Patience is virtue that babies have yet to cultivate. Especially hungry ones. When I lift my son from his bed he wiggles all over with excitement. “I’m about to eat!” his body language declares, mouth flung open and head twisting side to side eagerly searching for milk. But in the seconds it takes me to situate us, he sometimes panics. He throws his head back dramatically, tightens his fists and screams. Does he think I’m not going to feed him? His body language declares, “It’s not coming! She’s not going to feed me this time. She usually does, but this is it. It’s all over!”
With his eyes shut furious tight, he can’t see the meal in front of his face. “The food is right here, buddy. Open your eyes,” I insist, then proceed to lecture him, “I know your needs. I will feed you and clean you and keep you warm and give you love. I have provided for you thus far, why would I stop now? I am going to take care of you.”
Today I added a story to my lecture. “Stop acting like a Hebrew, Dude. After God had miraculously freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, Pharaoh chased them. They felt cornered on the banks of the Red Sea and flew into a needless panic. Had God not proven his provision already? Had He not led them with a pillar of cloud (guidance, shade, cool) and a pillar of fire (guidance, light, warmth) in the desert. Later, He would even give them food from the sky and water from a rock. Did they think He would abandon them at the sea? Well, Son, God parted that sea and they walked through on dry land and then He wiped out their enemy. Exodus 14. Baby Boy, I have not failed you yet. Why are you panicking like a Hebrew?”
Then I realized that God has reason to ask us the very same question when we are not instantly gratified with knowledge about something upcoming. Wham! Humbled. I rely on the Lord so much more readily nowadays than I did even a few years ago, but I still catch myself feeling anxious over things I know He can handle- like the results from my daughters hearing test this month or the insurance company’s OB coverage decision or the phone call following my husband’s job interview. I squint and twist with stomach-knotting questions: What will be our future source of income and where will we live and will I like it there and will our kids adjust well to the change? I hear God’s soothing voice, “Heather, I have provided for you thus far, why would I stop now? I am going to take care of you. Wait.” God’s timing is not my timing, but it is perfect. Why would I doubt? He is trustworthy.
What do you do when you catch yourself worrying about things God has already proven he can handle?
Why do you worry about your life? Look at the birds of the air… your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? If God clothes the grass of the field… will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
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