There’s an old song that I remember learning as a kid. I specifically remember sitting in chapel at my Christian School and one of the teachers leading us in this song, she said “Do you have a worry? I want to you pretend to throw it up here and we are going to give it to God as we sing this song”
This is how the song went:
I will cast all my cares upon you
I will lay all of my burdens down at your feet
And anytime I don’t know what to do
I will cast all my cares upon you
It’s a simple song, but the words to that song have stuck with me throughout my life. There are so many things I can worry about, but remembering that I don’t have to carry my burdens around with me all the time gives me strength in stressful times.
I must say though that giving your worries to God is not as simple as it sounds. One of the stories in the Bible that I like to meditate on is found in Mark 4: 35-40. It’s the story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples. When a huge storm hits and the disciples are fearing for their lives Jesus is found in the back sleeping on a cushion. How can he sleep during a time like this? Then he gets up and simply tells the wind and waves to stop and the storm ceases. The disciples are amazed.
When I am in my deep times of worry, I like to remind myself that the same Jesus that calmed the storm is with me. And I can trust that he will help me through each situation that I face just as he has before. So, I take time to recall all the ways that he has helped me through situations in the past, and I choose to trust that he will continue to do that.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7