When I Feel the "Need" to Know

[ToWalkWorthy]

I read a quote recently that really hit me.
“Which do you find yourself expressing more consistently to God – your need for clarity (‘What do I do?’) OR your expression of trust (‘I’ll follow you.’).”

Perhaps the greatest source of my anxiety is uncertainty about the future. It was bad enough when I was single, but then I got married and became a mom. It actually scared me (and still does at times) to realize how much love I could feel for this family of mine. If I love them this much, how could I ever possibly handle losing them? Thus, the driving desire to know what I could do to better protect the ones I love.

But that’s really not the right way to approach it, is it? Which brings me back to the quote…
Of course, we should be asking God for His guidance in our lives. Of course, we should be searching out His will for us through diligent study of His word. Of course, we desperately need the clarity we ask Him for so often. But do these requests for clarity precede and/or exceed that expression of faith in Him? Because that’s really where it starts. I mean, what’s the ultimate point in seeking God’s guidance if there is not the underlying trust in the absolute truth that God’s way is best, that regardless of what path lays ahead of us, our Father can and will see us through every trial and temptation as well as every joy?

I see this so clearly in myself. What really made the difference in easing my anxiety in my pregnancies was the realization that it was not up to ME to handle whatever might happen. My God has promised me that HE can handle whatever might happen. If I am walking with Him, I will be okay somehow, some way (Philippians 4:13; Psalm 23). I am thankful for the incredible support system that I had (and have) in my husband, friends, and family – both physical and spiritual. But they cannot be what sustains me. Only my God can do that.

So while I do not neglect to seek God’s clarity and guidance, may my first cry thus always be, ‘Abba, Father, I will follow You!’

Do you struggle with a “need” to know as well? Or is there some other manifestation of anxiety that you have faced or are facing? What truths have you found to help you combat your own destructive thought patterns?

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