From Whence Cometh My Help

Trying Not to Worry

In the five months following my husband, Frank's death, everything that could possibly go wrong did so, and none of the things were things I knew anything about. All were things that had been a part of his domain. After so many things happened, I began to project myself into the future, rehearsing what I would do if this happened or that happened. I sought to be self-sufficient and not bother my children with all the problems. Then I realized that there was another alternative and that was to live fully in the present not worrying about the future. I just needed to learn to depend on God each and every moment. That required some real work on my part. I had to train my mind to seek his help continually, even when I felt competent. I had to remember to trust and know that he was leading me, and I had to take this all one step further. I had to learn to take each problem and look at it as though it was God at work in my life. Believe it or not, when I began to see each problem as if it was just that, and depend on him to help me make each decision and work through every problem, amazing things happened. Problems were easily solved and I grew in my faith and trust in the Lord, which I now know was his plan and goal all along.

A huge part of my anxiety was the thought of dealing with problems, making decisions, and living my life without Frank. However, I just needed to remind myself that while Frank was gone, Christ would always be with me, helping me with every problem and every decision. I never had to live my life without Christ by my side every minute of every day.

Because only God knows what the future will hold, we are wasting our time trying to figure it out and worrying about it. The best and only thing we can do is trust God with our days and lives and pray for increased faith to do so. He has promised to care for us, love us, provide for us, and give us eternal life. What more can we ask of him? To try to figure out our future is a form of worry and in a sense a huge lack of faith. Our job is to run the race believing that he will be beside us all the way helping us. We have to give our problems over to the Lord. I promise that when we do, we will feel the weight of those problems lifted off us because the Lord will help us to carry that load. The problems may still be there but because we have connected with the Lord, we will have help as we deal with whatever the day brings. Joshua 1:9 NIV says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

It is the Man of Sorrows who is there for us. He has already paid a very high price to be there. When our world seems very dark, when friends and family fail us, we need to keep our thoughts close to the Lord. He certainly knows as no one else could the feeling of grief and great loss. I truly believe that as we grieve, so does he, as we cry, do does he, as we mourn, so does he. As we pray, he hears, and as we ask, he answers.

A cherished quote by Charles Swindoll says, "The sovereignty of God does not answer all of my questions, but it alleviates all of my fears. To live fearlessly is to believe in and expect divine guidance." What comforting words when dealing with the loss of a loved one!