The title of this post comes from Isaiah 12:2. Part of it reads, "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song." He is my strength, so I don't have to be strong. I will always sing His praises (my song). I need His strength and song because I am walking purely on faith now.
I was having a conversation with two very wise friends last night. (The Sombito's) The context of our conversation was about fear, anxiety and worry. I am not worried about my future, because I know Jesus holds me in the palm of His hand. However, I tend to worry about the day to day stuff...such as, no one has called me for an interview, even though I've been applying for jobs since December, and where should I live & go to grad school? I was relaying my anxiety to these two wise friends, when Katy told me that I should be grateful that I have direction right now. Good point, smarty pants! :) I do know what I want to do, but how do I get there? Lester said, "Your faith isn't just 'talk' anymore. You are truly walking in it now. It's for real." He told me to remember why I stepped out, (because I KNEW that I wasn't supposed to be working in that place anymore!) and keep moving forward. Right now we don't understand why things are happening the way they are, but God does. He is weaving it all together so that when we look back and see the whole picture, we can understand, but while we're in it, all we see is just the one thread, so it doesn't make sense!
People always say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. It's only mysterious because we cannot see the "whole" while we're in it. We can only see our part, which is minuscule compared to the one who holds me in the palm of His hand.
So back to my anxiety...
I feel the most anxious when I am not in the Word. This has been a hard week for me because of several things, but the one that matters most is that I was not reading His Word or doing my daily devotionals. Why? I don't have an answer for that. I was being lazy, I was rebelling, I was busy with other things. LAME! I still pray often...I have a running conversation with God going on all the time in my head. But then I complain about not hearing from Him. Duh! Of course I'm not going to hear from Him if I'm not reading His word! He has shown me several reminders over the last couple of days. When I did finally pick up my devotional and read it yesterday morning, the result was AMAZING! I won't write out everything I missed over the last week, but here's a short excerpt of some of the devos I missed:
"I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from me." 3/17 -Psalm 139:1-4
"I will equip you to get through this day victoriously, as you live in deep dependence on Me. Tomorrow is busy worrying about itself; don't get tangled up in its worry-webs. Trust me one day at a time." 3/18 -
Matthew 6:34
"I speak to you from the depths of your being. Hear Me saying soothing words of Peace, assuring you of My Love. Do not listen to voices of accusation, for they are not from Me." 3/19
"When your mind is stuck on a negative focus, you see neither Me or My gifts. In faith, thank Me for whatever is preoccupying your mind. This will clear the blockage so that you can find Me." 3/20
Wow. Amazing isn't it. He already knew what I was going through this week, and He provided the answers, which were right in front of me. I just failed to pick up what He was putting down! At church yesterday, the youth pastor, Kirk Gentzel, started out the sermon by reading from Matthew 6:25-34. You can read the whole thing here. I felt the Lord speaking directly to me. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Throughout the service and when I read through my devos again last night, I saw more and more reminders from Jesus whispering, "Don't worry. Be still. I am with you. You have freedom in Me."
2 Corinthians 5:5-7, 2 Cor. 3:17, Proverbs 16:3, Romans 8:1-2, Isaiah 12:2
The list goes on and on.
Once again, I am reminded (in the little child's voice) that I am weak, but He is strong...Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.
Have a great week. You are loved.
-cjt
I was having a conversation with two very wise friends last night. (The Sombito's) The context of our conversation was about fear, anxiety and worry. I am not worried about my future, because I know Jesus holds me in the palm of His hand. However, I tend to worry about the day to day stuff...such as, no one has called me for an interview, even though I've been applying for jobs since December, and where should I live & go to grad school? I was relaying my anxiety to these two wise friends, when Katy told me that I should be grateful that I have direction right now. Good point, smarty pants! :) I do know what I want to do, but how do I get there? Lester said, "Your faith isn't just 'talk' anymore. You are truly walking in it now. It's for real." He told me to remember why I stepped out, (because I KNEW that I wasn't supposed to be working in that place anymore!) and keep moving forward. Right now we don't understand why things are happening the way they are, but God does. He is weaving it all together so that when we look back and see the whole picture, we can understand, but while we're in it, all we see is just the one thread, so it doesn't make sense!
People always say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. It's only mysterious because we cannot see the "whole" while we're in it. We can only see our part, which is minuscule compared to the one who holds me in the palm of His hand.
So back to my anxiety...
I feel the most anxious when I am not in the Word. This has been a hard week for me because of several things, but the one that matters most is that I was not reading His Word or doing my daily devotionals. Why? I don't have an answer for that. I was being lazy, I was rebelling, I was busy with other things. LAME! I still pray often...I have a running conversation with God going on all the time in my head. But then I complain about not hearing from Him. Duh! Of course I'm not going to hear from Him if I'm not reading His word! He has shown me several reminders over the last couple of days. When I did finally pick up my devotional and read it yesterday morning, the result was AMAZING! I won't write out everything I missed over the last week, but here's a short excerpt of some of the devos I missed:
"I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from me." 3/17 -Psalm 139:1-4
"I will equip you to get through this day victoriously, as you live in deep dependence on Me. Tomorrow is busy worrying about itself; don't get tangled up in its worry-webs. Trust me one day at a time." 3/18 -
Matthew 6:34
"I speak to you from the depths of your being. Hear Me saying soothing words of Peace, assuring you of My Love. Do not listen to voices of accusation, for they are not from Me." 3/19
"When your mind is stuck on a negative focus, you see neither Me or My gifts. In faith, thank Me for whatever is preoccupying your mind. This will clear the blockage so that you can find Me." 3/20
Wow. Amazing isn't it. He already knew what I was going through this week, and He provided the answers, which were right in front of me. I just failed to pick up what He was putting down! At church yesterday, the youth pastor, Kirk Gentzel, started out the sermon by reading from Matthew 6:25-34. You can read the whole thing here. I felt the Lord speaking directly to me. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Throughout the service and when I read through my devos again last night, I saw more and more reminders from Jesus whispering, "Don't worry. Be still. I am with you. You have freedom in Me."
2 Corinthians 5:5-7, 2 Cor. 3:17, Proverbs 16:3, Romans 8:1-2, Isaiah 12:2
The list goes on and on.
Once again, I am reminded (in the little child's voice) that I am weak, but He is strong...Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.
Have a great week. You are loved.
-cjt
I guess He is talking to you. And in a language that you will understand. If you just get out of your own way! You are in a good place and in a good direction--remember that!
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