Trust in the Big and Small

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—“                                                                                                                   — Matthew 6:25 (NLT)

“I trust in You, my Lord.”  How often   have I prayed those words, but when problems unfold in the course of the day, I unfold and fall to pieces.   The client hasn’t paid and the bills are mounting.  I’m not getting as many projects as I expected.  I cannot afford this illness.  — The list of worries goes on and on.  Our worries and anxieties worm its way into our hearts and minds and eat away all our joy and peace.  If I were to picture it, I would have a plump, giant caterpillar munching away inside of me.  He’s so happy with all the fodder he finds that he does not want to turn into a butterfly.  I could even liken it to Harry Potter’s black specter that hovers and swoops down when I give in to worry, then sucks all the joy out of me.

Awful.  Disgusting.  Scary.  But that is what happens when we let fear, worry and anxieties take front and center-seat in our life.  We actually let the enemy come in and steal our joy and stop us from having a full life.

‘But I do have faith in the Lord!  I trust Jesus!’ we cry out.  I do have faith in Jesus — with my salvation but perhaps not with my daily life.  Not with the boring, lackluster, daily grinds of life.  Not with the small, everyday decisions I make.  But why don’t we trust Him with these things?  Why don’t we turn this over to Him who commands us not to worry?  Perhaps it’s because we have the ‘wrong’ picture of our Lord and do not know Him well enough to believe that He does take an interest in our everyday life.

In Psalm 139:13-15, it says that God formed us with much care and thought.  He knows all the minute details — the good and the bad, the small and big things — in our lives.   On top of that, He knows everything beforehand.  In verse 16 it says: You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  He knows every moment of our lives.  How mind-blowing is that?!

God knows that the client will delay payment.  He knows about our work (or the lack of it).  He knows our worn-out body, our fragile health.  He knows the mounting bills.  HE KNOWS.  And with that, Jesus still commands “I tell you not to worry” (Matthew 6:25).  My Lord cares for us and knows us.  He cares and knows you more than you know yourself.  He does not want us to worry or be anxious.  He wants us to trust in Him.  He wants us to hold on to Him and let Him take front and center-seat in our lives. Our Lord takes a very intimate interest in your life and wants to walk with you every moment of every day.

My Lord wants to free me of my worries and anxieties.  He does not want me running around stressing myself.  He wants to hold my hand wand walk me through the day and assure me that He knows every itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-bit of problem that unfolds.  He wants to guide me and give me the best there is.  And for the moment, perhaps the best may be for Him to develop my character:  to be kind, gracious, merciful, loving and patient like Him.