Anxious??

I sometimes wish I were a child again—but only until I consider being pulled through the knothole of life to become an adult all over again!! A child is oblivious to our world’s drama or national political condition, not to mention the messy financial turmoil we are facing. Interestingly, Jesus said truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3, ESV). Jesus didn’t say that to make us feel guilty! He said it to help us avoid the anxiety that plagues so many of us. Paul wrote, do not be anxious about anything… Philippians 4:6a (ESV). Look at it this way. Consider anxiety as being a like red light on a car dashboard that alerts us that something is wrong. It alerts us when we are in a danger zone because we are lacking faith in God. Has your red light started flashing?

I have guided countless individuals through mourning the loss of a spouse or child. I expected that when Connie graduated. But I did not expect the profound feeling of losing my most trusted confidant to share a new revelation of scripture, a life-changing observation, an achievement, or the sting of being hurt by a friend. When she left earth, my feeling of being lost was indescribable.

In the above scripture, Jesus was telling adults to stop thinking like an adult when facing the perils of life. The Greek word translated turn means to have a radical 180-degree change in direction. Simply put, He was saying unless you unlearn your adult, independence or controlling ways, and become as trusting as a child is upon their parent(s), you cannot enter His heaven. That is serious!!

Through the years, I had become very accustomed to managing decisions at home, pastoral work and state-wide superintendency of churches. I had my ladder leaning heavily against my anointing, accumulated skill set, and on Connie, who God gave me to as a helpmeet. When she left, my ‘ladder’ came crashing down. My emotions virtually froze my spirit, so I could only know the feeling of being lost. I had not developed a close mentor to whom I would first go to, so the term ‘lost’ best describes the ‘wave’ that suddenly crashed over me.

I wrote all that to say why Jesus’ words have become so meaningful to me. With her gone, I was being forced to become like a child, trusting solely on God! I know I trusted Him before, just not at this level. Hopefully, with the word picture I have tried to paint, you can better relate to what Jesus was saying to each of us. In that context, who have you had your ‘ladder’ leaning on for support? In my case, I now have been learning a new way of leaning heavily on His gentle nudge or soft whisper for even my minor decisions.

Looking back, I would like to have positioned my “ladder” in a way that depended more on God’s gentle guidance, sparing Connie from carrying such a heavy weight. I’m unsure about the strategy to make that shift, but by knowing what I now know, I would have been more proactive in achieving that mindset. Learn from my mistakes. Take initiative now to establish unwavering trust in God, rather than treating it as a religious cliché. Jesus said all other ground is like sinking sand. Acting now will reduce your stress and anxiety plus allow you to more fully embrace the abundant life Jesus intended for you.

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