We each have a set of them—worries or “what-ifs” that run through our minds, keeping us awake at night or waking us in the morning with feelings of dread. On this list may be burdens like “Will I make ends meet this month? Is my job too stressful? Are my husband and children healthy, physically and mentally? Am I? Am I doing enough to teach my kids everything they should know in life? Am I meeting all the requirements I should be?” Every woman’s list is different.
Then there are burdens that are even heavier to bear. Situations arise that may shake us to our core. Some women may have lost loved ones. Some may be dealing with extreme health trials or illnesses of family members.
Every woman has a carousel of items that concern her. If one more scoop of mishap were to be piled onto our already heavy plate, would we drop it altogether? What happens when things are out of our control? We may be able to relate to these words: “For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning” (Psalm 73:14). So, how do we as women in God’s Church respond to these situations?
What Do We Do with Our List?
Thankfully, in any situation where things begin to spin out of control and we feel overwhelmed by stress, there is always a perfect solution: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
In other words, we are to throw our burden of worry away in prayer—mentally take aim at God’s feet, toss it as far away from us as we can, and leave it there. We do not just “cast” it out there on a fishing line, then reel it back in when we’re tempted to worry about it later. We must be patient and have the faith to leave it with our Father in heaven. In doing so, we ladies can each be a friend of God (James 2:23).
David provided an example for us: “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me” (Psalm 55:17–18). Early in the morning, when your worried mind is already racing a million miles a minute, you can slide out from under the covers onto your knees to unload all your worries and “what-ifs” for the day.
Our eternal Father has promised that He will hear you and help you: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15). Rather than worrying, tell the Father your plans for the day and how you will need Him to help you through each situation.
Available All Day Long
Morning is not the only time women of God can cast their cares on Him. You can have a “heart-to-heart” with Him about your anxieties throughout the day. You will not always have time to take a break from your daily tasks, but conversations with God do not always need to happen on your knees. Your Father is right there beside you, experiencing the day with you, and you can talk to Him as a loving Friend who has only our best interests at heart, because that’s who He is. You can ask His advice and direction on any decision you must make, large or small.
You can talk to Him when you are washing the dishes, doing the laundry, or mowing the lawn. Before you go grocery shopping, you can ask Him to bless your trip and help you to be able to afford your needs and even some of the desires of your heart. When I pray for this, I often find good deals on items marked down at the store, or buy-one-get-one-free sales on things we use regularly, or coupons in the store app for free items that we need. Your Father wants to give you good things: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11).
Praying is good for any situation. If you, your husband, or your children have an important event coming up, you can pray for favor with the people you must deal with. If there are stubborn, seemingly immovable people in your life, God can soften their hearts toward you. If God could change the heart of Pharaoh and initiate the Exodus, He can certainly help you with your “unbudgeable” issue.
When facing a serious health trial, don’t save God’s healing for your “last-ditch” effort. Ask for an anointing as your first line of defense, trusting in His promise: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14–15). We don’t need to know what the problem is. God knows when we are sick and why. He wants us to come to Him, and He wants to help us through each trial.
God Is on Our Side
What if you face a chronic illness that doesn’t have an easy fix or maybe has no fix at all? What if someone you love is dying or has died? God may seem to be too far away to hear your prayers, but He is still right there with you, on your side. Psalm 34:18 tells us, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” The New Living Translation puts it this way: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
God wants good lives for His children, and blessings come from living His way. But we sometimes face trials to test our resolve and bring about the character God wants in us, so we can better receive His blessings. Right after promising prosperity and health, He cautions us, “My son [or daughter], do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11–12). Perhaps we are so stubborn that He can only teach us the lesson we need by letting us face a difficult experience. Or, when you face a severe trial, it could mean that He knows you are a strong enough woman to handle the increased level of pressure necessary to build up your spiritual maturity.
Are We on God’s Side?
Sometimes it seems we are suffering without end, and we think our Father is angry with us for something we have done or that He has abandoned us. But He promises never to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). His promises are firm and wholly believable, but sometimes they are contingent upon our obedience to Him and His way of life. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). When we are called according to His purpose, He must see by our conduct that we are women of God who will stay on His side, even when things get tough.
And, as scary as it may seem, we must realize that God may sometimes give us adversity as a gift. In Job 2:10, during an extended period of severe trials, Job corrected his wife after she told him to curse God and die: “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
We must trust that God will deliver us and bless us in His time, whether it be in this life or in His Kingdom. Numbers 23:19 reminds us, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” If we live according to His way and rely on His promises, He will never let us down.
Even When We’re Not Looking
This spring, my children enjoyed playing outside in the warmer weather every day for a week, building a makeshift fort out of camping chairs and whatever they could find in the backyard. The wind blew strongly all week long, and the trees swayed. The next Sunday, we debated staying home from a Church picnic because my husband and I were very tired, but, in the end, we decided to go and be with the brethren.
When we got home from the picnic that evening, we looked outside and saw that a large tree had fallen across the backyard right where our children had been playing all week long. Watching our outdoor camera feed, we could see the tree crack and fall in just a few seconds. If we had stayed home that day, our children could very well have been out there playing when it fell.
In that moment, I felt a profound awe of God. How many times has He protected us even when we didn’t realize it? Ask God to show you that He is there. Ask Him for encouragement. Christ exhorted His disciples, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).
God made women strong enough to deal with multiple tasks at once so everyone we love can be cared for emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Sometimes we are our family’s most important support because of our abilities to solve problems. This ensures that we will likely always have a long list of worries and “what-ifs.”
But when the plate feels too heavy, our Father wants us to know that He is our ultimate Support and our closest personal Friend. We can put our burdens in His lap. We can come to Him for every little or big issue. Our circumstances may change for better or for worse, but His promises are firm and unchangeable. We have His assurance that He will readily take on our worry list if we leave it with Him.