Indian Giver

I grew up in a time where it was still “cool” for little kids to play cowboys and Indians. I also grew up in a community filled with Indian lore; in fact, my town was named after Indian Chief Peta Nocona, the great Comanche Indian warrior who raided Fort Richardson and took young Cynthia Ann Parker hostage. Cynthia Ann eventually married Chief Nocona and fathered the famous Quanah Parker. My family, like probably half of the families in the state of Texas, claim some lineage to Cynthia Ann Parker although we have never been able to find that final link…


Anyway, I said all that to say that I grew up playing a make-believe cowboy fighting the make-believe Indians that continually attacked our small acreage in the country. Because we had such binding ties to all that Indian lore, I didn’t want to be known as an Indian-giver – one who gives then takes back whatever was given. While studying this past week, I realized that in God’s eyes, I am an Indian-giver – BIG TIME! What do I give God and then take back? Well, too many things to discuss in this post, but the obvious one that struck a note this week is my worries, i.e. anxieties, situations I ponder and fret about, things I need to fix.

Here’s how it plays out in my life. Something arises that gives me that “unsettled” feeling, I begin “pondering” it, and then I transform into Mrs. Fix-It. I don’t actually visit a phone booth or anything, but the wheels begin turning, trying to figure out what I can do to make this situation better or go away all together. Along the way, I am multi-tasking. You know, talking this over with the Lord until I finally give it over to Him. But, before long, I’ve taken it right back from Him and started pondering again. Thus, my Indian-giving…

This week we discussed taking the concept of praying to the next level, that of staying and obeying. Prayer is the antidote to worry. That’s why we claim and Phil. 4:6-7 as the undergirding principle of our study. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God… But for me, I pray about something and give it to God only to find myself worrying about it later in the day or the next day. I don’t have the staying power that He wants me to cultivate as I walk with Him. I am doing exactly what Satan wants me to do – changing my focus from the Lord back to being the fixer. Well, it is my choice to pray, and it is my choice to stay. Isaiah 26:3 says, He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! (TLB) …thoughts turn often to the Lord… Basically, I have to make the choice to stay focused on Him and let Him work on my worry. So when I am tempted to take back my concern, which I will because I am human, I must choose to let it remain with Him, trusting Him to take care of it. Staying is trusting.

Staying focused on Him instead of the worry, trusting, naturally leads to obeying. As our trust grows, we will begin to live out 2 Cor. 10:5, …we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We begin to frame our thoughts by asking, “How does God want me to think about this?” Well, He wants us to take up the Sword of the Spirit and fight by thinking like He thinks. We learn that by learning His Word. When we learn to take a concern and counter it with scripture, we are learning to take our thoughts captive to obey God.

Prayer is, indeed, the antidote to worry, but only if we learn to extend the prayer into staying power and obedience. My personal challenge for the week ahead is to let Him keep me in that perfect peace by keeping my mind steadfast on Him. The more time I focus on Him, the less time I will have for worry. And that, my friends, will help me experience that peace that passes all understanding. And that will also help me to NOT be an Indian-giver to the Lord.