What's The Point In Worrying?

I've just been watching 'Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in One Day' which is a fascinating insight into the daily life of the NHS from all sorts of different perspectives.

 

One elderly man had gone into one hospital for a cataract operation.  When his wife was asked how she was feeling about his operation, she said, "I'm not worrying.  I mean, what's the point?"

 

What's the point?

 

Well said!

 

She followed this by saying, "I mean, you die if you worry, you die if you don't."

 

Worry doesn't change a thing.

 

Jesus asked,

 

"Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

[Matthew 6:27 NIV]

 

 

Often we can think that if we worry about something, we will somehow prevent it from happening.  But do we really believe this?  Do we really believe that our worry-power can change circumstances outside of our control?

 

Worrying strips us of our peace of mind. It wears us out and eats away at us. Worry is never satisfied.

 

I think sometimes we quite enjoy worrying, because in a strange way, it makes us feel in control.  It helps us to get a grip - or feel as though we have got a grip - on something that is out of control.

 

The opposite of worry is trust.

 

Jesus continued,

 

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

[Matthew 6:33-34 MSG]

 

We can choose to trust that God will help us, whatever happens.  Or we can choose to worry.

 

But what's the point?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vantage Point

From my first-floor flat, I have a brilliant view into the construction site just across the road from me.

 

I noticed earlier that, because of all of the boards surrounding the site, it is virtually impossible to see anything from ground level.  So, whilst someone walking or driving past would only be able to see the very tops of the scaffolding poles, I have a perfect view of everything that is going on.

 

I have watched the ground being dug up.  I have watched the foundations being established.  I have seen the huge breeze blocks being laid and built up.  I have watched the piping going in.  I have watched the insulation being added, before the outer bricks were layered up.

 

I have watched it all.

 

In the same way, I think that when God is working in our hearts, He has this same vantage point: He can see over the 'walls' and watches every little change and development that is going.

 

But sometimes we - and others - can't see past the walls.  We don't have the bird's eye view that God does.

 

So we have to trust that He is doing what He says He will do.

 

We have to trust Paul's words to the church in Thessalonica:

"The One who called you is completely dependable.  If he said it, he’ll do it!"

 

[1 Thessalonians 5:24 MSG]

 

We might not always be able to see what is going on, in the restoration work of our hearts, but we can always trust the One who is overseeing that work.

 

 

 

 

The Frustrations Of Unpredictable Weather

I have found the inconsistencies and unpredictabilities of the recent weather forecasts irritating.  Where snow is concerned, I want to know if I can get excited about it or not.

 

I'm not interested in "maybe" or "possibly" so far as the weather is concerned.  I don't want a percentage of the likelihood of snow or rain or sleet.  I want the actual facts.  I want to know what to expect.

 

Guessing is no use to me.

 

It's a bit like in one of Michael McIntyre's sketches where he says how whenever you ask someone for the time, if they don't know, they will still guess.  I think it's about three.

 

He says, I didn't ask you to guess the time.  I can do that myself.

 

Similarly, I don't need a weather forecast to guess the weather.  I can do that myself.

 

I appreciate that predicting the weather isn't that straightforward or predictable, so no matter how much I want to know for definite what the weather is doing, that won't happen.

 

Still, it would be useful wouldn't it? 

 

You'd know what shoes/coat to wear.  You'd know whether to bother straightening your hair or, more importantly, not to waste time straightening it if it is soon to face the rain.

 

It would make planning for life much easier.

 

But unfortunately, it is not possible.

 

I suppose the weather forecast is an act of faith: will we believe it or not? 

 

Similarly, our walk with God is an act of faith: I don't always know what's going to happen in my life.  I am not perfectly prepared for every eventuality.  But I don't need to be when I'm trusting in God.

 

Faith isn't so much about what you can see, but about what you choose to see and about who you trust to show you.

