Why I Wait to Run to Him

Excerpt from Gospel Balm post:  Chasing the Freedom from Worry Phantom

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I'm convinced that we'll never catch it because God doesn't want us to. Bear with me for a moment as I explain this. Scripture tells us that God doesn't want us to be anxious. In fact, Jesus told us not to worry (Matthew 6:25-34). This is because we're supposed to be doing something else instead--praying (Philippians 4:6,7).

That's right. Our anxieties are meant to drive us to God in prayer. The struggles we have with uncertainty remind us that we aren't in control of our own lives. Neither we ourselves, nor our circumstances, can ever make us safe. Only the Lord can do that.

Why do I want to be free from my struggles with worry? Because I don't like feeling uncomfortable. I should be more willing to welcome my anxieties though, because God uses them to remind me how much I need him. And when I finally come running to him in desperation, he welcomes me with open arms and showers me with compassion and provision.

I wonder why I so often wait to run to him. It must be because I keep forgetting that God's doing good to me when he sends me the things that make me uncomfortable (Romans 8:28). My fears are friends, not enemies, because they drive me to the only One who can keep me safe.

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
(Psalm 56:3,4)

How about you? Do you sometimes find yourself dreading the very thing God uses to bring you closer to himself?