Unexpected Grace: Trusting God in Our Anxiety

There are those moments that suddenly cause us great anxiety, like losing your job or the doctor asking to talk about test results. You wonder what will happen next. Your mind starts to wander and create unpleasant scenarios. The knot grows in your stomach and your shoulders tighten. We all know the feeling.

But not all anxious moments end poorly. I have seen God use moments of crisis to create new and better things.

I didn’t like my job, but it paid the bills. So, when the company was bought out, and I found myself unemployed, I didn’t feel like good news. It felt like a new baby at home, bills to pay, wife on maternity leave, one month before Christmas moment of shock. However, it would lead me on a journey to eventually end up at Promise Keepers Canada. Here I have had the privilege to be part of a gifted team speaking into the lives of men across the country. To have a greater impact than I could have imagined.

SEVEN magazine had a similar beginning. We were distributing a magazine from the States and although I wished we had more control over the content it was ok. Not great, but ok. Until the publisher cancelled it without warning! That moment of crisis allowed us to form a team and create a magazine tailored for our audience.

Over the years, I have seen God use moments of crisis to create something better—resources like our video series This Is Me TV and the daily devotional. Each time, we began by asking God what He wanted to do in our moment of need. Almost every time, the answer seemed bigger than we were and beyond what we thought we could do. Many times, we started down a road not knowing how we would accomplish the task but knowing it was the road God was directing us down. God simply wanted us to take that first step of trust in the midst of our anxiety.

After almost 14 years at Promise Keepers Canada, I am moving on to take a pastoral position in a church. There are a lot of unknowns that lay ahead but I do know that I can trust God. He has demonstrated unexpected grace time and time again. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel nervous. It means I move forward in spite of my feelings.

As moments of change or crisis enter your life, ask God how he wants to use them for His glory. Ask Him to show you where you should go and for the strength to take the first step. You maybe surprised by the unexpected grace.

/ JEFF STEARNS was formerly the Director of Communications for Promise Keepers Canada and now pastors Garrison Road Church in Fort Erie.