According to 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV), God always wants us to give him all of our worries, for it states, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
But sometimes there are specific worries about relationships which God is calling you to intentionally give to him. So here are 3 signs God is saying, “Give me your relationship worries.”
1. If You’ve Done All You Can Do to Know His Will About a Certain Relationship, It’s Time to Just Give Him Your Worries and Trust Him
Not all anxiety and worry should be dealt with in the exact same way. Of course throughout the Bible we are told to not worry and to not be anxious because ultimately we must trust in God. So I’m not saying it’s okay to be worrisome and anxious.
What I am saying is that there are different reasons for why we feel the way we feel sometimes which should cause us to try to solve this worry in different ways based upon the root issue. For example, if you were a farmer, you could be worried and anxious because you know you totally slacked off all year and now that winter is coming you know you won’t have enough food to take care of for your family. This would not be a situation where God is saying, “Just trust me and don’t worry.” God calls us to live wisely, so he would say something more like, “Trust me and don’t worry, but you also need to repent of your laziness and get to work so your family has something to eat this winter.” As Proverbs 10:4-5 states, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.”
On the other hand, if you were a responsible farmer who worked really hard and did everything you should have and your barns are full for the coming winter, but you are still filled with all kinds of worry and anxiety, it would be more likely that God would just say something like, “Just trust me and don’t worry. Seek first the kingdom of God and I’ll take care of you.”
My point is, when it comes to relationships, you could feel worried and anxious because of bad decisions. If you cheated on your girlfriend and now you are worried that you ruined a great relationship, that is valid. If you are being totally passive and not pursuing a relationship you sense God telling you to pursue, you are going to feel anxiety. In instances like these, I’m not saying it is okay to be worried and anxious. I’m just saying that there are actions steps God is going to also tell you to take while you also put all of your trust in him.
But like the responsible farmer who already took all the right wise steps but is still struggling with worry and anxiety, there comes a point in relationships where you too can take all the right actions steps but still be worried and anxious. If you already stepped out in faith and did what you sensed God telling you to do, it’s in these moments where God is saying, “Give me your relationship worries!”
2. If You Are Filled with Worry Because of a Relationship Sin You Already Repented of and Confessed, This Is a Sign God Is Saying, “Give Me Your Worries!”
There’s no greater anxiety and worry that so fills the human heart than those which stem from our own sins. When we feel the weight of our personal sin, it is completely crushing and debilitating. Sex before marriage, becoming unequally yoked with an unbeliever, making relationships an idol in your heart, and so many other sins connected to relationships can make us feel worrisome and anxious.
Without Christ, it is right to feel this way. You should be worried about unconfessed sin. You should be anxious if you know you have not repented and you are still walking in darkness. As Psalm 32:3-6, 10 says:
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found . . . Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”
If you sinned in the area of relationships but you have confessed your sin and turned in repentance, it’s time to let that guilt go. Through Jesus’s death on the cross, a Christian is completely forgiven. Through Jesus’s resurrection, we too may live a new life. As Romans 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
If you are worried about a past sin that you committed in a relationship or even a sin in your own heart but you have now confessed and repented, God is saying, “Give me your worries.”
3. If You Are Worried About Relationships Because There Is So Much You Don’t Know, This Is a Sign God Wants You to Give Him Your Worries
Many Christian singles want to be in a godly relationship but they just don’t know how to meet the one God has for them. Some worry because even if they did meet the person they felt God had for them, they know they don’t have the slightest clue on how to function in a healthy relationship. Looking from the outside in, relationships can feel completely overwhelming and confusing.
Don’t you just wish you had someone to teach you? Don’t you just wish you always had someone to ask really important relationship questions? Don’t you wish someone would just write a book with all the most important questions answered in simple language? Don’t you wish you could listen to the advice of someone who has already seen into your future?
Hopefully you see where I’m going with this. Jesus is that person. In Matthew 11:28-30 he said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
It’s true, you don’t know all that you need to know about relationships. But Jesus does. If we walk with him, there’s no reason to worry. He will teach us all that we need to know to bring glory to him, even when it comes to glorifying him in relationships.
So if you are worried about relationships because of all that you don’t know, God is saying, “Follow me. I will teach you what you need to know. Give me your worries.”