 

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

 

[Hebrews 11:1 NLT]
 

I will never get the perfect weather forecast that tells me exactly what I want to know.  There will always be an element of faith and trust involved.  And, this side of heaven, I will never get to know for sure what God is planning on doing in my life - I will never have the perfect 'life forecast'. 

But whilst I don't know what might happen, I know the One who knows.  And that's enough for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Hold On Tight

I've been one of those wallies in wellies today.

 

Yes, I looked silly, but I thought I would have looked even sillier if I had fallen on the ice. 

 

Yesterday I found myself clinging on to some helpfully placed railings as I skated along the pavement.  It reminded me of my traumatising ice-skating experiences as a child which were mostly spent gripping onto the edge of the rink and edging my way round.

 

Even in wellies, I have been slipping and sliding all over the place today: it has been very risky underfoot. It has been difficult to get a grip.

 

In the same way, it can sometimes feel a bit slippery underfoot in a spiritual sense, too.  It can feel as though you are sliding out of control and can't quite get a grip on anything.

 

The Bible describes God's love as being what will hold us steady when the ground is slippery:

 

         "The minute I said, 'I’m slipping, I’m falling,
         your love, God, took hold and held me fast."

 

        [Psalm 94:18 MSG]

 

 

This verse doesn't say that God made the ground smooth, or that He took away the 'slipperiness'.  Instead, He promises to hold our hands tightly as we walk over the slippery parts of life.

 

So that rather than clinging onto the edge of the ice-rink of life, we can let go and trust in God's love which will always keep a tight hold on us.

 

 

 

Yet I Dare To Hope

Today is one of the most important days in the year: my birthday.

 

Every single year I have hoped for snow on my birthday and every single year I have been disappointed.  There is often snow in other places in the country, or snow in the weeks just after my birthday, but I have yet to enjoy snow on my actual birthday.

 

However, despite the fact that I have yet to enjoy snow on my birthday, despite the years of disappointment, every single year I still hope that it might just snow.  I eagerly watch the weather forecasts, I wake up during the night before my birthday just to check outside.  Even now, with a few hours left of my birthday, I think it might just snow.  There's still a chance.

 

Despite the disappointment, I still dare to hope.

 

And it's a tiny, pale, weak reflection of what the writer of Lamentations described in the Bible.  The book of Lamentations, as the name suggests, is a book of mourning at the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem.

 

And yet, in the very middle of the book, there is a tiny seed of hope.  A moment where, despite the dire circumstances, the writer remembers God's goodness.  And it gives him cause to hope.

 

      "The thought of my suffering and homelessness
      is bitter beyond words.

      I will never forget this awful time,
      as I grieve over my loss.
      Yet I still dare to hope
      when I remember this:

      The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
      His mercies never cease.
      Great is his faithfulness;
      his mercies begin afresh each morning.
      I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
      therefore, I will hope in him!”

      The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
      to those who search for him.
      So it is good to wait quietly
      for salvation from the Lord."

 

     [Lamentations 3:19-26 NLT, emphasis mine]

 

 

Yet I still dare to hope.

 

Despite difficult circumstances, despite repeated disappointments, despite broken dreams, still I dare to hope when I remember who it is that I trust. 

 

We can continue to hope, because we can put our hope and trust in a faithful, loving, merciful God.

 

And as for the snow, there's always next year.

 

 

 

Daily Bread

This evening, I'm catching up on Nigel Slater's 'Dish of the Day' programme from Friday.  His aim is to show us how to avoid wasting food, by planning out how to make the most of the weekly shop.

 

It is a well-known fact that most of us waste food by over-buying: we succumb to the 'buy one get one free' offers, or reduced goods and end up with more than we use.

 

This is something which I know I have been guilty of in the past and it can be a real struggle to plan out my cooking to ensure I don't waste food or money.  It's a struggle to make sure I have just enough food for each week and no more, which will go off and be wasted.

