In the great trapeze act of salvation, God is the catcher, and we are the flyers. We trust. Period. We rely solely upon God’s ability to catch us. As we do trust him, a wonderful thing happens—we fly!

Your Father has never dropped anyone. He will not drop you. His grip is sturdy and his hands are open. Place yourself entirely in his care. As you do, you will find it is possible—yes, possible—to be anxious for nothing.

Say with Paul, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us” (Phil 3:13-14 TLB). Your salvation has nothing to do with your work and everything to do with the finished work of Christ on the cross. Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy.

Someday we will stand before God.  All of us will be present. All of us will have to give an account for our lives. Every thought, every deed, every action.  Were it not for the grace of Christ, I would find this to be a very terrifying thought.

Yet, according to Scripture, Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29 Phillips). On that day, I will point to Christ.  When my list of sins is produced, I will gesture toward him and say, “He took it.” Let him take yours.

I was a twenty-year-old college sophomore, living with a concrete block of guilt that had made a mess of my life. But then I heard a preacher describe the divine grace that is greater than sin.  At the end of the message he asked if anyone would like to come forward and receive this grace.  Iron chains couldn’t have held me back.  Truth be told, chains had held me back.  But mercy snapped the guilt chains and set me free.

I know this truth firsthand:  Guilt frenzies the soul; grace calms it! The benefit of being a great sinner is dependence upon a great grace!

Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary, angry, fretful mess. In a psalm David wrote after his affair with Bathsheba, the king said, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4 NLT).

As Paul told Titus, God’s grace is the fertile soul out of which courage sprouts. “God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone!” (Titus 2:11 MSG).

No one had more reason to feel the burden of guilt than did the apostle Paul. He had orchestrated the deaths of Christians, an ancient version of a terrorist. Yet, Paul gave his guilt to Jesus. Period. He surrendered it to Jesus. As a result he could write, “I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB).

What would the apostle say to the guilt-ridden? Simply this: Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy. Trust in his ability to forgive. Cast yourself upon the grace of Christ and Christ alone!

Is God saying the same to you? Examine the truths which sustain your belief in God. Make sure one of them is etched with the words, “My God is sovereign!” Then, be anxious for nothing.

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless?  Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty.  I dare you. I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought.  (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV)

“He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).

“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

He certainly had a word for Isaiah. The prophet wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory’” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

God calmed the fears of Isaiah, not by removing the problem, but by revealing his divine power and presence. Rejoice that God is able to do what you cannot do! Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your heavenly father increases.