Have you ever worried and fretted over something to the point of distraction? Maybe instead of asking “have you ever”, I should more accurately ask “when was the last time you fretted over something to the point of distraction? I would wager a bet that all of us, if we are being honest, would not go much further out than a week or so. In our busy work and home lives, it seems there is always plenty of reason for worry … great or small.
I recently have worried quite a bit over leaving my home church of over 20 years. The rug was pulled out from under me, and my soft spot to fall is no longer available to me. This Lenten season, I have spent a lot of time pondering, praying, and searching for a new connection, someplace I fit.
When times of worry arrive, I like to play “Dodge Ball With The Devil.” As we are told, “let go, and let God.” But how many times do we truly let go and let God? It seems we always take it back. Thus … “Dodge Ball With The Devil.”
Who among us hasn’t played dodge ball with our friends on the school playground? I remember taking turns on who was going to get the ball first. Then the others lined up against a brick wall … hopefully without windows! The person with the ball starts to toss the ball at friends against the wall, and if you get hit, then you take the ball and try to hit another person who then takes your place. And the rotation continues.
So when you play “Dodge Ball With The Devil” you give God your concerns. However, often the devil may try to get you to take them back. He tosses these issues your way, very slyly he tries to hit you, look to the left, to the right, move quickly and dodge, dodge, dodge … just don’t let him get you! Each time you dodge what the devil throws your way, God grasps these issues in His strong, loving arms, and handles them His way in His time. When we try to take control and take back what we have given to God, in essence we have let the devil fire them at us and strike us. Be steadfast and dodge, dodge, dodge … Let Go and Let God!
