“God’s compassion for you is greater than your worries.” (Jean-Baptiste de la Salle)
Very often, Sacred Scripture urges us not to give in to worry. And indeed, from a spiritual perspective, excessive worry leads us into a state of profound unreality. This state consists in our seeing no way out; our worries constantly accompany us, sap our vitality, and even influence our appearance, so that we look out at the world, in a sense, with a “gloomy” expression. Who is not familiar with those faces furrowed by worry, which evoke our compassion?
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Mt 11, 28) is one of Jesus’ words meant to lift us up. The words, “cast all your anxieties on him” (1 P 5, 7), also invite us to find a true solution.
Saint Jean-Baptiste wants to open up yet another path for us to better cope with our worries. We are to understand that God’s compassion for us is greater than our worries. Our inner state of mind and our external distress are known to our Father. He knows our situation and does not simply overlook it. Through His compassion, He wishes to enter into our condition, so to speak, to spread the warmth of His love there. In this way, we are to understand that we are not left alone.
The difficulty in this “overly anxious state” lies in the fact that we easily forget the Lord because the momentum of our worries consumes us too much. Perhaps the saint’s words will help us more easily remember God’s loving presence, which can transform everything.