Monthly Archives: October 2018

Worry. It’s something that everyone deals with. Whether it’s about paying the bills this month, will we find true love, the end result of an illness, or any number of things, we all worry. I love that dictionary.com defines worry as, “To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.” Worry is nothing more than self torture. It’s allowing our mind to put us into a debilitating prison where our mind thinks of every negative thing that may happen in a situation. Worry only looks at the negative outcomes.

If you’re a worrier, take heart. God wants to free you from that torment. I John 3:20 says, “God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves” (MSG). Not only does He know you better than you know yourself, He knows your future. There is nothing that is going to happen to you that He doesn’t already know about. I learned several years ago to trust that worrying didn’t solve the problem or change the future, so I began to hand my worry to Him.

I Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (NLT). I admit it was difficult to learn to hand them off to Him because I didn’t know what to think about or do since all I knew was worry. But that’s where Philippians 4:6 came into play. It says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (MSG).

Worry never changed the outcome of anything, but prayer has! Quit tormenting yourself and start praying to God about it. Release it to Him because He is greater than your worry and your problems. He wants to trade peace for your suffering. He wants to give you a lighter burden, but you have to be willing to exchange worry for it and leave it with Him. God cares deeply about you and the things you’re going through. Trust Him to do what’s best and give Him your worry. Give no place in your mind to anxiety and debilitating worry. Be free.

Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

When I go on vacation, I prefer beach vacations. I enjoy getting in the ocean and fighting with the waves. I’ll usually walk out to where the waves are crashing and then lean into them with my shoulder. It’s a challenge to me to see if I can remain standing when the waves are hitting me. Sometimes I lose my footing and the wave crashes down on my head. I usually have to take a minute to get my bearings, and once I do, I head back out into the waves to continue testing myself to see how long I can stand firm against an endless supply of waves.

I like to think of that as a metaphor for life. Sometimes it can seem like we’re standing right where the waves crash and it’s all we can do to continue standing. There are times when the enemy comes in like a flood against us and it can be overwhelming. If you and i will trust in God’s promises, we can stand firm against anything that comes against us. We may get knocked down every now and then, but that’s all right. We just need to get back up, find our footing again and continue standing firm no matter what life brings.

Here are some Bible verses on standing firm.

1. So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

JAMES 4:7 AMP

2. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

Ephesians 6:11 NLT

3. Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13 GNT

4. You can’t find firm footing in a swamp, but life rooted in God stands firm.

Proverbs 12:3 MSG

5. So now, beloved ones, stand firm, stable, and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.

1 Corinthians 15:58 TPT

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

If you have kids or have been to the grocery store when kids are in it, you’ve probably seen some fits. Kids know what they want, but they don’t always know what’s best for them. When the parent doesn’t give into their desires, they know how to create a scene. It’s somewhat humorous, as long as it’s not your kid! We tend to act the same way towards God when there’s something we want and He refuses to give it to us. When we don’t understand why, we pitch a fit and cause a scene. It’s a good thing God is patient with us and loves us through these struggles.

One of the hardest things to understand as a Christian is why certain prayers go unanswered. There have been times in my life where I’ve desperately prayed and cried out to God for a specific answer to prayer and He didn’t answer the way I thought He should. I felt let down and disappointment in God. I even got mad at God over it. In my childish emotional state, I screamed out, “I’ll never as you for another thing!” I didn’t realize at the time that would hurt me more than Him. I don’t like it when God doesn’t answer the deepest desires of my heart, but through those times, I’ve learned to look at the consistency of who God is and know He did what was right even though I couldn’t see it.

Romans 8:28 says, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives” (TPT). When I don’t understand His slow response or answer opposite of what I’m asking for, I think of this verse. I remember that my life is a tapestry that He is making, not me. I can only see the under side of it, which doesn’t always make sense. I’ve seen His work in the lives of others, so I trust that He is doing the same for me. One day I’ll see the other side of the work He’s doing and understand why things didn’t go according to my will. Until then, I’ll trust in His decisions knowing His overarching goal is to bring good into my life.

Photo by Wei-Cheng Wu on Unsplash