Don’t Worry – What Does That Look Like
Tonight I was listening to Genesis 15. This is the chapter when God is talking to Abraham about his children…children he didn’t have yet.
“Then God’s Message came: “Don’t worry, he won’t be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir.””
Genesis 15:4 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/gen.15.4.MSG
Many know the story that Abraham and Sarah were childless. They were old and didn’t expect to have any children.
Yet, God said, “Don’t worry…”
On the last blog post Jesus told Jairus to trust Him. In essence He telling him to not worry.
It is interesting how throughout the Bible God tells His people on multiple occasions to have faith, don’t worry, trust Him, obey His commands, wait, be still, hold on, and be patient.
God could immediately cause Sarah to be with child. God could instantly raise Christ from the dead moments after His death. God could have suddenly released His people from slavery and bondage. He could have in a blink healed Job of his afflictions.
But He didn’t.
He still doesn’t.
Yes, there are times when the blind receives their sight in a blink. When the x-rays do not show the large growth anymore. When a sudden surge in blessings rains heavy.
If God created the world in a snap, He could easily cause your world to be fixed in a snap.
But it doesn’t always work that way.
Sometimes He says to wait.
Sometimes He whispers of what blessings lie ahead.
Sometimes He sings of the mercy that will come.
Sometimes He sits silently beside your hospital bed and holds your hand, gripping it for you to hold on a little longer.
The interesting thing with Abraham is he immediately believed God would fulfill His promise. He would have descendants so large in number that he would not be able to count. He wasn’t worried that God would fail him.
Do we have this type of faith? Faith that when the current situation looks bleak and dreary, even though God is telling you the sun will eventually rise?
Do you believe Him?
I love that Abraham trusted Him. Because Abraham is no different than anyone of us. If he trusted God, so can we. If he didn’t worry, so can we.
But God goes on and says something else not so heartwarming.
“God said to Abram, “Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders in a land not theirs; they’ll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years. Then I’ll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder. But not you; you’ll have a long and full life and die a good and peaceful death. Not until the fourth generation will your descendants return here; sin is still a thriving business among the Amorites.””
Genesis 15:13-16 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/gen.15.13-16.MSG
God will bless Abraham, but his descendants will not have the same luxury.
Many times when we read the Bible and we see these large periods of oppression. 400 years in slavery, 600 years when God was silent before the birth of Christ, years and years of war and fighting.
It’s hard to wrap my mind around these years of hardship because I have only known my 40 years of freedom.
If God said, “Don’t worry, Eric, but a war is going to break out. You will lose everything. You will become a prisoner for 400 years. But then…then your descendants will have freedom.” How would you react?
Would you lose your faith in the God who controls the tides and guides the geese to fly south in the winter? Would you want to stop worshipping the One who breathed life into your lungs when you know the going is going to get really tough? Would you want to dismiss God’s word and try to fix it before it’s too late?
Once again, God could have kept His people from being slaves in Egypt. But He didn’t. He just told them to not worry.
To trust Him.
You may be in your Egypt. You may be in your time of silence. You may be on your Damascus road. You may be in your whales belly.
And I say these words as compassionate as possible, “Don’t worry.”
The God of the mountaintop is still the God of the valley.
The God of the morning light is still the God of the midnight hour.
The God of the healing is still the God of the affliction.
The God of the blessed is still the God of the cursed.
We can pick and choose when to trust God, but we shouldn’t. We should always trust Him.
We can set boundaries and keep God is a box in our lives, but we shouldn’t. He doesn’t deserve that punishment.
May we learn to not worry even when life falls apart. Because even when we fall, we will always be caught by Him. Who knows, a blessing may be right behind the pain.
I love the chorus in The Valley Song by Jars of Clay https://youtu.be/NvZFynN–NA
I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy
Peace
