This too shall pass.
Isn't it crazy when you are feeling as though the world is shifting beneath your feet, you may at any moment crash squarely on your face and someone says..."This too shall pass"? Uhm, thanks. Honestly, it seems to pass more quickly only when I spend more time looking for Godly wisdom rather than fretting over the details of the circumstances. We live in an uncertain world where tragedy seems to escape no one. The changes we face sometimes seems to outpace our ability to make adjustments. Is it any wonder we sometimes find ourselves feeling panicked or beset by feelings of anxiety?
Often times, I believe that anxiety is a result of spiritual deficiency, and when a spiritual depletion occurs, the best prescription is found deeply embedded in our own hearts. What we need is a higher daily dose of "Our Creator". The same God who created the universe knows every minute detail of our circumstance. And He cares more deeply for our well being than anyone we will ever know. When we spend time in the divine presence of our Heavenly Father, whether through prayer, daily devotionals or through reading His Word, it is then we are reminded that these earthly struggles, especially when viewed through the lens of God's perspective, are merely temporal road bumps, so to speak.
We need desparetly to be reminded of how BIG our God is. The solution and peace in these troubling times will come when, we begin to practice the real truth of what we have heard often in our Christian walk, when we actually tell our problems how big our God is rather than God how big our problems are. If we can only begin to look for Him in every situation, even the trying ones... What is He trying to teach us? If He were standing here in the flesh what would His response be? When we see His hand on the circumstance and remember that He has not forgotten a single hair on our head, and His Omnipresent perspective cannot be besieged by the confines of our wholly inadequate human limitations, how can we possibly feel anxious about the result or outcomes? Has He forgotten you? Has he given up on you? No, my friend if you are not feeling His divine presence in your life it is not because He moved nor because He has abandoned you. You are not alone. You have never been alone.
Prayer is a powerful antidote to anxiety. Worship, like prayer, is another tool that can help us overcome the doubts and worries the enemy flings at us like an automatic weapon in our anxious age. Let's learn to trust Him completely and without reservation. In fact, a fundamental relationship exists between anxiety and trust. The more we trust God, the less anxious we are likely to feel. Unfortunately the reverse is also true. The less we trust Him, the more anxious we are likely to feel. It is a choice that has been given each of us. George Mueller once said, " The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety."
Isaiah 43:1-2 reminds us .. Where you see parenthesis (Put your name here)
But now this is what the Lord says- he who created you, O (Jacob), he who formed you, O (Israel); "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; (Put your name here), I have summoned you by name; you are mine. (Put your name here), When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and (Put your name here) when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire (Put your name here), you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
We are important to God, and He summons us by name and gives us His name (43:7)! Going through rivers of difficulty will either cause you to drown or force you to grow stronger. Only if you go in your own strength are you more likely to drown, but if you invite the Lord to go with you, He will protect you. That is His promise especially for you. I leave you today with some of my all time favorite verses in the Bible.
Philippians 4:6-8 ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
May the Lord shine His face upon you always.
