Two months ago I was dreading spending 7 weeks at home after graduation. I've always kept my schedule really full of activities and responsibilities, and that's the way I like it. So 7 weeks of absolutely nothing to do - no school, no job, few friends to visit, nothing - filled me with dread.
But today I am boarding a plane to South Korea. And I find myself wishing for another 7 weeks of doing nothing with the ones I love. The thought of driving to the airport and actually stepping on that plane fills me with dread. And I'm not the only one. Nightly prayers with my little siblings were a very tearful, emotional event last night.
I almost feel like a broken record. Every time I pray, every time someone asks me what I need prayer for, I always ask for the same thing - courage to go, wisdom to thrive, creativity and patience in the classroom, understanding outside of it, and most of all that God would show Himself to me more and more vividly and that I would become more and more sensitive to His promptings every single day.
I sometimes feel like I should pray for other things. I wonder if God gets as tired of hearing about the same problems day in and day out as I do about praying for them. But you know what? I really don't think that's the case. 1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." It doesn't matter how many times you pray about the same thing. God wants to hear about your worries, because He loves you. He wants you to tell Him about your life.
But after we have cast our cares upon Him, it's our job to leave them there. And, lest I be accused of being hypocritical, I know full well that that is far easier said than done. But we were not made to life in constant worry. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self-control." Hold fast to His promises. He will protect you through whatever you're going through. You may not be able to see how He will do it, it may seem utterly impossible....but my God is in the business of making the impossible, possible. All I have to do is cast my cares onto Him.
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” 5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
But today I am boarding a plane to South Korea. And I find myself wishing for another 7 weeks of doing nothing with the ones I love. The thought of driving to the airport and actually stepping on that plane fills me with dread. And I'm not the only one. Nightly prayers with my little siblings were a very tearful, emotional event last night.
I almost feel like a broken record. Every time I pray, every time someone asks me what I need prayer for, I always ask for the same thing - courage to go, wisdom to thrive, creativity and patience in the classroom, understanding outside of it, and most of all that God would show Himself to me more and more vividly and that I would become more and more sensitive to His promptings every single day.
I sometimes feel like I should pray for other things. I wonder if God gets as tired of hearing about the same problems day in and day out as I do about praying for them. But you know what? I really don't think that's the case. 1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." It doesn't matter how many times you pray about the same thing. God wants to hear about your worries, because He loves you. He wants you to tell Him about your life.
But after we have cast our cares upon Him, it's our job to leave them there. And, lest I be accused of being hypocritical, I know full well that that is far easier said than done. But we were not made to life in constant worry. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self-control." Hold fast to His promises. He will protect you through whatever you're going through. You may not be able to see how He will do it, it may seem utterly impossible....but my God is in the business of making the impossible, possible. All I have to do is cast my cares onto Him.
Luke 11:1-13
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” 5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
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