One night as we were sitting around marveling at our son who was contentedly grinning from ear to ear, Richard made the simple statement: Look at him, he doesn’t have a care in the world! This statement came amidst a conversation about jobs, tuition, and homes. In comparison, our lives certainly seem full of “cares.”

    In my heart however, this mother knows that her little boy is full of cares, though they may seem small and insignificant compared to our own. They revolve around food and being alone and being stuck in a car seat longer than desired. They usually are a result of a lack of knowledge or understanding. He doesn’t realize that the bottle he’s so desirous of is just minutes away in the microwave, or that he must be strapped into a car seat for his own safety. These are things that we know, but he doesn’t. As a result he gets mad, angry, worried, or upset. If only he could learn to trust his loving parents and believe that they always have his good in mind, that they will always take care of him, that they want for him to be happy.

    You can see where I am going with this can’t you? We are all too much like that little child who doesn’t understand why his parents are making him sit buckled into that car seat way longer than desired. We are just like that little baby who doesn’t believe that the bottle is on its way until it is in its mouth. To our Lord and Heavenly Father our cares and worries seem so small, so easily taken care of, so obviously necessary at times. We fret over jobs when he controls every company in the world. We worry over finances when he owns every treasury on the planet. We grow frustrated when we are forced to wait for something that the Lord is obviously holding back for a reason.    

    Our cares may seem more weighty, but to God they are just as simple, just as needless. He is intimately acquainted with them and has not forgotten or overlooked what concerns our hearts.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:4-7 (bold me)

“And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his  span of life?  If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For  all the nations of the world seek after these things, and  your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his  kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”  Luke 12:22-31 (bold me)

    We serve a powerful and loving God. It is good that he is powerful because it means that he can do anything! He can open up that new job for you; he can provide the money you need to meet your budget; he can provide the road for you to accomplish your goals.

He can.

But sometimes he doesn’t.

Sometimes he takes longer than we would like him to.

Sometimes he gives us something different.

That is why it is important that he is a loving God. He isn’t up there in the sky playing pranks on us, or musing over how we mess up our lives. He loves us. He loves us. He knows what is best for us. Sometimes he joyfully gives us exactly what we desire. Sometimes he knows that what we desire isn’t good for us or for others. Sometimes he desires to teach us something as we wait for him. Sometimes he has something better in mind.

But he always has the best thing in mind.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,  for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (bold mine)

    So, if you are in a place where you feel the cares and anxieties of the world weighing on your shoulders remember that you have a loving Father who is bigger than your “problems.” In fact, he is orchestrating those problems for your good. He is using them for purposes you may not be able to see and only asks that you trust him. Trust the one who holds the universe in the palm of his hand and loved you enough to die for you.