Life happens, and it can be frightening. Our anxieties rise. We fall to our knees and pray and pray and pray hoping to affect the outcome. We bargain with God. “If you do this for me, God, I’ll never miss Mass again.” “If you give me the money I need, I’ll never use another credit card as long as I live.” “If you make sure I keep my job, I will go back and find the car I hit and leave a note. I promise to pay for the damages.” We do things we would not normally do as we are battered by the storm of fear.
We say novenas that require us to publish the novena in the newspaper or leave copies of it in church for others to see. We loose sleep. We miss meals. We snap at our families and coworkers. We eat too much. We drink too much. We self medicate. We become so self involved that we fall into a box of fear that even prayer cannot release. We forget that fear and anxiety are not gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fear opposes peace in our souls. Anxiety prevents trust in God.
Real control begins by turning everything over to God, even if we are still afraid, even if we do not trust that God really does know what’s best for us and those we love.
Think of Abraham, when the Lord commanded, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” Genesis 22:2 Although stunned by what God was asking of him, Abraham set out on this journey to sacrifice his only son to God knowing that he would return alone. In the end, God pleased by Abraham’s trust and obedience, stopped the sacrifice of Issac and provided a ram for the sacrificial offering.
Not every ending to a storm will be a happy ending. Our loved ones die. We loose our homes. Our lives are destroyed by a tornado that devastates a town. Children die from cancer. We feel pain. We feel devastation We doubt and wonder why. These reactions are normal. This is when we need to trust that God, as in the case of Abraham, does know what He’s doing and that He is working in our lives to bring us closer to Him.
So, how do you begin to trust in God when you are fearful and full of anxiety? You fake it ‘till you make it. Even if your emotions pull you the other way, you begin to learn to trust in God by saying, “Jesus, I trust in You. Take care of this for me.” You retrain your thinking so that every time you gasp in fear, you say, “Jesus, I trust in You.” Jesus loves to hear this, and He knows what’s in our hearts whether it’s love or fear. He knows where you are, and He appreciates these acts of faith, even if you are in a full blown panic attack. He will give you the strength to bear it. He might not give you the outcome you would like, but He knows that you are working to trust Him in His goodness and mercy to know what is best for you and for your loved ones. He is filling you with graces so that you will draw nearer to Him.
Jesus did His Father’s Will knowing that He would die a painful death on a cross, a death reserved for the lowest of the low. He knew that in giving His all for us, we would be saved. He knew and He trusted His Father. Jesus asked that His cup pass, the Father withdrew, and Jesus accepted His Father’s Will. Jesus left the garden to face His destiny.
Mother Theresa, in her bleakest moments, would say, “Jesus, I trust in Your tender love for me.”
Jesus, Sweet Jesus, I trust in You. Take care of this for me. Our journey begins. Trust. Peace.
Jesus, I trust in You. Take care of this for me.
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