This past week was a pretty rough one for me. It seemed as the week went on, problems seemed to come at me over and over again. I was extremely stressed out with how things were going and had a hard time keeping in a good mood. I felt depressed and nothing seemed to bring me out of it. I prayed to God, read my Bible and for the most part, even worked a lot of these things out. But I still wasn't really happy. Finally, one day at work, I walked to a place where I was alone and knelt down in prayer again. This time, however, I wasn't praying to have all my issues resolved. I simply told God that I was not worrying about these things anymore and was trusting in Him. Almost immediately my spirit was lifted and I went back to being my normal, happy self.
God wants us to be happy, and will do everything in His power to help us. But we need to remember is we are not meant to focus on “worldly things”. We are only meant to live our lives to the fullest and praise God in all things. When you consider what this life is all about and what our purpose here is, why do we let little things matter? Who cares if a certain person doesn’t really care about you? Who cares if you miss a payment on your car or house?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying that we shouldn’t bother taking care of things in our lives. If we stop paying for our house, we loose it and don’t have a place to live. We need to take do what we have to to survive. But we shouldn’t worry so much that we forget about the more important things. Matthew 6: 25-26 says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body; what you will put on. Is not life more than feed and the body more than clothing? 26. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
When we put the Lord 1st and put everything else 2nd, He will take care of us. He may not do this in the way we would like but we can be assured that no matter what happens, it will be for the best. God won’t lead us astray. Sometimes it can be extremely hard to trust in the Lord. Our ways and His ways are not always the same. But God knows us better than we do and knows what is best.
A couple of years ago I couldn’t find any employment. I searched and searched and eventually had to take a job at a local hardware store making minimum wage. I was upset and frustrated about how life was going. I never thought that God had a plan for me and He does everything for a purpose. It was after two months of working there that a new girl started in the same department. This girl is now my beautiful wife. Had I not taken that job, I might not have met her. God had a plan for me and I didn't trust in Him to take care of me. I am so thankful now for what He does. I may not understand it but I know it will always work out.
We can all be much happier if we stop focusing on the conditions of our lives and start focusing on the good that is in our life. My father all of my life would say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff....and it’s all small stuff.” Trust in the Lord, praise Him in everything. He will take care of you if you only trust in Him with all your heart. Amen.