An individual characterized by worry is a person who is uncertain if God will get things right. Not only is the worrier unsure as to whether God will get it right, but the worrier will typically take matters into their own hands.
The worrier is, by default, a controller. If there is uncertainty about God’s ability to get things right (according to the worrier’s expectations and preferences), the only logical conclusion is that someone else needs to be in charge. Thus, the worrier ascends the throne and takes control of the situation.
A Crisis of Faith
There are at least two things wrong with the worrier’s understanding of the situation:
The worrier has a particular outcome in mind, a result the Lord may not want (Genesis 50:20).
The worrier has an insufficient understanding of the gospel.
The most concerning issue for the worrier is the misunderstanding of the gospel. Imagine this: if the Father predetermined in eternity past that He would execute His Son on a cruel cross to solve humanity’s future and most significant problem, don’t you think there is no length He would go to for your benefit? See Ephesians 1:3-10; Isaiah 53:10.
Our infinite God judged His beloved Son because of an infinite crime that we committed. The nature of the crime required an infinite price to be paid, thus making finite man’s hope of restoration to God impossible without His intervention.
All of our problems in life appear to be significant because we are so small in comparison to those issues. The puzzle the Lord was solving on behalf of humanity was an infinite problem that a million finite men could never fix. It took our great, inexhaustible and infinite God to remove the problem we created utterly.
The worrier, on the other hand, is functionally saying the problem they are going through is more complicated than the problem God solved through the death and the resurrection of Jesus.
Helping the Worrier
How would you counsel the worrier? Are you more apt to try to help the worrier work through the situational difficulties first, or are you more prone to take the worrier back to the gospel to help them practically to see what God did with the most significant problem ever?
The gospel is the starting place when helping the worrier problem solve. The worrier needs a reintroduction to the Problem Solver. And you want to re-teach the gospel as many times as you need to until the worrier experiences stabilization in God’s ability to do infinitely more than he could ask or think.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).
If God can solve my biggest problem in life (a broken relationship with Himself), most assuredly I can find rest, hope, and help through Him as I navigate the much lesser problems of life.
The beginning of problem-solving is faith: I believe God is for me (Romans 8:31) and He is working things out for my good (Romans 8:28). If you struggle with worry regularly, I want you to take my challenge of doing the following call to action.
The most effective way to benefit from this assignment is to spend several weeks going over it multiple times. And to enlist the help of a friend so you can discuss what you are learning. It’s imperative for you to permit others into your journey with God pertaining your struggles with worry.
Call to Action
Read my article on overcoming self-reliance and work through the “call to action” items at the end of the article.
Read my article on the three faith-killers and work through the “call to action” items at the end of the article.
Read my article on taking your thoughts captive and work through the “call to action” items at the end of the article.
Posted at: https://rickthomas.net/will-god-get-it-right-the-accusation-of-the-worrier-2/