When Worries Stack Up, Tell Him
From Betsy’s Desk:
Last month, the Pillar staff was at the SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando, and one of the things I treasured most was the chance to connect with faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. There is something deeply encouraging about spending time with like-minded believers; people who remind us that we are not alone in the work God has given us.
As I walked through the convention, I stopped several friends and asked them one simple question: What word of encouragement would you give to a Pillar woman who is serving faithfully in her home and local church?
When I asked Liam Garvie, our International Director of Ministry, to share a word of encouragement, I had forgotten that he is also a pastor who loves to preach! His response was, of course, the longest! As I listened to him opening the Word, I thought to myself: this is so rich! This is article material! And voila! Here it is for you to sit down and invest 8 minutes in reading this word of encouragement from Psalm 25, as he calls us to persevere in seasons of hardship.
When you are done, go to the recent Pillar Women Podcast episode to keep the conversation going. Put on your earbuds while you fold laundry, drive, cook dinner, or tackle the next thing on your list, and keep listening to the rest of the encouragement boost from 15 other brothers and sisters who shared words of encouragement for you. (Including Jeanine Sanchez, Nate Akin, and more)
When Worries Stack Up, Tell Him
by Liam Garvie
If you are anything like me, you know the feeling of seeing that little red notification hanging over your phone's email app. Some of us cannot stand having a single unread message. We like to clear things instantly. Others can have hundreds sitting there, piling up, waiting to be opened. And often, when those messages keep stacking up, they begin to drag a person down.
Now imagine that same little red notification hanging over your chest. How many worries would it show you are carrying? How many would it show that I am carrying?
Maybe there is some odd, strange person among us who might have none, someone who has truly cast every anxiety on the Lord. But most of us, if not all of us, carry many. The worries keep stacking up. And we keep them. We do not cast them on the Lord as He tells us to do.
Psalm 25 speaks to those who are holding on to anxieties. And in many ways, though it is a psalm with many words, it says two words to us: Tell Him.
Psalm 25 was written by David: God-pursuing, Goliath-slaying, spear-dodging, Bathsheba-taking, consequence-experiencing, promise-receiving King David. And in this psalm, David refuses to let his soul become an inbox of unopened worry. Instead, he chooses to clear it by telling God four things.
Tell Him What You Are Facing
First, David tells God what he is facing.
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
(Psalm 25:1-2, ESV)
David begins by telling the Lord what he is up against. He has enemies. They are determined to make his trust in God look foolish. And what troubles him most is the prospect of shame.
Shame, in Psalm 25, is not merely a private feeling of embarrassment. It is the public disgrace of being proved a fool. David has been living according to God’s Word, trusting it to be sufficient, much as you are seeking to do. And he prays, “Do not let me suffer the kind of shame that would make my trust look foolish. Do not let my reputation suffer in such a way that Your reputation would be dishonored.”
Yet his fear is not floating loose. It is sandwiched between declarations of trust. He begins, “O my God, in you I trust,” and by verse 3 he says:
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
(Psalm 25:3, ESV)
That is why we tell Him what we are facing. We tell Him about the pressure. We tell Him about the opposition. We tell Him about the misunderstanding, the discouragement, the fear that our obedience will look foolish to others. We tell Him when trusting His Word feels costly. We do not need to pretend those things are not real. David does not pretend. He lifts up his soul to the Lord.
Tell Him What You Need
Then, in verses 4-7, David tells God what he needs. He needs guidance, and he needs forgiveness.
Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
(Psalm 25:4-5, ESV)
David needs guidance. “Lord, show me the right path. Teach me Your ways. Lead me in Your truth.” He knows he cannot navigate his troubles merely by instinct, emotion, experience, or human wisdom. He needs the Lord Himself to teach him how to walk. And he needs forgiveness.
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
(Psalm 25:6-7, ESV)
David looks back to times in his life when sin had led him down the wrong path. He knows he is liable to sin in the future too. So he prays that God would remember something that predates even David’s past sins: His own mercy and His own great love. And how precious that is for us to remember.
