I have become accustomed to a ritual in my life, which has become a must in order for my mind to function: drinking my daily coffee. My doctor is not very fond of this practice; it has just become habit. The rush that I receive from my favourite brand of java sends me through my day with hyper-energy. However, I also deal with anxiety issues, and this can make them worse, so I really have to watch it. When I am coming unglued at every unpredicted sound, and my speech starts running a mile a minute, and my nerves are swarming up my back, then I know I've had my coffee limit for the day!

But after careful observation, I've noticed that some Christians, when they are anxious, act the way I do after drinking a gallon of coffee by myself: freaked out, frazzled, and buzzing on busy behaviour! When we try to handle everything in our lives by ourselves, the burden on our shoulders can drive us mad, sending us into a raging, bug-eyed fit! We lose sleep over bills getting paid; we fret over our children growing up to be healthy adults; we worry over a marital concern; we agonize over our friendships, and so on. We then step in with our plan to handle and fix each and every hardship experienced. This is the fun part, because if you really want to be freaked out, frazzled, and buzzing on busy behaviour, try playing God in your life. The Bible tells us Christians:

1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (NIV)

However, I have a tendency to think that "all" only means "some", and the rest must be up to me. But God said to throw every care into His loving embrace, no matter how minute it may seem. But why should you and I trust God with our concerns? The answer is so very simple: He really does care about us and desires only our wellbeing and success in life. The problem is our unwillingness to trust Him.

Trust is a hard issue because it involves being vulnerable to others and giving a portion of our lives to them. Some readers, like me, have probably been burned badly in the past and are not as quick to hand over a piece of our soul easily; however, God is not like man, and we can trust Him with our life. John 3:16 tells us how our loving God sent His only Son, named Jesus, to die for our sins. Could you trust a God like that? I know I could. However, some habits die hard, like my coffee consumption (I'm grinning ear to ear!)

The question directed at us is this: how long do we want to run ourselves ragged with worry and anxiety? Do we enjoy being half nuts and buzzing with our attempts to handle everything in our lives, or would we rather let the God of the universe handle them for us? I do not know about you, but I am tired of being freaked out, frazzled, and buzzing on busy behaviour in a vain attempt to solve my problems. How much better to simply trust Him! Let us take some time today and practice letting go of every concern, even the very difficult ones. Start small, and gradually work up. God is patient and knows how easily we try to snatch those concerns back and run wild with them. Give yourself a break today, and while you're at it, you might try decaf for a change. Grin!

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, help us to rely on You daily for strength and peace. Help our lives be a representation of Your love and wisdom as we walk out our Christian journey. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rob Price <robprice33@gmail.com>
Conroe, Texas, USA
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