– By Lori Benka
I was in the middle of preparing a meal in my Crock-Pot when a sudden, sharp chest pain struck. Immediately, my mind raced to my father’s heart history. Fear gripped me as I realized I needed to seek medical attention. I calmly informed my husband of my decision to go to the emergency room, knowing full well that anxiety would only exacerbate the situation.
When I arrived at the hospital, I told triage what was happening and they quickly escorted me to a room where I was hooked up to the machines. Multiple tests were performed and then I sat and waited.
Now, I’m not very good at waiting. In fact, I am horrible at waiting. I had to lie in that bed for 5 hours before I received my test results. And let me tell you, my mind was racing everywhere. Did I have a heart attack? What if I had another blood clot? Is it pneumonia? Oh my Gosh! I’m going crazy! Oh look; there is a disgusting dust web.
After a few hours of this mental torture, I decide to pray. “Dear God, I don’t know what is going on, but I trust you to give these doctors wisdom and bring peace to my anxious heart. Please give me strength and bring healing to my body. I surrender all to you.” And do you know what happened? Peace entered my mind and I knew God had everything under control.
The test results came back clear, ruling out any serious issues. They suspected it was simply a pulled muscle or pinched nerve, which was a huge relief. Despite this, as a precautionary measure, they recommended a stress test to be on the safe side.
Now, I sit and wait…
Finding Strength in Rest
God repeatedly asks us to be patient, yet it’s a constant struggle. The longer I wait, the more anxious I become. My mind races with worst-case scenarios. Being overwhelmed by responsibilities and unfulfilled hopes, I can experience a heavy weight of anxiety. Oftentimes, I may feel like I have failed God in my inability to wait patiently.
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”
As I ponder this verse, a question arises: How can one find peace amidst such uncertainty? Could the answer lie in unwavering faith in God’s care, regardless of circumstances?
I don’t handle uncertainty very well. It seems like the older I get, the worse I am becoming. If you are anything like me, you like stability. I like to have things planned out so I am not taken by surprise.
In my planning and analyzing, I’ve sadly neglected God’s purpose, relying instead on my own insufficient abilities. Resting in the Lord has taken back stage which has caused an unnecessary amount of stress and anxiety.
Only in resting in God can our strength be renewed.
God’s Strength is Made Perfect in Your Weakness
God doesn’t want us to be worried and anxious about what tomorrow holds. He doesn’t want us to carry the heavy burden of stress and anxiety about a health issue, a wayward child, or depression. He wants us to rest in Him and be confident knowing He will work everything out for our good in His perfect timing. Romans 8:28 says that God will work all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Even though we understand God’s promise to work all things for good, it is sometimes difficult to release our worries. But thankfully, God’s perfect love knows our struggles and our weaknesses intimately. And He provides strength when we feel frail.
In our weakest moments, He is there holding us close to His heart.
Maybe the whole reason God wants us to learn to wait and rest in Him is because it is the only way our strength is renewed. He knows how we are created, and He also knows that He did not create our bodies to hold on to stress the way we do. How many mental and physical problems could we avoid by just learning to rest in God?
Gaining Strength Through Trust
I am reminded of a childhood game where trust was tested. One person had to blindly fall backwards, relying on the others to catch their fall.
Most of the time, we trust our friends to catch us and the game goes on. There was, however, a time we played this game with our youth group where my husband and I were Youth Pastors and he was making a point before we started the game. The girl became impatient and decides at that moment to fall back before my husband was ready and he missed catching her. She fell flat on the ground. When we saw that she was not hurt, we all laughed and it became the joke of the church.
If we can place this much trust in our earthly friends, why do we find it difficult to place our trust in our Heavenly Father who will never drop us? Isn’t He the One who fashioned us and formed our inward parts? Our weaknesses, pains, heartaches, and fears are all known to Him. He is aware of every tear we cry. Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book”.
If God know us this intimately, why do we have a difficult time trusting Him? There is so much strength that we can gain by surrendering our cares over to God and resting in HIm.
His Strength Is Perfect
Jesus is the answer for everything you will ever experience in life. He says to come to Him and exchange our heavy burdens for His light yoke. We will then be able to find the rest we longingly desire.
When we try to control our circumstances, we labor in vain. We begin to struggle with the heavy weight we have just placed upon ourselves because we fail to release that burden over to God. As we release our burdens back to Jesus, His strength will fill our bodies and mind and in return, give us hope.
A person who labors is struggling and one who carries a heavy burden in overloaded. Jesus is asking us to come to Him. Find rest in HIm. Come to Him to gain strength. He wants to take our burdens and struggles and exchange them for peace.
The only way to receive His peace, however, is to stop trying to control our own circumstances and give them all back over to Jesus. Give Him your health, your children your grandchildren, and your finances. Fully rely on Him and place complete trust in Him being confidant that He will help you and strengthen you.
Conclusion
We frequently attempt to shoulder life’s burdens alone. Oftentimes, we sacrifice the tranquility God longs to provide. He yearns to fortify us in our weaknesses and our everyday challenges.
Begin today to rest in Him. Give Him every burden, every worry, and every care. Trust that He is with you and will strengthen you. There is nothing in the Bible that says you have to figure everything out and you have to have it all together. He sees you in your weaknesses and loves you anyway. Nothing can separate you from His love.
Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
As you surrender every care over to Him, and understand how much you are loved, you will find the strength and peace you are truly seeking. I pray that in doing this, you can find joy in today.
If you are battling fear or worry, you may like my post Fear Not: How to Conquer the Giant in Your Mind. You can read it here.
Find Joy In Today 
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