This is part of a blog series about fighting insecurity at work and four phrases that have helped me keep myself in focus. To start from the beginning, click here.
Truth #1: God has my back.
Maybe that statement seems obvious to you, but I often surprise myself at how quickly I begin to assume that all outcomes, all situations, all work-related results rely entirely on me. The truth is that the work I put into a project is MY responsibility, but what happens after that? The results? What people think of me? What happens next? I was never meant to carry that load. Think of it this way...
Moses wasn't responsible for how Pharaoh reacted. He was responsible for speaking up.
David wasn't responsible for Goliath falling...only for his part in the fight.
Peter wasn't in charge of what happened when he stepped out on the waves. He was responsible for stepping. That was it.
As my brilliant friend Sarah Anderson said in a meeting recently, "So much of prayer is reminding myself what is my responsibility and what is God's". She has a point. (Actually, she has a lot of them. Go read them at www.SarahBAnderson.com).
So much of my work-related anxiety centers around things that haven’t even happened yet or what was never meant to be in my control anyway. So in the past few years, I’ve done my best to remind myself that tomorrow is God’s responsibility and He is good. Very good. In fact, out of goodness, He works all things together for my good.
In other words, I don’t have to worry because He’s got it. And He’s got my back.
But what about the stuff that IS my responsibility? That's next week.