The problem with God’s ways is not that they are difficult but that they are intended to be IMPOSSIBLE. For without the Holy Spirit you can do NOTHING! When we read his Word, we see apparently opposite commands and ask, ” Well, which is it, this or that?” Then he replys, “Exactly!”
So it often involves sequence. First we realize that we are anxious. Then we thank him for the gift of anxiety that identifies danger and pushes us to do the little that we can. Now we ask, “SHOW ME what my part looks like. HELP ME to do the little that I can.” Having obeyed, we ask, “Anything else you want me to do?”
Now it is time to cast ALL your care on him. (If you don’t, then you must secretly believe that either he does not care or is too busy or weak to do anything about it). However, you note that your effort was imperfect and is never enough to fix the problem by itself. The problem is still there and often seems worse after our trying. Since the problem situation or person has to be fixed or we are doomed to misery, we can’t just leave the outcome to God.
YES WE CAN by the help of the Holy Spirit. Not because he guarantees the outcome that you think best, but because we trust that he knows best, loves us and the others involved, and is working out his plan on his timetable, not ours.
Now that we have cast our care on him and left them on the altar, we need to pull our attention back to the here and now, which is the only place our reality touches his. Seize the next situation and enjoy, rejoice, and get ready to do our part.
About now, the Holy Spirit asks us to take up a burden and care about the situation that we had so much difficulty letting go. It turns out that we are not called to let go of caring but to let go of control, of connecting our personal worth and security to the outcome.
But how can we be at peace and carry a burden for real problems around us? Grab the privilege of becoming a yoke-fellow, carrying the burden with Christ, joining into the fellowship of his labor and suffering while remembering that we ourselves are forgiven, cleansed, glorified, and immortal. We are burdened for them, not for ourselves. It is God’s job to help them; we just yield our body parts, slaves, and tools for him to work through.
