Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever been frustrated because people didn't seem to trust you to do your job, or just trust you in the role that you have? It could be your job, your spouse, your children, or your parents. It doesn't matter who it is. It can be really frustrating when you think, just trust me. I know what I'm doing. I've got this.
I would love to look at our Verse of the Day today with that lens in mind. It provides a very different perspective on this particular verse.
Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 says, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
A Different Lens on Worry
The reason why I started off with that lens is because a lot of times when we look at a verse like this, don't worry about anything, we immediately internalize it. We think about ourselves because sometimes we can stay up at night worrying about the next day, worrying about what else is going on. Imagine if we shifted that lens and instead of being so focused on our role in worry, we start learning about God in His capability.
Imagine how you feel when someone doesn’t trust you to do your job. Remember the feelings of, I know what I'm doing. I know how to do this. I've done this before. When another person is very concerned about us not doing our job right, it amplifies the frustration in our own hearts because we know how to do it. I got this, we think.
God's Perspective on Our Worry
As much as we want to be trusted in our own capability of what we are able to do, what our role is, and what our job is, imagine the God of the universe loving you and caring about you so much that He has a perfect plan for you. When we worry about it, it's almost like we're standing over the God of the universe's shoulder and saying, "Are you going to do this right? Do you get it?"
Can you imagine if we could physically live that out and demonstrate that? Can you imagine what we would really think in that situation? It's like, oh my goodness, what am I doing? Why am I looking over God's shoulder and thinking He's not capable to do this?
That's why the lens of this verse is so unique. Instead of just focusing so much on our worry, shift that perspective to focus on God's capability.
The Truth About Our Troubles
I love what Mark Twain said about worry. He said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." I love that, because here's Mark Twain talking about all the troubles he went through, and he said, actually, most of them never happened. Why? He's talking about worrying.
A lot of times the worry—what we're worrying about—actually never transpires the way we think it will. We've filled in blanks of things that potentially could happen in the future. Really, what does that do? It's something that we don't acknowledge, but really, it's not trusting God that He has your best interest at heart, that what's going to happen in the future is somehow outside of God's capability.
If you trust Him in it and through it, imagine what this journey could look like as God is in control.
Remembering God's Faithfulness
That's why the end of the verse says, Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Now catch that. That is the dynamic we're looking for because when we're thanking Him for what He has done, we're reminded of what He has done, looking at what He's accomplished in our life. Guess what? We're bringing that to the forefront instead of the unknown of tomorrow.
We're bringing to the forefront what God has done in the past to remind you of His capability for the future.
I would love for you to take some time, and instead of worrying about, processing, and thinking through all the things that you don't know, actually take some time to reflect on what is known—to thank God for the things He has done, and be reminded of His capability that He can handle what you're bringing to Him today. Just bring it to Him, talk to Him about it, and leave it with His capable hands.