As a nurse, we experience many different situations that come up suddenly and that we have to deal with immediately. I work in a busy ward at a local hospital, and my co-workers and I are trained to deal with any emergencies that come up. We handle them as calmly and as well as we can.
On one normal day, we suddenly heard something announced that we’d never had to deal with before. “Code Sierra is now happening.” Code Sierra! Only hospital workers understood this warning - a bomb threat in the hospital. News spread like wildfire through the unit. I had seen my co-workers handle medical emergencies with total calm, but now they were becoming stressed and restless. Worry and fear took over the unit.
Complete faith and confidence
But as I stood there hearing this, the lines from a song started to play in my head. “All my days are resting in His keeping; from all worry, by His grace, I’m saved.” While those around me were very afraid, all I felt was a deep sense of inner peace. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I believed that my life was resting in God’s hands, and it became clear to me that I had nothing to worry about. I had complete faith and confidence in God, and He gave me rest and peace in the middle of the total chaos that was around me.
The verse in Psalm 118:6 also came to my mind, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” I knew that I had absolutely nothing to fear. God was as close as the shadow of my right hand. (Psalm 121:5.) I was able to continue caring for my patients as though nothing was happening. And within a few hours, the local police were able to make everything safe again.
My battle with worry
It might sound like this was a reaction that just came naturally to me, but the truth is that being at rest and fully trusting in God has been something that is not natural for me at all. By nature, I easily worry about things, so it is something I’ve really had to fight against. Even in small, everyday situations I am really quickly tempted to worry. Whether it's getting to work on time, the weather, my money, etc.
But just because I’m tempted and the thoughts come up, doesn’t mean that I have to give in to them and start worrying. Instead, I pray to God earnestly. He has promised to give me the help that I need to overcome this worry that I am tempted to. (1 Corinthians 10:13.)
It’s by fighting and praying in these small situations every day that I’ve come to have faith in God. It’s only by God’s grace and power that I’ve overcome worry and could remain in an unshakable rest and peace. I have learned to trust God in these small situations. This has made it possible for me to be unshakable in those situations where my natural reaction would be to panic.
It’s so good to have these experiences that prove that the gospel works - that we really can overcome sin. That even if things like worry – or jealousy, laziness, suspicion or whatever it is – are natural to me, I change if I am faithful to say No to them. I can actually change completely and become a completely new person! (2 Corinthians 5:17.) And the result is rest and peace in my life, rather than stress and fear.