This Morning:
- Journal about your thought patterns, including the changes you are beginning to see this week.
- Spend some time in prayer. Call God your Father. Ask Him to open your heart to what He has to say today.
I love my daddy. I’m blessed to have one of those fathers who seeks whole-heartedly to live a God-pleasing life.
One of my favorite memories from childhood is of a special ride. One that you would expect to find at any fair, amusement park, or even at the Myrtle Beach pavilion (back in the day). The Himalaya. But the special part of the ride is that no matter what, my daddy would always ride it with me. It was a given… “our” moment. He would smile about it, too… even though he never rode anything else.
I would lay back against him, in the crook of his arm, and relax. I was safe. He would protect me no matter how fast or which direction we moved. No worries.
If he had not been there to offer me that protection, I probably would have been quite a bit more anxious. Actually, I’m not sure that I would have even gotten on the ride.
As we went to the fair today and I smiled at this sweet memory, I thought of my relationship with my Heavenly Father. How often do I worry and fret about all the things going on in life and forget that He is waiting beside me to hold me in the crook of His arm? How much do I worry about getting it all done? How anxious do I stay about what tomorrow will bring? How often does fear grip me about something possibly happening to my children? How many of my thoughts are consumed by fear, worry, and anxiety? And on the flip side, how much do I just lay back against Him and breathe?
Read this from Matthew 11:25-30:
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When our thoughts are consumed by worries, fears, and anxieties, we have no room for rest. We hold onto things too tightly. We long for control.
“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” does NOT mean that we won’t experience trouble. It doesn’t mean that bad things are not going to happen to us. What it means is that if we cast our cares upon Him and allow Him to hold us and comfort us, well… we have Him. Isn’t that enough? God loves us so much that He allowed His only Son to die for us. And when we give up control (since we don’t have it anyway), our burden is lifted. He doesn’t want us to carry around burdens that we have absolutely no control over anyway.
We have no control over anything in this world. Period. Only God… our FATHER… has control. He is the One who wants us to rest in Him. To lay back against Him and breathe. We need to recognize that when our minds are controlled by fear, we are not helping anything. And we are hurting ourselves, our families, our friends, and our God.
So what about you? Are you like a little child? Trusting that your Father will hold you in the crook of His arm and take care of everything? Or are you fighting to do it your way… and worrying as you go?
To Make You Think:
- What are some areas in your life where fear, worry, and anxiety tend to overwhelm you and grip you?
- How do you normally handle those fearful, anxious, and worrisome thoughts?
- Are you willing to let go?
- Keep thinking about your gripping thoughts throughout the day. Recognize when they hit you. Journal about this tonight.
- Before you go to sleep, ask God to take away all of your fears and worries. Cast your cares on Him and make a fresh commitment to trust Him. Tell Him that you want to lay back against Him and just breathe. And ask Him to give you the strength to let go.
Continuing on… 31 Days :: Day 6 – Peter Vision or Tunnel Vision?
Worry, Anxiety and Fear. The three ugly step sisters, straight from Cinderella!
Each day I meet them at the door and tell them that they're not wanted in my life.
Their love is filled with webbed lies and steel clad strapped that suffocate me.
Praise the Lord, He gets between me and those girls when I ask. Which is often.
Being fully blessed with this time of planting. Thank you Paula!
I'm so glad God is working in your life during this. He's working on me too… and I'm being changed more than I thought I would be. 🙂
Enjoying this series; thanks so much. Working hard to stay faithful instead of fearful!
Awesome! So glad!!!
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I used to dwell in fear, worry and anxiety during our 11 year struggle with infertility. It is a story way too long to share here, but fear, worry and the desire to control ruled my life. In Nov. of 2003 after I finally became pregnant we lost the baby (preterm labor) at 25 weeks. It was the worst thing I have ever been through. BUT, one of the many blessings that came out of that nightmare was that God taught me to fully trust him and not to worry or fear. I finally understood that there is no such thing as "controlling" what happens in life, only God can do that. He wants me to trust him, lean on him, and live the life he has planned for me the best I can. I worry, but it is occasional and brief. So thankful that God helped me to no longer live that way!
Amen, Tammy!!! Thanks for sharing your heart. 🙂