“Don’t worry…don’t worry…don’t worry….” Three times in eleven verses this simple word addresses our most common tendency to worry. Times of adversity visit all of us. We wrestle with our rivals, compete with circumstances, and fight for survival, rather than learning to trust, delight, commit and rest (Psalm 37:3-7). We’re conditioned to worry. We tend to believe there is little hope for a victorious tomorrow if we personally don’t secure it today.

That kind of mentality takes a serious toll on health, on relationships, and produces an absence of peace. God has a better idea. It begins with trust, which stands in the confidence that there is nothing He cannot master, and nothing in my life takes Him by surprise. In other words, there is no such thing as "chance." He may not have designed the difficulty, but He did foresee it. All of our life is essentially a setting in which we are given opportunities to grow while we learn to follow our Lord, and do it trustingly. As the hymn-writer said: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus – but to trust and obey.”

The Psalmist says being committed to resting in the Lord is a discipline essential to growth. Many well-meaning people seek to ritualize discipline into their life. Just having Christian books, tapes, and correspondence courses on being a godly person isn’t enough. There’s more to growing, especially growing in adversity, than just going through the motions. To lose weight, you eat less; to tone your body, you exercise; to learn more, you study; and to grow yourself in godliness, you live in the Word of God and walk in His ways.

If I plan not to worry or fret, I must answer this question: “Can I trust God? Can I trust Him with my life, my home, my family, and my future?” I say that, even when things look like they may not turn out right, I’ve decided to find rest in God’s faithful, loving hands.

Learning to rest,

Ron