When Life is Beyond Our Control

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7, ESV) 

Naptime at my house is chaos. My toddler gets a daily thrill out of pushing his nap back as late as possible. After 30 minutes of watching him walk around his bedroom in an endless circle, rummaging through toys I haven’t seen him touch in months, I’ve reached the limit of my patience. The end result is usually tears and protests.

Defeated, ego and pride a little bruised, I scoop my son into my arms and take him next door to our bedroom where my husband is resting from his overnight shift. My love is always sleeping but always willing. Without fail he steps in to save my son from himself and leave my sanity intact for at least one more day.

As this series of events recently unfolded again, I realized something. I recognized that when the naptime situation becomes beyond my control, I know I can count on my husband to help ease my frustration.

This made me think about how Jesus does the same for us. We have the ability to cast our cares onto our Savior when they become too much to handle on our own. And get this — he is always willing to take what we give him.

Yet, sometimes this just isn’t good enough for us. We still take matters into our hands and we miserably fail. Why is that? It could be due to one of three reasons:

1. We are too self-reliant
2. We don’t feel we can trust other people which makes trusting God feels like a stretch
3. We haven’t fully accepted God’s love

Many of our beliefs about relationships were formed well before we were adults. Words spoken about us, over us, and to us have permeated our mindsets and guided the course of our lives. It takes work to resolve issues that took a lifetime to develop.

But God does not think about or use relationships in the same way humankind does. He is our heavenly Father and we can trust him.

So, when situations arise, let’s do the following:

Trust That God is With Us

 God has promised to never leave nor forsake us. (Joshua 1:5)

Remember God is in Control

Because God is all-present and all-knowing, events do not take him by surprise. If we remember he is in control, we can relax in whatever the outcome will be. (Romans 8:28)

Choose to Let Go

We serve a God who always wants the very best for us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

It’s amazing the ways God chooses to speak to us when our hearts and ears are open to receive Him. I pray that we all enter into his presence like little children, knowing our needs are met and we can cast our cares on him.

Featured image by SeppH from Pixabay; In-text image by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash