I had never thought of worry as a form of taking on God’s responsibility. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that worry, in its naked form, comes close to doing just that. I thought of this after seeing a sign in a church foyer that read:

Do not feel totally, personally,
irrevocably responsible for
everything. That’s My job. —God

This advice does not absolve us of all responsibility, however. The force of the statement lies in the words totally, personally, irrevocably, and everything. We often feel we must solve all our problems ourselves, and that unless we come up with the right solution all will be lost.

Of course, we must take responsibility for our own lives. Yet God wants us to rely on His guidance. When problems arise, our first duty is to bring them to Him in prayer. He may show us that we’ve created our own difficulty, and may reveal that we must make changes to resolve it. He’ll grant forgiveness and give the strength to change. Or He’ll assure us that we’re doing all we can, and say, “Leave it with Me. Just do your next duty.”

Only God has sufficient energy and wisdom to handle everything well. Worry will gradually lose its hold on our lives if we learn to stop playing God.

  — Dennis J. De Haan