I’d worried about something, offered it up to God, and now it was back again, sitting heavily on my chest and grinning wickedly in my face. I sighed deeply.
Show me new ways to look at this problem, Lord.
I need God’s help to put myself in someone else’s shoes, because those shoes aren’t always comfortable.
I need God’s help to view matters with another person’s eyes, because I don’t always like what they see when they look at me.
I need God’s help to look at difficulties with detachment, because my emotions color my outlook and bias my understanding.
And most of all, I need God’s help discerning which wish or hope I’m holding on to. For it’s often only when I let go of my deepest desires that my deepest worries are set free.
Over the years I’ve realized that worries often boomerang when I persist in looking at problems from the same angle. And although the prayer that leaps to my lips is often “Take this cup away from me,” it’s sometimes better to start with a different one: “Father, help me see this situation from your perspective.”
Show me new ways to look at this problem, Lord. And in the process, show me new ways to love you.
