and problems to the Father. He always has time to listen and grace to help. Yet, how easy it is for us to fail at this very point. Like a child who stubbornly works at trying to tie his shoes rather than asking mom for help. And like seat belts. Statistics and common sense are enough to convince us of their worth, yet how easy it is to ignore their presence as we zip around the corner to the conve- nience store to pick up some milk for the baby. So with prayer. We all know its value, but at times, we all forget to buckle up. But what about the times we do pray? How do we approach our heavenly father? Do we pray simply out of a sense of duty (Christians were supposed to and expectation of a child coming to a loving and caring father? I must confess my guilt at this point. Many times, I have prayed about a particular problem and have done so because it was the Christian thing to do. If I hadn’t prayed, I would have felt guilty. But then, when the Lord’s gracious answer came, it was met with surprise and guilt. Surprise, for not really expect- ing the answer that came, and guilt, for having expressed such weak faith in a through the proper motions, but you never get anywhere.
Lord. And when we do, let’s remember we are coming to a king who loves us as much as he loves his own son! The next step in successfully dealing with worry is to see what God’s word says about the problem in question. In my mother’s case, the problem was a blocked colon and the fact that we did not know what was blocking it. Not a single verse in all of Scripture could answer that question. On the contrary, the Bible tells us very clearly that life and the fallen world
norm, not the exception. But it also declares that none of these things can ever cut off the child of God from the Savior who loves him so fully. His promise is to the point and contains no loopholes or exceptions: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). In some cases, scripture may point out a problem in our behavior that has
will usually take care of itself. For example, suppose I confess a particular sin in my life and ask God’s forgiveness, but I continue doing the very thing I have confessed and make no effort whatsoever to stop. Deep within, my conscience bothers me. I feel no peace, worried that maybe I am not forgiven. The problem? I’m not doing what God’s word tells me to do. My disobedience to his word is the source of my worry. It’s only when I, by God’s grace, truly turn from my forgiveness that the Word of God promises. Now, having prayed to God and having seen what his word has to say about the situation, the third step in dealing with worry is to take him at his word, trust him! Trusting the Lord doesn’t guarantee the problem will disappear, but it does assure us that we are in the hands of the one who can handle the problem. That doesn’t mean the problem will go away. Nor does he promise it will get
May/June 2026
better in his lifetime. In fact, it may world does promise to be with you and get you safely home. You may hurt and cry. And your pain may be very real. But you won’t ever have to worry or be afraid. Greyhound bus lines used to have an advertising Jingle that said, “Take Greyhound, and leave the driving to us.” Good advice when it comes to dealing with life’s worries: take them to the Father and leave the driving to Him. When you do, you’ll the passengers. Well, with God’s help, I tried to follow these three steps. Along with family and dear friends, I prayed. promises. And then, by his grace and only by his grace, I did what he said to do, I trusted him. As it turned out, the surgery went well. Some may argue it’s easy to have faith when all goes well. But you need to remember, I didn’t know how the surgery would go. That wasn’t the point. The surgery was but a sin- gle page in a chapter of my mother’s life. What matters is how the story ends, and for God’s child, it’s always a happy ending.
And so, on a September afternoon
in room 1058, faith was put to the test. Not the Christian faith, but my faith. The question was never wheth- er the Father would keep his Word, but whether I would take him at his Word. Only when you do the latter will you know the Father’s peace. And when you feel His peace, you’ll know that faith has passed life’s test.
Rev. Bill Everett is a retired ARP Minister. This is an excerpt from his book, “Until He Comes,” which can be purchased on Amazon.
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