I'm grateful for today. Today was another chance at everything I've failed to do or just put off. When I wake up,I have rituals. I'm almost like a person with OCD when it comes to my spiritual nourishment. In the morning,I usually can't find my laptop which is tangled in my bed,so I go for my phone on my night stand. I log into my email and check the first two that are there everyday. I get daily verses from Air1 and a devotional from Joel Osteen. After that,I mozy my way into the day and within a few hours I find "Stream in the Desert"(Great devotional by L.B. Cowman). I continue my day for a few more hours and find one of my "Christian Inspiration" books,lately Donald Miller stuff. Prior was The Shack and Should We Fire God,both great reads. Then at the end of my evening I'll dive soul first into my Bible. I can't read my Bible in the morning. I use it to comfort myself after a long day,to bring me to peace so I'll be able to sleep.
My point is,I worry a lot. More than the average person and way more than a typical Christian would. Satan has found my weak spot. I'm pretty strong physically and more so emotionally,yet I have a spiritual weakness that he bombards. I try to constantly remind myself through out the day of anything positive. Tv shows,music,but reading seems to hit the homer. Reading 99% of the time can ease my worries.
Philippians 4:6-7 definitely drives my worries out of the park. Paul writes,simply:" Do not worry about anything;instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace,which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ."
Now tell me,could that be any more clear? Granted,that is the NLT version which is so hip that God could be referred as Dude and apostles as bros,but still. All versions are clear and to the point... DO NOT WORRY. Instead,pray. Regardless of what's going on,just pray. Tell God what's up,and thank Him for all He's done. In another version it says, "Then you will be met with peace that passes understanding." Peace so incredible,we can't fathom it. Now that's pretty cool to me,and when you truly stop worrying and pray,you feel that. I've heard this cool quote before,"God won't always calm the storm,but He will calm you in the storm." To me,when I hear that,I see dark skies and clouds and rain and wind,and so on...but I see me standing with a ray of sunshine on me. Completely unharmed and safe.
Life is full of storms. Physical,emotion, and spiritual kinds. No matter what it is,God wants to bring you peace. He wants you to surrender whatever is worrying you. It can be big or small. Even the smallest things can bring us down. In 1 Peter 5:7,it says,"Cast all of your cares on Him,for He cares for you." Isn't that awesome to think about. God says to give Him all your crap and He'll take care of it because He cares for you. The Creator of Heaven and Earth,the Alpha and the Omega,the Man who died for you,wants your cares because He loves you.
Think about that today:)
So glad you're blogging! I so needed this word TODAY. I know how you feel. I like to think of myself as a mature christian. I know what the word says and I have seen God move mightly on my behalf numerous times. So why does doubt still grab a foothold? Resistance Training :doubt comes, we resist, ( even if at first we're caught off guard and cry like a baby, as I found myself doing today...), doubt flees in the midst of the Word of Promise and remembrence of past victories, and then our faith is strengthened a little more. Thank you for your outstretched hand that helped pick me up today. So blessed to have you as a brother-in-arms on the battle field with me.
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