When we feel weighed down by worries, we can tell Him what we need. We can tell Him we need wisdom. We can tell Him we need direction. We can tell Him we need mercy. We can tell Him we need forgiveness.
He has that mercy for us. He has that love for us. His mercy is not fragile. His steadfast love is not recent. It is “from of old.” So tell Him what you are facing. Tell Him what you need.
Tell Him What You Know
And then, like David in verses 8-15, tell God what you know. These verses are jam-packed with descriptions of God and what He does. It is as though David’s worries are dispersed simply by rehearsing what he knows God is like.
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
(Psalm 25:8-9, ESV)
Verses 8-11 almost give us classroom vibes. God is described as a teacher. And He is the best teacher. He is not one of those bad teachers you might have had. He is good, never bad. Upright, never unfair. Loving, never cold. Faithful, never unreliable.
And David describes the pupils God loves to teach. He teaches humble sinners. He leads those who are willing to be instructed. God glorifies His name by forgiving and guiding humble sinners like us.
Then, if verses 8-11 have classroom vibes, verses 12-15 have happy home vibes.
Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
(Psalm 25:12-13, ESV)
Here God is like a father who has picked up His child from school and led him home. And in verse 14, He is like a father who sits down for a conversation with His child, confiding in him, speaking with him, making known His covenant purposes and His plans to love His people forever.
The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
(Psalm 25:14, ESV)
And how should the children of God respond to a Father like that? David shows us:
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
(Psalm 25:15, ESV)
He looks to God. He does not take his eyes off God.
Dear sisters, when the worries stack up, one of the best things you can do is tell God what you know about who He is. Preach His character back to Him and to yourself.
Tell Him He is good. Tell Him He is upright. Tell Him He is merciful. Tell Him He is faithful. Tell Him He is the God of your salvation.
And then tell Him what you know about yourself. Tell Him that you are needy. Tell Him that you are prone to wander. Tell Him that you need to be taught, forgiven, and kept. Tell Him what He has already told you about who you are and what He calls you to be.
When guilt rises up, you can say with David:
For your name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
(Psalm 25:11, ESV)
And when worries and discouragements surround you, you can say, “My eyes are ever toward the LORD” (Ps. 25:15).
Tell Him How You Feel
Then, fourthly and finally, David tells God how he feels. This is where we come to verses 16-22, and here we meet the raw honesty of David.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
(Psalm 25:16-18, ESV)
David pours out his heart without any kind of filter. He feels lonely. Afflicted. Troubled. Anguished. Distressed. Burdened by sin. Hated. This is David the Goliath slayer pouring out his heart like a child, afraid and weary.
So, sisters, when the worries stack up, and anxiety feels like a heavy burden, tell God how you feel. Nobody needs to pretend they are okay, because nobody is really okay. We can tell God when we feel low and lonely, troubled or guilty, hated by some, looked down on by others, even slandered by people in our own church. We can be honest about these things.
But we do not need to stop there. We do not merely lay our honesty out on the table and leave it there. We bring those emotions up into our beliefs and make them subject to the plain and indisputable doctrine of God and the gospel. We anchor our hope in Him.
That is where David’s raw, honest emotion flows in verses 20-22.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
(Psalm 25:20-21, ESV)
David, in his worry, hides himself in God, chooses to put his hope in God, and takes refuge in God. And then David widens the scope of his prayer.
Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.
(Psalm 25:22, ESV)
He is not only praying for himself anymore. He is praying for all of Israel, all of God’s people.
And there is encouragement for us here too. Do not limit your prayers to pleading these things only for yourself. Pray them for others. Pray them for your sisters in Christ. Pray them for your church. Pray them for weary women serving quietly in their homes and in their local churches. Pray them for those carrying burdens no one else can see.
What Will You Do With Your Worries?
So, sisters, what will you do with your worries in light of Psalm 25? Psalm 25 says: Tell Him.
Tell Him what you are facing.
Tell Him what you need.
Tell Him what you know.
Tell Him how you feel.
Do not keep those anxieties to yourself. Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Lift up your soul to the Lord. Tell Him.
For more encouragement, listen to the latest episode here.