Carefree in God

304 not worried in godToday'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 had called a child, he put him in their midst and said, Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, if anyone humble himself like this child, he is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 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 want to say: Rejoice! Your gentleness shall be known to all people; the Lord is near. [Philippians 4,6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, your requests should be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 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 do each of us place Philippians 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 all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But patience must have a perfect work, that you may be perfect and perfect, and lack nothing" ( James 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 everything we are oppressed, but not crushed; seeing no way out, but not pursuing no way out, but not forsaken; thrown down but not destroyed” (2. Corinthians 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 spoken this to you so that you may have peace in me. In the world you have affliction; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 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.

“In the days of his flesh he offered up both entreaties and supplications with loud crying and tears to him who is able to save him from death, and was heard for the fear of God, and though he was a son he learned by what he did suffered, obedience; and made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, accepted of God as high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 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 should I say? Father, save me from this hour? Yet that is why I have come to this hour” (John 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 that is mercy when a man endures sufferings by suffering unjustly because of conscience before God. For what glory is it if ye endure as such that sin and get hit? But if you endure, doing good and suffering, that is grace with God. For this is what you were called to do; for Christ also suffered for you and left you an example, so that you may follow in his footsteps: he who committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; , but handed himself over to him who judges righteously" (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 you, {my} peace I give you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor be afraid” (John 14,27).

“I have spoken this to you, that my joy might be in you, and your joy might be full” (John 15,11).

We should learn to understand that suffering is positive and generates spiritual growth:

“Not only that, but also in tribulations do we boast, knowing that tribulation produces endurance, and endurance is trial, and trial is hope; but hope does not disappoint, for the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 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 meek and humble in heart, and "ye shall find rest for your souls"; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 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 in due season he may exalt you, [how?] throwing all your cares upon him! For 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 say to you: Do not be anxious about your life, what to eat and what to drink, nor about your body, what to wear. Isn't life better than food, and the body than clothing? Behold the birds of the air, that they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them . Aren't {you} much more valuable than them? But who among you can add a cubit to the length of his life with worries? And why are you concerned about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field as they grow: they neither toil nor spin. But I tell you, even Solomon was not clothed in all his splendor like one of these. But if God clothes the grass of the field, which is today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, not much more you , you of little faith. So do not be concerned, saying, What shall we eat? Or: What should we drink? Or: what should we wear? For all these things the nations seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all of this. But strive first for the kingdom of God and for his righteousness! And all this will be added to you. So don't worry about tomorrow! Because tomorrow will take care of itself. Every day has enough of its evil” (Matthew 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 early in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out and went away to a lonely place and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him hastened after him; and they found him and said to him, "All are looking for you" (Mark 1,35-37).

Jesus hid to find time for prayer! He was not distracted by many needs:

“But talk about him spread all the more; and great crowds gathered to hear and be healed of their diseases. But he withdrew and was in lonely places, praying" (Luke 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?

“Now it happened as they were going on their way that he came to a village; and a woman named Martha received him. And she had a sister, called Mary, who also sat down at the feet of Jesus and listened to his word. But Martha was very busy with much service; but she came up and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!] But Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha! You are concerned and troubled about many things; but one thing is necessary. But Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken from her” (Luke 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 gather to Jesus; and they reported to him all that they had done and all that they had taught. And he said to them: Come, you yourselves alone, to a desolate place and rest a little. For those who came and went were many, and they did not even have time to eat" (Mark 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 Psalm 23 (David was also often in danger and under great pressure from all sides):

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He lays me down on green meadows, he leads me to still waters. He refreshes my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even if I wander in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm, for you are with me; your rod and your staff {they} comfort me. You prepare a table before me before my enemies; you have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows. Only kindness and grace will follow me all the days of my life; and I will return to the house of the Lord for life” (Psalm 23).

by Daniel Bösch


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