Carefree in God
Today's society, especially in the industrialized world, is under increasing pressure: the majority of people feel constantly threatened by something. People suffer from lack of time, pressure to perform (work, school, society), financial difficulties, general insecurity, terrorism, war, storm disasters, loneliness, hopelessness, etc., etc. Stress and depression have become everyday words, problems, illnesses. Despite huge advances in many areas (technology, health, education, culture), people seem to have increasing difficulty in leading a normal life.
A few days ago I was in line at a bank counter. In front of me was a father who had his toddler (maybe 4 years old) with him. The boy hopped back and forth carefree, carefree and full of joy. Siblings, when was the last time we felt this way too?
Maybe we just look at this child and say (a bit jealously): "Yes, he is so carefree because he doesn't know yet what awaits him in this life!" In this case, however, we have a fundamentally negative attitude towards life!
As Christians we should counteract the pressure of our society and look positively and confidently into the future. Unfortunately, Christians often experience their lives as negative, difficult, and spend their entire prayer life asking God to free them from a particular situation.
Let us return to our child in the bank. What is his relationship with his parents? The boy is full of confidence and confidence and therefore full of enthusiasm, joie de vivre and curiosity! Can we learn something from him? God sees us as His children and our relationship to Him should have the same naturalness that a child has over his parents.
“And when Jesus called a little child to him, he placed the child among them and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthäus 18,2-4).
God expects us to have a child who is completely committed to the parents. Children are usually not depressed, but full of joy, life spirit and confidence. It is our job to humble ourselves before God.
God expects each of us to have a child's attitude towards life. He does not want us to feel or break the pressure of our society, but expects us to approach our lives with confidence and steadfast trust in God:
“Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all, for the Lord is near.”Phil 4,6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philipper 4,4-7).
Do these words really reflect our attitude towards life or not?
In an article about stress management, I read about a mother who longed for the dentist's chair so she could finally lie down and relax. I admit this has happened to me too. Something is going very wrong when all we can do is "relax" under the dentist's drill!
The question is: How well does each of us utilize Philipper 4,6 ("Don't worry about anything") into action? In the midst of this stressed world?
The control of our life belongs to God! We are his children and are subordinate to Him. We only come under pressure when we try to control our lives ourselves, to solve our own problems and tribulations ourselves. In other words, when we focus on the storm and lose sight of Jesus.
God will lead us to the limit until we realize how little control we have over our lives. At such moments, we have no choice but to simply throw ourselves into the grace of God. Pain and suffering drive us to God. These are the most difficult moments in a Christian's life. However, moments that want to be particularly appreciated and also bring about a deep spiritual joy:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (Jakobus 1,2-4).
Difficult times in a Christian's life are meant to produce spiritual fruit, to make him perfect. God does not promise us a life without problems. “The way is narrow” said Jesus. Difficulties, trials and persecutions should not, however, cause a Christian to become stressed and depressed. The apostle Paul wrote:
“In every respect we are oppressed, but not crushed; persecuted, but not without hope; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2. Korinther 4,8-9).
When God takes control of our lives, we are never abandoned, never dependent on ourselves! Jesus Christ should be an example to us in this regard. He has preceded us and gives us courage:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Johannes 16,33).
Jesus was oppressed on all sides, he experienced opposition, persecution, crucifixion. He rarely had a quiet moment and often had to escape the people. Jesus too was pushed to the limit.
“During the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who could save him from death, and because of his fear of God he was heard, and although he was a son he learned obedience from what he suffered; and having been perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, and was welcomed by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebräer 5,7-10).
Jesus lived under great stress, never taking his life into his own hands and losing sight of the meaning and purpose of his life. He has always submitted to the will of God and accepted every situation the father allowed. In this regard, we read the following interesting statement from Jesus when he was really pressured:
“Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? Yet for this very reason I have come to this hour.” (Johannes 12,27).
Do we also accept our current situation in life (trial, illness, tribulation, etc.)? Sometimes God allows particularly awkward situations in our lives, even years of trials that are not our fault, and expects us to accept them. We find this principle in the following statement by Peter:
“For this is a grace, when someone endures sufferings unjustly because of their conscience before God. For what is your glory if you, as sinners, persevere and Will you be beaten? But if you persevere by doing good and suffering, this is grace in the sight of God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. Suffering, he made no threats, but entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1. Petrus 2,19-23).
