No Need To Worry

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

The bills were huge. His wife had just made another unnecessary purchase. The children had pressing needs and now the car had broken down and that would require some monies to fix as well. That would have sent his wife into a tailspin of fretting. He just appeared very calm about the whole thing.

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

His first daughter had been reported at her school for theft and faced expulsion. The second daughter was struggling with learning difficulties and a lack of sufficient support at the school. The final child – the boy – got into an accident and was rushed to a hospital. The friend who alerted him to the accident was expecting a frantic response. He just appeared very calm about the whole thing.

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

Maybe he was suppressing everything. Maybe in private he would let out a massive scream and rant and rave to let out what must be so much pent up frustration. Yet that was not the case. It wasn’t a front. He wasn’t bottling anything up. He just happened to have a very calm approach to what rattled some and left others in a blithering wreck.

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

What was the secret to that remaining calm about everything? Was it meditation? Was he not bothered about things? Did he just let things slide by and let the issues mount up without taking any responsibility? Why didn’t he get upset and angry and demand this or that or the other?

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

What he clearly got was the gravity of the situation. He took his responsibilities serious and addressed each situation with as much tact, consideration, discipline and wisdom as possible. When he felt his patient wearing thin, he would not allow that influence whatever matter or conversation he was engaging in at the time.

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

All of that was swirling around about him as well as the racial, political, economic and social uncertainty. Would he still have a job to go to? Would the neighbours be more friendly? Would he ever clear those debts? What kind of world are his children growing up in? Would they ever feel safe, would they ever feel like they belonged?

It’s as though he didn’t get it.

It appeared this way, because his method was not about ignoring it or suppressing it. It wasn’t about meditating it or willing it away. What he did was learn over the course of time what it meant to cast all his cares on Jesus knowing He cared for him. He took this to heart and he learnt to take the exchange on offer seriously. He would give over any reason for anxiety or fear and receive in its place a peace that surpassed his understanding and it helped guard his heart and mind so that it never veered into excesses or extremes. Holding onto the worry and anxiety was saying to God that He was not able or sufficient to deal with these matters. It was telling the Creator of the universe and the Saviour that he couldn’t handle these issues. It was ridiculous – but it was still what he did every time he held onto that worry, that anxiety or that fear.

Over time and intentionally learning to let the truths of God become his bedrock, that’s how he was able to maintain a sense of calm in troubling situations. If he could do something about it, he would just get on and do it. If there was nothing he could do, he knew he could pray and pass it onto someone who was more than able to intervene. That left him free to deal with the issues step by step and free to enjoy his life as much as he could. It left him free to do those things, because casting those cares left him free from fear.

It was as though he didn’t get it – because he didn’t get it. He didn’t get the grief. He didn’t get the anxiety and he didn’t get the fear. He didn’t get it because he’d already given it away to a far more reliable source Who could handle all that. This is what led to his catchphrase on many a challenging situation:

“No need to worry.”

(Photo by Ken Cheung on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden