Last night, when I went to bed, I made many decisions about how sheltered I would keep myself today because of how defeated I felt then. There are a bunch of valid reasons I feel this way....
My grown-up baby girl is not doing well. She's battling a world of diagnosed and undiagnosed physical problems. I miss my Buddy, who lives so far away now. The lives of people all around us have been turned upside down by tragic weather events. Politics are just crazy...and the stress of it all is too heavy for us to bear!! Women in my circle are bare-knuckle fighting with the pain of broken marriages, unexpected sickness and death, prodigal children, financial burden...and on and on and on! It seems to be unending!
Then there are also the really exciting things—even though they are good, they are overwhelming. For instance, A Heart Refined Retreats has just secured a location and date for its first all-day event—WORSHIP FROM THE WILDERNESS: A HEART REFINED AND A LIFE RESURRECTED—for women going through the depths of relational turmoil. Therefore, there is a tremendous amount of work that has to be done. It seems to be impossible!
But this morning...as my whacky hormones helped me up long before the sun, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to rise in several important ways...
First of all, leave the TV behind. It does feel good to lay around and do nothing -- and there is a time and a place for that -- but when depression and subsequent procrastination are looming, He said, GET UP and move away from that which will hold you in defeat (James 4:7; Psalm 119:9)! So...the first step was to respond to His direction!
Second, I know that if I don't exercise, it will be put on the back burner. The Spirit of Jesus reminded me that God the Father created our bodies to experience His healing through movement. He also reminded me that a workout is a form of worship and an ideal place to pray. So...the second step was to be moved by His intentional design, put on my worship playlist, get moving, and talk to Him.
Third, as I moved, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Scripture I have been studying. Last week, we focused on John 1, and I am also preparing for John 3. I moved thinking about the wonder and faithfulness of God, who, from the beginning, planned to offer His Son as a living sacrifice for His created beings...Who came to be the Word of God and the Light of the world, to separate us from ourselves and save us from the condemnation we have heaped on ourselves. When I really started thinking about the way God has revealed Himself to humankind, and tiny, insignificant me in this random moment, in the darkness of a very early morning, my heart came alive.
I am reminded of the personal nature of this mighty God outside of space and time, who is the Creator of all the universe, but also...
HE IS the defender of the widowed. HE IS the Gardener who patiently plucks and prunes that which will hinder the growth and purpose of His blooming tree. HE IS gentle and lowly, patient and longsuffering, forgiving and kind. HE IS the One who creates the storm but also calms it and brings resources to those affected by it. HE IS Jehovah Rapha...the One who heals. HE IS Jehovah Jireh...the One who provides. HE IS Yahweh Sabbaoth...the Lord of angel armies and the collector of allies who complete what He has determined to do. HE IS my friend who sticks closer than a brother. HE IS my counselor who instructs me when I don't know what to do next. HE IS the one who faithfully reminds me of who HE IS so that I can rise and be equipped to do what He has determined for me to do. It's who HE IS that pulls me up out of the pit and moves me into the spacious place of understanding that this is a fallen world, and I live in a fallen body, but HE HAS COME THAT I MIGHT HAVE ABUNDANT LIFE! Therefore...
HE IS the Cure for My Anxiety.
“Therefore, I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Therefore, do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?' [Do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly, seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
Stop now...How is God revealing Himself to you?
In what ways has He allowed your life to be altered so that you might know Him more?
How is He bringing you close through His character and perfection so that you can worship privately and then publicly be a witness to His fullness?
Write these things down. Praise HIM for who HE IS in private and ask Him to give you an opportunity to share who HE IS to this lost and dying....lonely and overwhelmed...world around you.
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