Jesus subordinated himself to God's will until death, he suffered without guilt and served us through his suffering. Do we accept God's will in our lives? Even if it becomes unpleasant, if we suffer guiltless, are harassed from all sides and can not understand the meaning of our difficult situation? Jesus promised us divine peace and joy:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (Johannes 14,27).
“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (Johannes 15,11).
We should learn to understand that suffering is positive and generates spiritual growth:
“Not only so, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Römer 5,3-5).
We live in distress and stress and have realized what God expects of us. Therefore, we endure this situation and produce spiritual fruit. God gives us peace and joy. How can we implement this in practice? Let's read the following wonderful statement from Jesus:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthäus 11,28-30).
We should come to Jesus, then he will give us rest. This is an absolute promise! We should throw our burden on Him:
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may lift you up in due time, by casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." (1 Petrus 5,6-7).
How exactly do we throw our worries to God? Here are some concrete points that will help us in this regard:
We should place and entrust our whole being to God.
The goal of our lives is to please God and to subordinate Him to our whole being. When we try to please all our fellow human beings, there is conflict and stress because this is simply not possible. We must not give our fellow man the power to put us in distress. Only God should determine our life. This brings peace, peace and joy into our lives.
God's kingdom must come first.
What drives our life? The recognition of others? The desire to earn a lot of money? To get rid of all our problems? These are all goals that lead to stress. God clearly states what should be our priority:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Are you not much more valuable than they? And who among you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. For if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, not much more you “You of little faith,” said one of them, “do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthäus 6,25-34).
As long as we take care of God and His will first and foremost, He will cover all our other needs!
Is this a free pass for an irresponsible lifestyle? Of course not. The Bible teaches us to earn our bread and care for our families. But prioritizing this is already!
Our society is full of distractions. If we are not careful, we suddenly find no place for God in our lives. It takes concentration and prioritization, otherwise other things will suddenly determine our lives.
We are encouraged to spend time in prayer.
It is up to us to deposit our burdens on God in prayer. He calms us down in prayer, clarifies our thoughts and priorities, and brings us into a close relationship with him. Jesus gave us an important role model:
“And very early in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him hurried after him; and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you!’” (Markus 1,35-37).
Jesus hid to find time for prayer! He was not distracted by many needs:
“But the word about him spread all the more; and large crowds gathered, to hear and be healed of their illnesses. But he withdrew and was in lonely places and prayed.” (Lukas 5,15-16).
Are we under pressure, has stress spread in our lives? Then we too should retreat and spend time with God in prayer! Sometimes we are just too busy to know God at all. That's why it's important to regularly withdraw and focus on God.
Do you remember Marta's example?
“As they went along the road, he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was busy serving many people, and she came to him and said, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve by myself? Tell her to help me!’ Jesus answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Lukas 10,38-42).
Let's take time to rest and have a close relationship with God. Spend enough time in prayer, Bible study, and meditation. Otherwise it becomes difficult to offload our burdens onto God. In order to cast our burdens on God, it is important to distance ourselves from them and take rest breaks. "Not seeing the forest of trees..."
When we still taught that God expects an absolute Sabbath rest from Christians as well, we had an advantage: from Friday evening to Saturday night, we were not available to anyone but God. Hopefully, at least we have understood and maintained the principle of rest in our lives. From time to time we just have to switch off and rest, especially in this stressed-out world. God does not dictate when this should be. Humans simply need rest periods. Jesus taught his disciples to rest:
"And the apostles gathered around Jesus, and they told him everything they had done and everything they had taught. And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while, for there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.'" (Markus 6, 30-31).
When all of a sudden there is no time to eat, it is certainly high time to switch off and take some rest.
So how do we throw our worries on God? Let us say:
• We submit our whole being to God and trust him.
• God's kingdom comes first.
• We spend time in prayer.
• We take time to rest.
In other words, our life should be God-and Jesus-oriented. We are focused on Him and make room for Him in our lives.
He will then bless us with peace, peace and joy. His burden is easy, even if we are harassed from all sides. Jesus was oppressed but never crushed. Let us truly live in joy as God's children and trust Him to rest in Him and to throw all our burdens on Him.
Our society is under pressure, Christians too, sometimes even more, but God creates space, bears our burden and cares for us. Are we convinced? Do we live our lives with deep trust in God?
Let us conclude with David's description of our heavenly Creator and Lord in the Psalm 23 (David too was often in danger and under heavy pressure from all sides):
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23).
by Daniel Bösch
