Faith Is Action

“Cast all your worries upon Him.” – 1 Peter 5:7

“I’m so worried,” my friend said. “I know I’m supposed to put my faith in God. I know I’m supposed to ‘let go and let God.’ I keep trying to just relax and let Him handle it, but I can’t. My faith must be weak because I’m still worried.”

There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there about what it means to have faith when life throws us or our loved ones under the bus. There are also a lot of well intentioned yet misleading and even hurtful cliches that can make some people, like my faith-filled friend, think their faith must be weak or they wouldn’t be worried.

We worry because we or someone we care about is suffering. We shouldn’t apologize or feel guilty about the worry; instead, we can let it spur us to action – with faith. Our trust in the Lord doesn’t make our caring about the situation go away. Rather, the worry is coupled with assurance that God will help us get through it. 

“...if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move...” – Matthew 17:20

Jesus didn’t say our faith would take away all our problems or the difficult emotions that come with them. Also, faith isn’t passive; trusting Him doesn’t mean sitting back and letting Him move the mountains. What He said was that when we put our faith in Him, we allow Him to give us all wisdom, courage, and fortitude to do what appears to be impossible. We don’t act on our own power but with the grace and power He gives us.  

Our first faith action is prayer: We ask our God of Love to bless the suffering person with whatever they need at that moment, and picture Him pouring all these and His peace onto them.

We pray for ourselves, whether we’re the ones suffering or not, and ask Jesus to calm our minds so we can see the situation clearly. We ask for His wisdom and guidance as we look for something concrete to do. 

Then, we search for what we can do, with His grace, for the one who’s suffering. We ask them: would they like a visit, meal, or babysitter? A ride to an appointment? Anything? Many people won’t ask for help but will welcome it when it’s offered. 

We worry for our loved ones because they’re important to us. Instead of stewing and letting fear paralyze us, though, we put our faith in Christ and trust Him to give us His strength to carry our burdens and ease the burdens of others. 

“Lord, I trust You to help me with Your wisdom and grace through difficult situations.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

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