We have seen that to overcome anxiety we need to pray and have fellowship with the Lord and worship Him. Then with thanksgiving we need to make our petitions known. When we do this, we may think that the Lord will always answer us and give us what we ask. However, sometimes the Lord will say no. Consider Paul’s experience of the thorn in the flesh. In 2 Corinthians 12:8 he says, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” However, the Lord denied Paul’s request, and said to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). Therefore, Paul could declare, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” The crucial point here is that Paul accepted the will of God. He realized that God’s will was to leave the thorn with him so that he could experience His sufficient grace. Because Paul accepted the Lord’s will, he did not have any anxiety.
Yes, we need to pray and petition the Lord with thanksgiving. But when the Lord does not grant our petition, our anxiety may increase instead of decrease. At such a time, we realize that the Lord will not change our situation. Instead, He allows the “thorn” to remain. He knows that we need the thorn. He also needs it that He may reveal His sufficient grace and in addition train us to trust in Him. If we do not accept the Lord’s will but insist on making petitions according to our own will, we shall not be able to escape anxiety.
Suppose you pray to the Lord when you are suffering from a certain illness. The Lord may answer your prayer and heal you. He does this especially on behalf of those who are rather young in their experience of Him. At a later time, however, you may again become sick and ask the Lord to heal you. Instead of healing you suddenly, He may heal you gradually, or He may not heal you at all. Eventually, it may become clear to you that the Lord intends for the illness to remain. If you accept His will in the matter, you will be at peace. You will not have any anxiety.
When Brother Nee was a young man, he suffered from heart disease. Often when he ministered the Word he was in such pain that he had to lean on a stand for support. Although he contracted this disease before he was thirty years of age, he lived with that illness for nearly forty years. Although he knew that he could die from that disease at any time, he accepted the Lord’s will and was not anxious. He realized that his illness was a thorn given him for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Accepting the Lord’s will in particular matters not only enables us to experience His sufficient grace; it also teaches us to have a life of trusting the Lord. If the thorn had been taken away from Paul, Paul probably would not have trusted in the Lord as much as he did with the thorn. Simply because the thorn was allowed to remain, day by day Paul had to live a life of trusting in the Lord.
We all prefer that hardships and sufferings be taken away from us. But sometimes the Lord will say, “No, I cannot answer your request. It is better for this thing to remain so that you may learn to trust Me and not be anxious.” If we accept the Lord’s will and trust Him, we shall not be anxious. However, if we do not accept His will or if we do not live by trusting in Him, we shall be anxious.
According to my natural life, I am the kind of person who likes everything to be perfect. If I become ill in some way, my desire is to be healed thoroughly. Even if there is something wrong with an article of clothing, I want it fixed and made perfect. I want everything under my management to be right in every way. But I cannot control whether or not sickness comes to me. The Lord may assign illness to me, realizing that I need it so that I may learn to trust Him and not worry. For this I need to say, “Lord, I thank You that this sickness is a help to me. I also thank You, Lord, that even this fulfills Your purpose.” The more we thank the Lord in this way, the more we shall have forbearance in place of anxiety.