 

In the Bible, when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt and wandering around in the desert, God provided just enough food for them every day.  Every morning in the camp, God sent 'manna' to cover the ground, which was like honey-flavoured wafers.

 

Moses told them to only collect enough for themselves for one day (apart from the day before the Sabbath when they collected twice as much).

 

"So Moses told them, 'It’s the bread God has given you to eat.  And these are God's instructions: "Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent."' 

The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.  

 

Moses said to them, 'Don’t leave any of it until morning.'  But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. And Moses lost his temper with them."

[Exodus 16:15-20 MSG] 

 

I don't know how I would have felt being instructed to only collect enough food for each day, rather than being able to hoard enough for the week.  Whilst I waste some of my food if I over-buy, I prefer that scenario to not having enough.

 

It must have encouraged the Israelites to trust God more, as they were literally relying on Him for their daily bread.  Even if they tried to save it for the next day, it went mouldy.

 

They had to live each day in faith, believing and trusting that God would provide for them.

 

Jesus taught His followers to ask God and trust them for their "daily bread".  But how often do we pray this without really considering what it means?  I want to develop that reliance on God which, each day, trusts Him afresh to provide enough for me.

 

I want to learn to live by faith in God, rather than by my own self-sufficiency.

 

 

 

 

 

White Doves

Today, for the first time that I can recall, I saw a dove up close.


There were three of them in a dovecote and I was amazed at how close I got to them. I started off by tentatively tip-toeing towards them, pausing every time they looked up. But soon I was right underneath them and they didn't seem bothered by me at all.


I have always known that they were a symbol of peace (and sometimes hope too), but I was surprised by how busy they were, preening themselves and ruffling their feathers. They were peaceful, but not still.


It got me thinking about the real meaning of peace.


"Peace" is often partnered with "Quiet". We long for a moment of "peace and quiet" and seem to assume that to be peaceful requires being quiet, or that being quiet will result in a feeling of peace.


But watching the doves made me realise that peace is not so much to do with volume or stillness. It is about a deeper contentment and assurance. A confidence in who God is and who we are in Him. It is an internal confidence which cannot be shaken or altered by external circumstances. It is based on putting our trust in a reliable, faithful and unchanging God.


It is, as Paul said, the ability to feel content whatever the circumstances:

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."

[Philippians 4:11-12 MSG]

In The Message translation, Peterson defines peace as "a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good" [Philippians 4:7 MSG]


God desires to give us this peace, to guard and protect our minds and to make us complete. But we have to stop worrying and fretting and put our trust in Him, instead of in ourselves.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

[Isaiah 26:3 NIV]

Freefall

I always feel sorry for people who either a) say they don't dream or b) seem to have really dull dreams.  Given that you can do anything in dreams, some people's dreams just seem a bit too much like everyday life.

I like the kind of dreams that couldn't really happen in 'real life'.  Dreams where you fly, or are chased but never get caught.

Or those dreams where you fall and wake up just before you land.

Whilst I don't know that I would ever be brave enough to actually sky-dive, I love the sensation of falling in dreams.

Complete freedom.

Total abandonment.

No strings attached.

God offers us this complete freedom too:

"Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.  And not just barely free, either.  Abundantly free!"  [Ephesians 1:7 MSG]

But in order to experience this freedom, we need to let go of everything we're holding on to.  In the same way that to sky-dive, you have to leave the safety of the plane and trust your parachute, we have to leave the safety of our own understanding and trust God.  Trust what He has said and what He has done.  Trust that it is enough and that we can't add to it with our own efforts. 

We can't put our trust in God and in ourselves.

 "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go."

[Proverbs 3:5 MSG]

 
        "You tell me I've been made free

You give me everything I need to walk in my dreams

You whisper words that free my soul

You're the reason I have hope

You're everything I need and more

You made me

You made me free."

[Dara Maclean, Free]

 

 

You can't freefall if you're still holding on.