I recently learned that anxiety is often an attempt to control our circumstances. This truth completely resonated with me as soon as I heard it. When we face situations out of our control, anxiety gives us a false sense of control over the uncontrollable circumstances in life that arise. All the anxiety and worry in the world cannot shake the truth that we do not have control. There is only one who is in control, and that is God.
While the truth that we are not in control can feel unsettling for many of us, we can find peace and comfort in the One who is. Isaiah 40:28 tells us about our God, who controls everything. He writes, "Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding" (verse 28). God is everlasting. He never gets tired. His understanding never falters. We, on the other hand, get tired. We lose strength at times. Our understanding has limits. I assure you, my friend, He is the One you want to be in control. God, His control, and His power never change, but the question is, do we trust Him? If we do, we find peace in the middle of our anxiety. Isaiah 40 ends with the promise, "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint" (verse 31). This peace and confidence come from releasing control of our circumstances, which we never truly had, and giving over control to Him, who controls all circumstances. When we trust Him, we walk peacefully and confidently through every situation.
Have you been feeling anxious lately over things out of your control? Have you been struggling to find peace amid uncertainties and unknowns? Take heart in this good news: God is in control over your situation, even now. He knows everything and never loses strength or gets tired. He is worthy of every ounce of your trust. Trust Him today and find His peace.
Write down Isaiah 40:28. As you write, meditate on the words in this passage of Scripture. Bring this verse to mind often. Let it remind you that God is in control of every circumstance, and because of that truth, you can have peace in the middle of all of life's uncontrollable circumstances.
"Comfort, comfort my people,"
says your God.
2 "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
for all her sins."
3 Listen! It's the voice of someone shouting,
"Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
4 Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!"
6 A voice said, "Shout!"
I asked, "What should I shout?"
"Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever."
9 O Zion, messenger of good news,
shout from the mountaintops!
Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.
Shout, and do not be afraid.
Tell the towns of Judah,
"Your God is coming!"
10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
He will rule with a powerful arm.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone's advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon's forests
and all Lebanon's animals would not be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.
17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.
In his eyes they count for less than nothing-
mere emptiness and froth.
18 To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
20 Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won't decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won't fall down!
21 Haven't you heard? Don't you understand?
Are you deaf to the words of God-
the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?
22 God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
and makes his tent from them.
23 He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing.
24 They hardly get started, barely taking root,
when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 "To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."
