Walking on the Word

1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Psalms 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord; he will sustain you. . . . . .

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Scaffolding

When I was young my dad would teach me things. I loved learning from him – he was very wise, wonderful, patient, loving and giving. My brothers and I were my dad’s favorite people! He adored us. He was funny and fun and usually granted permission more readily than my mom, so when we wanted something, we went to dad!

All this is to say that I value my dad very much and all that he taught me. One thing that he taught me, I use today. I don’t remember how old I was when he showed me this, but I have never forgotten it. He told me that whatever troubles I had, problems, situations, people – anything – to visualize a scaffold. On this scaffold I was to mentally place anything thing that I want to give to God. And simply hoist it up to Him. This exercise would ensure that I would no longer worry about what was weighing me down, because now it’s all being sent to God, that now He will be the one to take care of it all.

I practice this method of scaffolding still today. In the middle of the night when I can’t sleep because of too much on my mind, I send it all up to God. I then thank God for taking these things from me, and ask him to assemble them, fix them, resolve them - and send to me what I need to work on, otherwise I completely trust that God will handle the rest! It’s a great system – I take on too much – I worry too much – become overwhelmed - take it to God – and then I feel much less burdened; I feel lighter. Sometimes the next morning I have clarity regarding a situation that was messy or difficult. It’s very reassuring to know that God works this way for me. I count on Him, his guidance, strength, wisdom.

Maybe you have your own way of giving your troubles to God – I’m sure there are many ways, individualized to help you. My dad taught me the importance of turning everything over to God, but the Bible teaches about how much God cares for me and you, and how He invites all of us to give our troubles to Him. I thank both my dad and my God for these valuable lessons.

-- Kelli New

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for your presence in my life and for allowing me to give everything to you! Your providence is amazing and never ending! It’s a shame that I spend any time worrying, when all I have to do is turn it all over to you! Please help me to remember that and to always rely on you. Your faithfulness in my life is evident! I only hope that I am as faithful! I honor you, I praise you, I give you all the glory. Please give me your peace as I look to you for everything I need. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Hope for Tomorrow's Families