Who cares?

Despairing people, who face disappointment after disappointment, often ask 'Who cares?' 

Life doesn't seem fair and bad luck appears to follow some people relentlessly. When all hope that things might turn out better is a cruel dream, we easily give up trying. We may convince ourselves that it may be our fate to fail, or whatever language that comes easily. At the same time, we may find ourselves confronted by advice from others, that tells us how to get out of the mess we may be in. We may then agree with Oscar Wilde, who said, 'All advice is bad, and good advice is worse!'

In these situations, I often return to a favourite verse from the hard-won experience of St. Peter, who knew a bit about failure and disappointment. ' Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.' (1 Peter 5.7)

So the answer to the pained question, 'Who cares?' is 'God cares!'

To know that God cares about me tells me first of all that God knows about the details of my life. That is an astonishing and wonderful fact. Every event and issue which I face is already known by the Lord who made me and sent Jesus for me. So it makes sense to unload the problems into His large and loving hands. Worries are not doing me or the problems any good - so I have to keep learning to give them all away.

Then, wonderfully, the Lord is able to provide wisdom and help, encouragement and support, so that either progress is made, or the issue returns to being a molehill rather than a mountain.

My prayer is that we all learn to take St. Peter's good advice - and so grow in trusting the Lord in each day's struggles.

Best wishes,

Richard