The song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands …,” really puts God’s sovereignty and love for His creation into perspective. It’s when we believe ourselves abandoned or rejected by God (because of our sins or insignificance) that we turn to our own resources to handle the struggles of life. Worry is a reliance on self while concern is a reliance on God. Worry, then, is really a submission problem.
I. Luke 12:4-34. We worry because we fear the devil or what others think more than we fear God. We think too much of ourselves and too little of God’s love or our worth to Him. Possessions and things that are temporary are too important to us. But, God tells us that … worry is a selfish focus, He will provide for us more than ravens, worry causes us great harm, and He will take care of those things we are powerless to control. The world that doesn’t know God worries, but we must trust Him!
II. 2 Chronicles 9:5-28. Everyone can see the simple yet intricate beauty of a lily, yet Jesus tells us that Solomon during the golden age of Israel, with all of his wealth, position, and power, had nothing compared to God’s attention to this temporary flower. Since nothing is impossible with God or beyond His notice or concern, we can take heart that He finds such great worth in us and takes better care of us than lilies! Made in His image, we are more precious to Him than anything in creation.
III. James 4:7-10. Since this is so, we must submit ourselves fully to Him. If we seek His Kingdom first rather than our own interests, we will have an upward rather than a downward focus … and He promises that He knows our needs and will take care of them. He tells us that to do that, we must have our treasure stored in heaven rather than here, so that our hearts will be focused on eternal things rather than temporary. To submit we must trust God fully and let Him handle all of life’s struggles.
There’s an expression that has been around awhile: let go and let God. To truly let Him take control of our lives, we have to truly let go of any facade of control that we think we might have.