When Our Worries Multiply

Our anxieties ratchet up.

Our worries multiply.

The uncertainty is unsettling.

There’s legitimate cause for alarm.

It can feel like the world is on fire.

Sometimes we lie to ourselves. Sometimes we ignore reality. Sometimes it’s easier to believe a lie than it is to accept the truth.

Like the Psalmist we can say:

“My tears have been my food day and night…” (42:3)

Grief grips our heart. Fear clenches our gut. Anxiety seizes our mind.

Words like chemotherapy, infusion, myocardial infarction, stent, TNK (the clot-buster), ablation, and a myriad of other medical terms become a part of our vocabulary as we struggle to deal with the illnesses we can face at anytime.

Periodically we hear of new diseases that spring up, seemingly out of nowhere, to become a part of our lives, and/or the lives of our children.

We can ignore all this. Some people do.

We can pretend there’s nothing to it. Some people do.

We can let the anxiety and fear control our lives. Some people do.

We can let the grip of grief stop us from living. Some people do.

Or…we can practice walking by faith. (Here I must remind us that walking by faith is not as easy as some would lead us to believe. Walking by faith requires an effort; it is a learning process. But, if we have faith the size of a mustard seed (Jesus’ words), we have enough to begin our life’s journey learning to walk by faith. Some days we might feel like we’ve failed to walk by faith, and some days we will feel good about our journey, but every day we practice walking by faith strengthens us to face life’s troubles…and we all will face life’s troubles. Troubles are a reality of life, and ignoring them will not make them go away.)

Let’s begin here:

“He will feed his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms,

and carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead the mother sheep.” (Isaiah 40:11)

Isaiah paints for us a picture of love, concern, and compassion. This is our God.

And so we ask, if God is the God of love, concern, and compassion, why does God allow such suffering, such pain, such heartache to come upon us? Why does evil triumph so often? Does God cause bad things to happen to us in order to test us, to test our faith? If so, what does that really say about God and love, concern, and compassion? We can see why some people stop believing in God when terrible things have happened to them or to someone they loved. It’s understandable why people who live with evil around them come to the conclusion there is no God…or not a God of love, concern, and compassion.

And yet, here’s the prophet declaring he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.

Do you have faith the size of a mustard seed? If so, let’s begin the journey here:

“It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to live in…” (Isaiah 40:22)

God has no limits. God is not limited by time or space. In our efforts to understand God, we often make God too small in our thinking. The vastness of the universe and beyond is a testimony to the greatness of our God who has no limits, except those limits he has chosen for himself. We live in a world of troubles, trials, and tribulations, because humanity has chosen to be their own god—to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent said to Eve, “For God knows that when you eat of it (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” In other words, humans have decided they know best, and can determine for themselves what is good and what is evil, and that decision has led us to where we are today. God gave us a choice. We chose, and continue to choose our way over his way. And here we are.

We have human laws to govern us because we cannot be trusted to do the right thing. And we have law-enforcement and a judicial system to enforce those laws. It is a choice humanity has made and it is a choice with which we must live. Sadly, even the most innocent among us suffer as a result of the choice to be our own god.

“To whom then will you compare me,

or who is my equal? says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:

Who created these?” (Isaiah 40:25)

Are we here by some cosmic accident?

Is life simply a matter of chance and luck?

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28)

What do you believe?

How much faith do you have? (It begins with faith the size of a mustard seed.)