Let me do that for you.
A picture I took of the small lake my mother-in-law lived at, added her favorite verse, and used on her funeral program.
You know how when you’re worried about something, people say, “Give it to God.”? I’ve talked to friends about this and we agree that we often (figuratively) wrap up our worry and give it to God…then we take it back, unwrap it, and continue worrying. We’re not always great at truly leaving our worries to God.
The other day something made me think of how nice it feels when someone says, “Here, let me do that for you.” I’ll be clearing the table after dinner and a guest will say, “I’ll do that.” Or we are sitting in the living room having coffee together and someone will pick up my plate and cup, along with their own, and bring it to the kitchen. “Thanks!” It feels gracious and lovely—doesn’t it?—when someone says, “Let me do that for you.” When my brother was dying, his doctor helped him make arrangements with his insurance. She said that was something she could do for him. Such a blessing.
I realized it would help me truly give my cares to God if, instead of envisioning myself wrapping my worry and handing it to him (then taking it right back), I envisioned God reaching out to me for the worry and saying, “Let me do that for you.” If someone takes my plate after dinner, I don’t grab it back and say, “No! I’ll do it.” I relax and gratefully accept the kind gesture. When I see God graciously taking my worries from me, saying, “Here, let me do that for you,” it feels natural to sit back, relax, and gratefully let him take them.
One of my mother-in-law’s favorite verses, which we put on her funeral program, was 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” This is a new way to cast all your anxiety on him—let God do it. Let God reach out, take your anxiety, relax, and breathe a sigh of relief as he says, “Here, let me do that for you.”
God loves you. He will take your anxiety, your cares, your worry, your fear, and say, “I will do that for you.”
https://open.spotify.com/track/1TconUdTyaBJgQQ3lmL2WX?si=8bf9a3b028e14c3f