Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” Okay, Jesus, I get it that carousing and drunkenness can be a danger to the spiritual life. But the “anxieties of daily life” as well? Anyone who isn’t anxious about daily life is either a child, naive or in denial. There is so much to be anxious about! In another place Jesus repeated this admonition by suggesting that God knows how to take care of the lilies of the field so God can also take care of you so stop worrying. St. Ignatius of Loyola is supposed to have said, “Pray as though everything depended on God; act as though everything depended on you.” This suggests that the way to not become overwhelmed by the “anxieties” of life is to leave outcomes to God. We get anxious when things have to turn out a certain way. When we are doing what we can while at the same time trusting that God is in charge then however things turn out we know that God can handle so we can rest assured.
