Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

Growing up I often volunteered for the less than ideal living situations in my house. When my family decided to house an exchange student I volunteered to give her my room. So I ended up sleeping in the living room in what would later be turned into a storage closet. The space was big enough to fit my twin sized bed. I put up a curtain and I had my room!. This wasn’t a reflection of my own generosity. I simply didn’t really care. To me wherever I slept didn’t really affect my life. Recently my fiancé and I have been looking for a place to move in together after our wedding (18 days as of writing this!!). Through this process we have looked at hundreds of rental properties. We had some non-negotiable things and some very flexible things on our list of wants and needs. After about 4 months of searching we became discouraged. We had prayed together, asked others to pray, told God we would accept anything! In the back of my mind I thought of how God had prepared me to say yes to anything and yet the opportunity hadn’t presented itself. I lived in a closet for a year! How could it get any worse? God had a plan. The bible talks about our needs and wants many times. Jesus even spoke on it. Are you curious about God’s plan for you? Let’s explore some of what Jesus said about how the Father is taking care of what we need and how that helped me and my fiancé through this admittedly anxious time. Maybe what Jesus said can help you too. 

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13

If you are not familiar with the renting market in the Denver Metro area I count you as blessed. The competition is fierce and the options are less than ideal. As my fiancé and I began to look for housing we were a little bit more selective in our choices. As the time came near we became more and more open to places we would not have thought of before. After successfully dodging a couple scams we were in the final running for a house. It was in just the right spot, it had a yard and was within our budget. After touring the house with the landlord things seemed great! He told us that he would let us know in 3 days if we were going to get it. We prayed about it. We asked God for the opportunity to rent this place. We set our minds on getting this place. We did not get the place. The bible is clear that we do not have to be anxious about plans. But that didn’t help when we felt let down. We went back to searching. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6,7

We humbled our searches. Two weeks went by and we were within a month of needing to move. This summer has been unusually busy and looking for a place to live has consumed much of our time and mental space. Interestingly the bible actually talks about this. In 1 Peter we are instructed to cast our anxieties on God. This is a curious use of words. We aren’t told to cast them to God but to cast them on God. As if these anxieties are weighing us down. Jesus parallels this in Matthew 11:30 when He tells us to give Him our burdens. I love this because it means that when we are weighed down God is actively seeking to take the weight away from us. He hasn't left us on our own! He has an answer.

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37 

675 square feet is not a lot. But when we signed an 11 month lease it was the biggest blessing and answer to prayer. We were anxious through it all and yet their was a sense of peace. This peace did not come from a lack of care or worry. Instead it came from the assurance that God actually cares and was actively working for us. The bible is clear that God can do anything. When He sets out to do something it is going to be awesome to see the results. We simply have to wait. The waiting is the tough part. We learned that over a few month span. Maybe you are currently waiting for God to answer something and you are feeling an anxiety that has weighed you down. Jesus is offering to take that burden. Try it out. You might find his yoke to be easy and light.