Turn your Worries to God

"Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about." Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

I'm pretty sure that when God was distributing genes, He gave me an overdose of worry. I thought that as I matured in my faith, my worries would decrease, but that has not been the case. I have gotten worst. It's horrible. I try, I really do. I am constantly praying. I try really hard to leave everything in God's hands. I try to let Him be in charge. And yet, I can't stop worrying.

I remember a time when being a passenger in a car was a pleasant experience. I could relax and enjoy the ride. Not anymore. It drives my poor husband nuts. He's a really good driver. According to his driving record, he's a much better driver than I am. And yet, you wouldn't think so if you were to see how I behave when I sit next to him as he drives. I am constantly breaking in the imaginary break I have installed on my seat. I hold on to the door for dear life. And I have to bite my tongue constantly so as not to scream "Be Careful!" every three seconds. It's funny because this doesn't happen when I drive. And yet I trust him behind the wheel more than I trust myself. But I can't help it. I have not talked to a psychologist about this but I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the fact that I like to be in control and when I'm a passenger, I'm not in control. My husband is in charge of the wheel and he's the one in control.

The same thing happens when we are on our life journey. We are not in control. God is in charge of the wheel. He's the one in control. And how difficult it is to just be a passenger. We want to be in charge. Even though we know that God is a much better driver than we are, we still want to be the driver of our own destinies. No matter how many wrong turns we take, we just don't trust Him enough. We question Him in everything. We second guess every decision, even if deep inside we know that is what He is telling us to do. And we worry about everything, not realizing that the only reason we worry is because we have not given Him full control of the wheel.

1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

There comes a time in everyone's life when we realize that we cannot drive anymore. We have to turn over the wheel to a wiser driver because if we don't, we are going to end up in serious trouble. There are obstacles on the road that are beyond our control: illness, divorce, accidents, issues with our offspring, unemployment, financial trouble, the death of a loved one... When we encounter these detours in our life, we have no choice but to step out of the driver seat, walk around the car to the passenger side and ask God to take the wheel. We have to trust Him to be in charge of our lives and of our destinies. We have to place our eyes on God and we have to hand the keys over to Him.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:14

Let us turn our worries to God and trust that He is in control. Let us be patient that in whatever suffering we are going through, He is in charge. Let us wait in confidence that He has a map and He knows how to get to the destination. Let us place our eyes on God and leave the driving to Him. He has a plan for each one of us. Take courage and allow Him to drive.