We began to pass a certain intersection right off the town square - it has stop signs on two sides, but not all four sides. It looks like a four-way stop, but it isn't. Drivers are allowed the right of way coming up a hill and through the intersection (local readers may be familiar with the spot I am referring to). At any rate, on this particular day, my son didn't come to a full stop at his stop sign, and decided to continue riding through the intersection. As he crossed, an oncoming vehicle jutted up the hill and came to a screeching halt, just in time for the front bumper of the car to touch his bike tire. Fortunately by that time, both bicycle and car were at zero velocity. I cannot say the same for my heart, as it wanted to explode out of my chest. I had front row tickets from the driver's seat of my own car, as I watched what could have been a real tragedy unfold right before me.
It all seemed to unwind in slow motion. It reminded me of how little we can really control when it comes to this life. Similar things probably happen every day across our country. Sometimes they end badly, and we end up watching grief-stricken parents on the nightly news.
While considering all of this, it occurs to me that in light of what we can and cannot control, we can choose what we worry about. For example, from that point forward if I chose to do so, I could have forced my child to wear layers of bubble-wrap and two helmets every time he took his bicycle for a ride. Or maybe I could have decided that he was grounded from his bike for the next thirty-five years. I didn't do that though. Instead, my wife and I elected to follow the sentiment expressed in a particular piece of Scripture. 1 Peter is a New Testament letter that is short in duration, but wide in scope.
1 Peter 5:7 says this: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
Here Peter is speaking to both older church elders, as well as the younger generation in the church. He says we are to remain humble, because if we really know God, we understand He is fully sovereign. Peter then implores us to cast our anxiety, fear, and worry upon God Himself. It shouldn't be up to us to carry that burden alone all the time. A modern day translation of this Scripture might read as follows: stop trying to control everything all the time, be humble enough to understand that it's impossible anyway, so do what you can do, and give the rest up to God.
Easier said than done sometimes, I'll grant you that. Add to this, the fact that some of us seem more or less built to worry and control things - and you have a real dilemma. But what does trying to control and worry all the time accomplish in our lives? Doesn't it often make it easier for us to blame ourselves when things go wrong? Doesn't it often seem to give way to making it a bit easier to blame someone else also? The burden of worry and anxiety can bring about the very event we are trying to avoid sometimes I think. And it often walks shoulder to shoulder with blame casting, in an attempt to dissuade personal responsibility.
You will note who the Bible says enjoys assigning blame also. 1 Peter 5:8 goes on to say, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Satan often assigns blame and encourages anxiety. We have been warned that there exists such a creature of sufficient demonic power that he can actually sway humankind away from godly thought and action. Powerful enough that Peter warns us to 'be on our guard.' True, we cannot blame everything on a being with horns and a pitchfork, but a good deal of sin and fear in the world is in fact demonic in nature. Think about how divisive the COVID-19 pandemic has been psychologically for our country. People often attack each other, simply based on where they stand on wearing a mask or using hand sanitizer. What does this accomplish - other than panic or blame casting? Not much.
I want to make it clear also that I don't believe for a minute that even a casual reading of the Bible asserts you and I were meant to live a life of fear and worry. It is a miserable existence because it doesn't mesh with our inner being. God gives us promises to rest on and a narrative in the Bible that spans across almost four-thousand years, which exhorts mankind to pick up his or her cross, and walk boldly into the realm of the faithful. The believer is allowed to call upon the very name of God's Son and make prayer demands and supplication. Name another religion that grants us that ability in quite the same way.
We Christians carry a big stick, but we must be humble about it at the same time. Use it as a walking stick to help navigate the spiritual path, and not as a sword to destroy and cast blame. Learning to live with one foot in Heaven can mean the difference between living a life of survival and anxiety, and one of abundance and joy (even if there is a pandemic going on). Even if someone you love almost gets hit by a car. You can choose to worry and survive - or to be victorious and joyful. Give me joy any day.
Pardon the analogy, but fear spreads like a virus. Godly joy is even more contagious, however. And for that type of joy, you need not wear a face covering or stay inside for weeks on end. That type of joy is available to us right now, if we want it. The path to acquire it was laid out for us in God's Word, such that we can call upon the name of Jesus whenever we need it. We may cast our cares upon the creator; we can give it up to God.
Pastors in fact, often fall victim to worry or anxiety. Famous mega-church preacher Andy Stanley used to say that people who shepherd churches sometimes believe the myth that "if we don't do this or that, then it won't get done." For example: if we don't start preparing a sermon early in the week, it won't be ready by Sunday morning. Or if we take some vacation time, the church will be negatively impacted. You get the idea.
If you are experiencing a similar type of anxiety in your life, then know that you have permission to hand it over to God. Worry just a little if you need to, do what you can to fix or prevent it, and then send up the rest up through prayer or fasting. Let the devil cast fear and place blame as often as he wants. I have a feeling he has read the last part of Revelation just like we have, and it says that God ultimately wins. You have won also if you are a believer in Christ, sometimes we just need reminded that we can claim that victory in the here and now.
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