Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

I recently learned yet another lesson about being anxious and on trusting God. These sorts of lesson tend happen fairly often to us as people, or at least to me. I don't know about all of you, but I still have this tendency to worry about things because that is all I can really do. What happened to me was this: my apartment lease was coming up. Not a really serious issue to most folks, but for me it was a fairly big deal. If you will understand that my job situation is not secure, then the idea of taking out another year (or more) lease is a fairly big thing. The rent was also going to go up. Now I know that everyone complains about rent but complaining is equivalent to not trusting God, but thats another topic. I complained about my rent being too much for what I was getting, and now the rent was going higher and they wouldn't let me go on a month to month rate at the “low” rate I was paying already. Two months ahead of when my lease was up, I started getting nervous. What would I do? What could I do? I began hunting for another apartment. I prayed about my situation, and the answer that I got back was “just wait.” Again, I don't know about you but I have trouble with waiting. I continued to look for a new place or for options. Still, the answer from God was “just wait” while I continued to cry out “I can't, I need to have everything lined up soon! I don't have much time!”

With a month left of my lease I was really desperate since all my apartment searching had turned up nothing. I was badgering God in my prayers, “Lord, help me know what to do, where do I go!” His response continued to be “just wait!” With just a week left until my deadline, I got home after work and prayed again, “Lord, you are going to have to provide because I have tried everything and if nothing comes up I will take out a new lease and trust that you will provide the rent.

At church that night, a lady came up to me and told me that God had told her I needed a place to live andoffered me a small studio apartment that she had available. Later I found that she had been trying to find me for a couple weeks to let me know about this place, but could never get hold of me. Her (and her husband's) prior renter had moved out almost a month before they found me. The previous renter had decided one day that the apartment was too small and that something bigger was needed, and so they moved out as soon as they were able. God provided.

I did all that worrying for nothing. God had it all under control. I just had to wait for everything to happen in His time. He was not about to rush His plans for the previous renter just to give me peace of mind earlier. I actually think that he probably delayed the decision of the previous renter and instigated the near misses between my new landlords and myself just to teach me yet another lesson about trusting Him and being less anxious.

We as believers tend to worry about things which we have given over to God to handle. We need to relearn that He will take care of it when He takes care of it, not before. We may not like waiting around and we may run around endlessly as I did looking for a new apartment, but He has it all under control He will provide what we need when we need it. My new apartment certainly is not fancy, but it is functional. It is farther from work, but its closer to everything else. He has provided just what I need and He wouldn't provide it to me earlier despite my spiritual whining.

God is faithful and will provide for you despite your worries and anxiousness. Give Him the trust He deserves. He heard you the first time just as He heard me, but He will wait until He knows is the right time. He will provide in His time. Remember, in His time and only in His time will He provide everything you need.