No More Concerns

If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up. Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. —1 Peter 5:6-7 (TLB)

After I got comfortable in the exam chair, the clinician handed me two pills and a cup of water. “OK,” she said, “now tell me all your concerns about this vision correction surgery.” I looked at the clock and joked, “How much time do we have?” 

She smiled, knowingly, and listened as I repeated my list that had already been discussed in previous visits. Will it hurt? How soon will I be able to see without glasses? How long will the actual procedure take? How sure is the doctor that he can correct me to 20/20 vision? How soon will I be able to drive? How long will the pain last? How prepared is he for complications?

After about 15 minutes of this line of questioning—and her patient answers—I suddenly stopped and said, “Actually, I guess that’s it. I don’t have any more concerns.”

With that she immediately stood up, took hold of my arm, and ushered me toward the door, saying, “Great! The meds have kicked in so we can go to the surgery room.”

In the nearly two decades since, I’ve often thought of the similarities in my relationship with Jesus. How often do I repeat my concerns over and over—even ruminate on them—failing to trust him? Yet, without fail, I can imagine him sitting next to me, patiently listening to my litany of fears, just waiting for me to finally come to the end of myself and let faith take over.  

Father, I’m casting my worries on you, again, knowing you are the only one who can carry them anyway. Help me to more quickly trust you with them next time.