WHY WORRY WHEN YOU CAN PRAY?
I came across this quote recently: “We relax in a bus without knowing the driver; we relax in a ship without knowing the captain; we relax in a plane without knowing the pilot…” Then it concludes: “Why don’t you relax in the knowledge that God is in control of your life?”
This hit me hard. How many times have I placed my hopes in my own abilities? How many times have I believed promises of other human beings and placed my hopes in them? And yet, how often do I doubt that God will do for me what He has said he will do?
Worry is sign enough that we have lost trust – that we do not expect any help or any solution to our problems outside our own powers or from the promises of others. So we worry about where we will get the next meal; we worry about school fees, rent, health, family and so on. What this says about us is that we have come to the conclusion that our limitations are the end of the world; that if we cannot extricate ourselves out of our troubles then no one can.
And yet, what does Jesus say about worry in Luke 12:25? “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Jesus is simply telling us that we are not in charge. We cannot determine the hours of our life nor even predict the next minute of our life. We are not on this planet out of our own choosing but by a force beyond us. Why then do we take things in our own hands and give in to worry instead of placing our lives in the hands of the one who is in control of our minutes and seconds? Aren’t we told in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us?
The reason there is so much corruption and theft and even murders over property is because people have stopped trusting in God. I remember how we believed in the power of prayer when we were sitting our Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. We used to pray. We were literally on our knees the week before the exams. We believed God could intervene and help us pass even though we had not prepared well enough. And people then, our parents and neighbours, used to pray for everything and anything. And God used to answer most of our prayers in our favour. Where that trust went to after we became adults still puzzles me. Or is this the reason Jesus says in Matthew 19:14, “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these little ones.”
Yes. Children trust wholly. And we should cultivate again that childlike trust in the goodness of God our Father – the provider of everything that is good. No matter what you are going through, no matter the hardships and the missiles being thrown at you, just know and live in a manner that declares that God is in charge of your life. Get back to that point where you proclaim that “Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? How shall we meet our expenses? All these worries do not solve our problems. If anything, they add to our misery as they cause disease and even death. As Jesus would say, you cannot add an hour to your life by worrying.
So, what are we to do? How are we to live? “Be content with what you have because God has said in Hebrews 13:5-6, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’; so we say with confidence ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
Yes. There is God who created Heaven and Earth. He created the ants and he provides for them; he created the fish and he supports them in the ocean. How much more is he going to provide for you, having said you are his best creation, and that you are created in his very image and, therefore, dear to His heart? Do not worry then; instead, submit your petition to God in prayer.
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