Trust and Letting Go

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

When my husband Joel was in a rehabilitation hospital following a motorcycle accident, he developed panic attacks due to PTSD. These attacks were upsetting for all of us, likely no one more than Joel himself. Any of us who witnessed an attack felt a sense of helplessness. People who have experienced panic attacks can attest: someone trying to talk you out of one simply doesn’t work.

I’ve had to appreciate that lesson many of us must learn: I can’t "fix" it, I just need to let it go and trust God. I could be a support when I was there (in the hospital). I had to trust the medical personnel…and when I left the hospital room, remember that it’s fruitless to worry. In some ways, leaving a loved one at the hospital and going home is the perfect analogy to letting go of worry…we’re not there to witness what we can’t control, and we’re not there, so we can’t control it! We just need to trust that God is in control, and he is with us, giving us a sense of peace.

This week my Wednesday bible study group is studying the story of Joseph in Genesis, in particular the passage when Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to ask for grain during the famine. “God’s presence is the promise in every situation” is what our author shares. It’s not hoping for our circumstances to change; it’s knowing that God is with us through it all.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to place my trust in you and let go of the things that cause me to worry. Help me remember that you are with me, always. Amen.

Donna Gustafson