Is 'don't worry, God's in charge' really enough?

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Some phrases trip off the tongue very easily, yet so often fail to deliver the reassurance we intend.

“Don’t worry, God’s in charge” is a closely related Christian alternative. God is, of course, in charge. But how often those words fail to speak to anxious ears.

In the face of an impending redundancy, or a child with a life-threatening illness, or a relationship crisis, “don’t worry, God’s in charge” somehow isn’t enough.

When peace still eludes us

So how about this alternative? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4v6-7).

It’s a classic verse for the anxious and has at least two merits. First, it is more than a trite platitude – it comes directly from the Scriptures. Second, it gives us something to do. Instead of worrying, we should pray – and pray with thanksgiving. Notice the good things God has already given us; remember the character of our God, who gives generously – even giving His Son. In the face of such generosity, we have reason to trust Him.

Yet even this sometimes fails to deliver the comfort we seek. Perhaps it’s the familiarity? As though overexposure has left us numb to the force of the promise. Or perhaps it’s because the person has tried to pray, but the words won’t come. Or perhaps it’s because we imagine this verse to be offering something it’s not. We read it, somehow, as a kind of blank cheque – as if prayer will instantly remove the threat, supply the lack and solve the problem. That kind of misreading has us treating God rather like a “genie-in-a-bottle”: one quick wish (or prayer) and we have what we want in a click of the fingers. Our nightmares removed, our dreams fulfilled.

But we know that’s not how things work. We have seen enough “unanswered prayer” and know enough theology to realise God isn’t at our beck and call. So how, exactly, should we read this verse? How is it a comfort in the times of anxious fear?

God in right proportion

To find the answer, come to one more Bible verse about fear and worry and anxiety. In his first letter, the apostle Peter writes: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5v7). At first glance, this seems broadly similar to the encouragement to pray in Philippians 4. Until we notice what comes before it. In the immediately preceding verse, Peter says this: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (5v6). On that basis, derived from that truth, Peter then says: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (v7). The preceding verse makes all the difference in the world. It reminds us where power and authority lie. It reminds us where greatness and glory lie. It reminds us who God is. He is mighty. He surpasses and exceeds us in every way.

It’s been rightly said that where we get big and God gets small, anxiety always tends to grow. But when God gets big and we get small, anxiety begins to diminish. We are bound to end up worrying when we try to take charge of things that are actually outside our control. That’s not what we were designed to do.

When we over-reach, and seek to be what we’re not, anxiety is never far away. When we humble ourselves, and acknowledge the might and power of God’s mighty hand, we find our proper place. It doesn’t mean that only pleasant things will ever happen to us. But it does mean that, in humility, we learn to trust the mighty hand of our God and press on in faith.