“Shift the responsibility on God to change the things you cannot. It’s His worry, not yours. 1 Peter 5:7 is still in the Bible.”
We recognize, as we go through life, many things that we cannot change. The previous affirmation focused on our human environment and how little influence we have over the way others treat us. We do, however, have agency to choose the way we respond. This sixth affirmation deals with the intractable problem, the “impossible situation.” Our response reveals whether we trust in God, His love and His promises.
Jesus, during his ministry, knew what it was like to be dogged by problems. He had opponents among the religious classes who tracked his movements. They openly disagreed with him, they slandered him, they tried to provoke him and entangle him in his own words. The exchanges that Jesus had with them were sometimes heated, but he always manifested the life of the Father. He never allowed opposition to drive a wedge between him and his Father. He kept his faith and his determination to accomplish the Father’s will.
Jesus also suffered from the indifference of the Jewish people in general, not to mention the outright hostility of his hometown of Nazareth. In grief he pronounced woes on Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, three towns in Galilee where he had spent most of his time in ministry. Even his own disciples did not understand him. Still, he never allowed disappointment to drive a wedge between him and his Father. He took every opportunity to minister to those whom the Father had sent him.
The apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh,” an intractable problem that interfered with his ministry. Three times, in separate seasons of prayer, he pleaded with the Lord to remove this condition. Finally God replied, not to deliver Paul but to reveal to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, and My power is perfected in your weakness.” This prompted Paul to exclaim, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong“ (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Contentment was a choice that Paul made, for the sake of Christ—Christ going before him and visible crises following after. He was willing to forego a peaceful, stable life in the present. Paul saw that only as he became weak could the power, ability and effectiveness of the Lord rest upon him. When we are losing, Christ is gaining. Paul’s expression “I am content with” can also be translated. “I take delight in.” Paul took delight in Christ having His way.
Abraham had a great promise from God. But as the years passed, he and his wife passed into old age. He wasn’t seeing the fulfillment of the promise. Where was this family of which God had spoken? Moses forsook the court of Egypt and for forty years herded sheep in the wilderness. Had he missed out on his calling? In spite of his blameless life, Job suffered the loss of his children, his possessions and his health. Friends traveled far to visit him but, rather than comforting him, concluded that Job’s plight was God’s punishment for some unconfessed sin. They provoked Job to defend himself; he ended by accusing God of injustice. When would he have an opportunity to present his case to God?
What is going on in your life that is at odds with your understanding of God’s will but you simply cannot change? Are you limited by chronic illness, poverty, addiction, the threat of violence, a divided family or implacable enemies? Do the consequences of bad decisions haunt you? Or do you wander in a spiritual wilderness, hungry for the fellowship of others who follow Jesus Christ?
Now let us consider our condition from God’s point of view. He is at work. He has a plan that includes us. The day came when He revealed Himself to Paul, Abraham, Moses and Job. Take the case of Moses. God appeared to him in a bush that was on fire but not consumed. When Moses turned aside to investigate, he heard the voice of God: “You are standing on holy ground.” Then Moses found out that his long wait was over. More than that, it had been for a purpose.
Spiritual transformation itself is a change from one life-form to another. The transformation that we are engaged in, from a life under the dominion of the soul to one under the dominion of the spirit, is a change that we could never accomplish on our own. Who turns ground into holy ground? The Lord whose presence changes everything. We are holy ground for God in this world because Christ dwells within us. It is easy to become discouraged because of our present state, losing sight of our blessed standing with our Father because of Jesus Christ. In all of these long drawn-out problems that cause us so much worry, the Father’s purpose is to increase in us the measure of His Son.
We, like the faithful ones of old, have great promises. For example, Jesus promised that he would never leave nor forsake us. Moreover, we are children in the household of God and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ. Just think back on all the things that God has changed already, that we knew were impossible for us. And let us be careful not to take matters into our own hands. In transformation, we are learning that there is another point of view: our Father’s.
The affirmation that we are considering refers to 1 Peter 5:6-7. In this passage, apostle Peter is exhorting elders (that is, the spiritually mature). This reminder is for us also, who are on the path of transformation. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” In God we see a combination of capability and compassion. The responsibility for carrying out His plan rests with Him; His intention is to include us if we will trust Him.
Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As your days, your strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.
(Day by Day, Carolina Sandell Berg, second stanza)
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