– Genesis 43:18
But What If They Take My Donkey!
Do you know anyone who constantly worries? Someone who frets and ponders the what-if scenarios over and over in their mind? They can take the simplest situation and turn it into a huge dramatic production because (in their mind), every bad thing that could possibly go wrong weighs heavier than the freedom that comes from simply experiencing the moment. They are prisoners to their self-imposed uncertainty and their wild imagination gone wilder.
Now don't get me wrong, sometimes it is good to run through the "what-ifs" and to be prepared, you know . . . just in case. But when we go from being practical and prepared, to being taken over by the fear of the unknown, we can become paralyzed and useless. And what's more, we drag everyone else down with us – like some Titanical, Poseidon Adventurous, Towering Inferno-like movie, it's just one disaster after another.
Pretty soon worriers find themselves isolated because, well . . . no one wants to be around a Gloomy Gus. If it can be helped, we avoid them like a plague that is going to come soon – which will make things a lot worse than we expected – and then it will continue to grow into something bigger – and we don't have the room for something bigger – and even if we did, there wouldn't be enough chairs for everyone – and not only that, we forgot to go to the store so we don't have enough napkins – and the ones we do have don't match, etc., etc., and on-and-on-and-on!
The funny thing is that in today's scripture story, Joseph was about to lay out a feast for his brothers. He was about to pour out a blessing so big that in their wildest dreams they would not have been able to think up anything this good. No, they couldn't have known this, but instead of trusting in God, and taking on the situation with the confidence (and humility), of one of God's own – His Favored children, they begin to let their imaginations run amuck with what-if scenarios – even to the point of worrying about the donkeys! Really?! The donkeys?! C'mon Man!
But isn't that what we do? Even if we aren't prone to worrying about things? We get faced with an uncertain situation and instead of going into it with the full confidence as God's Favored, we start trying to figure out the whys, and the hows, and the what about this, and maybe that. We can get worked up about nothing pretty quickly and if we aren't careful, we can miss out on what God is trying to show us because we are so blinded by the fear of the unknown. Our Heavenly Father must sit and shake His head sometimes at how silly we can be. We have seen Him work in, and through us; we have watched Him pour out His blessings time-and-time again; we have been witness to the abundant Love that flows freely from God's hand, and yet we STILL doubt, and we STILL lack trust, and we STILL battle the pride that causes us to wonder, "But what about me? What's going to happen to me?"
Let's stop doing that! Let's stop telling God that we don't trust Him. Let's stop showing Him that we think we can handle things better than He can. Let's stop being silly "Prayer Worriers," and let's start acting like we know who we are. We are Victorious Warriors! We are Overcomers! We Believe, and we Trust, and we Live in Him! We walk in the Power of The Holy Spirit! We have been Purchased with the Grace of the Blood of Christ! We Fear Nothing! We Want for Nothing! We Stand, United as the Favored Children of THE Strong and Might God! Hallelujah!!!
Prayer
Father, forgive our lack of trust in You when we worry. Help us to remember that we walk in Your Grace, everyday, in every way, in every situation, whether we know what's about to happen or not. Help us in our unbelief so that we can reflect who we are – Your Favored Children!
Have a blessed day everyone!
– Richard
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