Trust in God or fake it till you make it

By Mallory Hoffman

The Sacrifice of Abraham by Isaac
(Wikimedia Commons)

 


Life is out of our control.  We have no control over the weather.  We have no control over other drivers.  We have no control over what someone else will do to us.  We have no control over world leaders who threaten war.  We have no control over earthquakes.  We have no control over terrorists.  We have no control over illness.

Life happens, and it can be frightening.  Our anxieties rise.  We fall to our knees and pray and pray and pray hoping to  affect the outcome.  We bargain with God.  “If you do this for me, God, I’ll never miss Mass again.”  “If you give me the money I need, I’ll never use another credit card as long as I live.”  “If you make sure I keep my job, I will go back and find the car I hit and leave a note. I promise to pay for the damages.”  We do things we would not normally do as we are battered by the storm of fear. 

We say novenas that require us to publish the novena in the newspaper or leave copies of it in church for others to see. We lose sleep.  We miss meals.  We snap at our families and coworkers.  We eat too much.  We drink too much.  We self medicate.  We become so self involved that we fall into a box of fear that even prayer cannot release.  We forget that fear and anxiety are not gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Fear opposes peace in our souls.  Anxiety prevents trust in God. 

Real control begins by turning everything over to God, even if we are still afraid, even if we do not trust that God really does know what’s best for us and those we love. 


Continue reading at Mallory's blog His UnEnding Love.