Our anxiety expresses itself through doubt. And our doubt expresses itself by taking things into our own hands. Whether we say it or even consciously think it, trying to make things happen on our own says, at best, “God’s not giving me what I want when I want it, so I’d better make it happen myself.” And despite what 75 percent of Christians believe (Barna, 2005), “God helps those who help themselves” does not come from the Bible.

And in this season of my life, God has been confronting my tendency to live out of my doubt. Ask anyone: I’m good at coming up with a plan, pulling things together and making them happen. I am, to use a human complement, resourceful.  Heck, I like calling myself “tenacious.” And yet, in this season all my efforts have come to nothing. Instead, God says, “Depend on Me. Let Me handle it.”

I try every idea at my disposal, thinking one of them will work. And then they don’t. And then something that wasn’t my idea shows up and accomplishes what all my bright ideas and efforts couldn’t. And again, God repeats, “Depend on Me. Let Me handle it.”