Are you worrying about the worst thing that could happen?
It was the summer of 2014. I remember as if it were yesterday—scared out of my ever-living mind! My periodontist had sent me to a specialist, who then sent me to another specialist for a biopsy of my tongue. Panic gripped me—I had lost my wonderful husband to cancer!
So my mind started running amuck. What if it is cancer? What if I need chemotherapy? What if the worst-case scenario happens? To me that would be the loss of my mouth, not death (since I would be with my Savior and re-united with my soul mate)!
I am a teacher, discipler, and speaker—not to mention a gabber. How could I serve my God without the ability to speak? I know the truth that God’s grace will be there when I need it (but not beforehand). I know the fact that most of what I worry about will never come true, but what if it does? It is a possibility, after all.
How do I handle it if the worst thing DID happen?
That’s when the Lord helped me to stop worrying with this secret:
I had to decide ahead of time how was I going to respond if the worst-case scenario did indeed become a reality.
If I did have cancer…
Was I going to submit or throw a fit?
I could scream, stomp my foot, be angry at the doctors and God—be miserable and stay miserable.
Or
I could accept God’s will and lean on His promise of enabling grace to get me through it.
You and I don’t have to like or understand what God is doing in order to comply (See blog: Can We Accept a Truth that We DON’T Understand?).
Losing my ability to speak didn’t make sense. I was sure God was leading me to speak more—to use my gift of gab for Him. Was my service for the Lord over? It couldn’t be! So, I reasoned that if the worst thing happened, I could still speak by writing my words instead. (By this point I had only written one book.)
That’s when I surrendered and said, “Ok, Lord. If that’s what You have ordained, so be it! Only help me!”
Once I determined that I would submit and accept whatever the Lord had planned, peace came. Total peace.
Now I am not saying I never worried about my tongue situation again. Of course, I had moments of anxiety. But they were short-lived since I had already decided what I was going to do. Therefore, I didn’t have to live in that state of mind. And neither do you! We just need to reaffirm our commitment during those anxious moments.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:6-8)
So my friend, what are you worried about? What is the worst possible thing that could happen in your situation? Go to the Father. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you reason it out as you come to terms with it. Then decide ahead of time to accept whatever your sovereign Lord may allow, and how you could adapt to it—knowing in your heart that your faithful God will come through with His enabling grace to get you through it.
Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
(Ps 46:10 NASB)
P.S. All results were negative, but what a valuable lesson learned!
Relevant Blogs
Submission: A Beautiful Word
When God Doesn’t Seem to Make Sense—Do These 5 Things
5 Reasons Why God’s Way is BEST
Understanding God’s Ways
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Updated post from 12-2-20