EP 201: When the “What Ifs” Come: Trusting God with Our Everyday Fears
Inside: If our good God cares even for the birds, how much more does He care for His beloved children?
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
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My time in the Word is often when I bring all my concerns and fears to the Lord. Honestly, that’s when they seem to arise, and I wish it were the only time they did, because that is the very moment I can do something with them—bring them before Him and give them to Him.
My biggest fear is for my unsaved loved ones, and I have other concerns too, like health issues and hard relationships. Even as believers, our minds can let these fears turn into worry so quickly. For me, it can begin with one thought, and then I’m spiraling into all the what ifs in my mind, and it affects my whole day.
This morning I was reading in Matthew 10:26–33, and these words from Jesus brought comfort and clarity, as they so often do:
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed… And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell… Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:26–31
There were hard days coming for the disciples. They were going to face opposition and persecution, and Jesus’s message to them is what we still need to hear today: we can trust Him and rest in His care.
This is such a comfort to me because Jesus is telling the disciples (and me) that I don’t have to fear what’s ahead. God is so in control of all things that even a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without Him knowing. I need that reminder that He is in control not only of the big events in our lives but also the ordinary ones. Nothing can happen to us outside His control.
A dear friend once gave me a little sparrow statue with Matthew 6:26 beside it, and it sits on my bookshelf right near where I’m typing this as that reminder to me. If our good God cares even for the birds, how much more does He care for His beloved children.
What Does This Mean in Everyday Life?
When my mind starts going to the what ifs, I need to bring it back to truth. I don’t have instant peace, and I can’t tell you how often I’m bringing the same issue to Him morning after morning. When those fears come up during my time in the Word, I journal them and pray through them, reminding myself of truths from His Word. So often I’ll write a verse down next to whatever issue I’m struggling with that morning, and some mornings I write it on a 3×5 card to keep near me throughout the day. I want to meditate on His Word so my anxious heart can rest in my Father’s sovereign care.
When I journal, I find myself working through questions like these:
- Have I brought this to the Lord in prayer, or am I trying to carry it alone?
- Am I able to trust God’s wisdom in this situation, even if it’s not the outcome I’m desiring or the timing I’m hoping for?
- What do I know is true about the Lord that I’m forgetting right now?
- Is my heart able to give thanks in and through this?
That doesn’t mean I don’t do anything. If I get a health concern and there are things I need to do or change, I can do what is in my control to take care of and then be reminded to cast “all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). In a hard relationship, I can seek peace the best I can—“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18)—and then I need to pray and leave it in the Lord’s hands. Again, I can do what God has called me to do in His Word, and I can trust Him with the results.
My dear family members who don’t know Christ are a heavy burden on my heart, and those are prayers that get prayed without ceasing as they come to mind. Many of them I may be bringing to the Lord until He calls me home.
We serve a God who has planned all our days: “in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16). Being in Christ, I’m now His beloved child, and He is my Abba Father who loves me with an everlasting love. I always loved hearing Elisabeth Elliot quote Jeremiah 31:3 on her Gateway to Joy radio show: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” I don’t need to fear.
Philippians 4:6–7 is a memory verse I bring my thoughts back to so often: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I’m thankful I’m not alone and I have a Father in Heaven who has purpose for everything that comes into my life, and I can hold fast to that truth. And in the midst of whatever my worries or concerns are, I can trust that He is at work.
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