The other day when Facebook brought up a picture of a person who shall remain nameless, I remembered that a situation involving her prompted my first “If this bothers you as much as it bothers me, please do something about it” prayer!
That day I finally got tired of feeling guilty about not doing something about a situation involving that person when truly there was nothing I could do about it. I was privy to information about her that made me aware of how inappropriate her behavior had been. She was in a position of leadership in her church, but I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it.
Later, we became involved in a Celebrate Recovery program where I learned even more about the situation this person was involved in but couldn’t reveal it to anyone in leadership at the church she attended because of confidentiality guidelines.
After spending a great deal of time fretting and feeling guilty, I told the Lord one day, “If this bothers you as much as it bothers me, then you do something about it!” I’ll never know how the Lord accomplished it, but within a few days, that woman was no longer in a position of leadership—whether by her choice or the choice of those in leadership, I don’t know.
As I reminisced about that answer to prayer, it occurred to me that there are a number of things now that I constantly feel guilty for not doing anything about when truly there is nothing I can do. I decided it was time for me to get out my If this bothers you as much as it bothers me prayer again.
That evening the Daily Bread had a devotional titled, Peace in the Release, based on Philippians 4:7, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In the devotional, a woman encouraged her friend to “let go every time you write or read a prayer you’ve released into God’s hands… Liberated from the burden of clinging to concerns, we can experience peace in the release of every prayer into God’s trustworthy hands.“
I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit as He confirmed what He’d said to me earlier in the day. The next morning during my quiet time, I journaled about all this. Then taking a deep breathe, I said, “So, Father, here are the situations about which I want you to do something if they bother you as much as they bother me.”
One by one I named each situation that I fret about frequently but can do nothing about. Then I added to my prayer: If there’s anything you want me to do about any of these situations, you’ll have to show me because I’m tired of feeling guilty and anxious or disturbed about them. I’m transferring the responsibility to you.
What about you? Are there situations in your life that trouble you and that you find yourself fretting about frequently or even continually? If so, are you ready to completely release them into God’s hands? If so, I invite you to borrow my strategy, asking that if this situation bothers God as much as it bothers you, He would do something about it.
Father, help us choose to stop fretting and start releasing these troublesome situations that we can do nothing about into your capable hands, trusting that if it bothers you as much as it bothers us, you will do something about them! Amen.