is for my joy. I found myself driving to church reluctantly hearing the words to a worship song, trying to let the words really stick. I went to church and sang more worship songs, but they just didn’t seem to express my heart, but God deserved my worship nonetheless, and I chose to believe the truth about Him. Nothing in the sermon stuck out to me immediately. But I was so happy to be there, among my brothers and sisters, who were all just amateur lovers like me, and I was filled with a deep love for them and an appreciation for the God’s artwork in their lives.
It was so encouraging to see our unity as about 25 people showed up for lunch after church — and we all sat at the same table, everyone pitching in to make sure everyone got food and a place to sit. The table was first empty, but by the end we needed to add an extra table on the end because there were so many people!
I was so excited to eat with everybody that I almost forgot that I needed to pick up a wedding cake. So my roommate and I left encouraged and running late. If you know me, you also know how much I suck at directions, so that added more temptation to be stressful. But instead, I chose to obey Christ’s command not to worry about my life. I had warmed up more to the worship music that was playing as I drove.
There were many more times when I was tempted to stress out, to take out my frustration on others, to be silently bitter, or to worry that I wouldn’t finish my project. But I trusted God and He gave me more love for those around me. We even got to talk to people at the reception that we had never met, and to encourage one another with Bible passages and experiences when God changed our lives. “It’s cool how much you have in common — even with strangers — just because you’re all united in Christ,” we agreed. If I had worried about my project all day, I would have been absolutely miserable, and I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy an ounce of fellowship with the plentiful and enjoyable believers surrounding me!
I had originally planned to stay up really late to work on the project, but thankfully, God made me really tired, so I went to bed. I got to sleep quickly because I was at peace with God’s sovereignty.
In the morning, I realized that I had forgotten something — on top of my huge project, I had a take-home essay I hadn’t even started, and another exam I hadn’t studied for. But because I had gotten enough sleep and woken up early enough, I was able to finish the essay and study — with time to spare to read my Bible and thank God for making my days so much better than I would make them myself.
I took my time working on my project that afternoon, and I even had fun working on it. When I printed the second to last page, though, my printer ran out of ink. My roommate just happened to be home and to graciously offer her printer. Even as I biked to class, I was able to enjoy the fresh autumn weather, and I couldn’t help but smile. You might think I’m crazy, but you’re right. That’s just the joy that God offers when you put your hope in Him alone!
Everything worked out fine, and Jesus was right: Worrying wouldn’t have added any extra time to my life. Instead, the peace that passes all understanding gave me joy, and not only saved the quantity of my time, but even amidst the busyness, I had more contentment than any successful, rich CEO would ever know.
We hope that God will work miraculously in our lives all the time. But if we do everything ourselves, He won’t get His grace in edgewise. Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy, for God’s sake! Leave room for God to show up at your table, and see if He will not bring so many blessings to your life that you’ll have to add on an extra table or two just to fit everything He brings.
