Peace That Destroys Anxiety

Recently, after a wild day, I was in bed tossing and turning. Unable to get to sleep. My mind was plagued by both the things of the day as well as troubled for some things that I had to face in the future.

In the past, I would try to "ride the wave" of despair and let what ever was bothering me leave. It never helped. I felt like the "wave" was never fun and my mind would continue to travel a downward spiral.  Sometimes those worries would come like a ton of bricks, weighting me down.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever been so troubled in your heart that it felt like there was no way out? No way to rise above? 

Thankfully, there is always the Word. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippian church, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (4:7)

So that night I got up. I was tired of wrestling with the situation and I needed to hear from God. I needed to pray to the Father.

At first I thought that I should just open the Bible and read where ever "the Spirit led" type of thing. Then I thought, "No, Isaiah. I should start there." The truth was, the Spirit led me to what I really needed. There was a random piece of paper stuck at Psalm 120. So that is where I started.

Psalm 120 starts "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me..."
This was for me, for I was filled with distress. "Oh God, you are giving me the words to say."

I continued. Psalm 121, "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper..."

Like a balm to my soul. I continued to pray. I continued to read. 

Psalm 122. 123. 124. 125 and 126.

As I was reading I keep "hearing" God speak to me. He kept "saying" that He had all things taken care of. I was worrying for nothing.

My heart was calming. My mind was changing. God was at work.

At the end of Psalm 126, the verse states, "He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bring his sheaves with him."

That night, I rested. I was able to go to bed and sleep. His peace destroyed the anxiety that my heart was wrestling with.

Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you? What verses has He used in your life?

Honey, There Are Weeds in the Back Yard

When we moved into our new home, we found it to be real easy.  We were the first owners after all. The windows were clean. The drawers had no crumbs. The dishwasher was spotless. The front yard was lush.

If anyone drove up to see us, they wouldn't have to think very hard to see that we had it all together. The house looked good. We looked good. We smelled good. It was good.

Except there was a problem. We never opened the blinds on the back of the house. Why? you may ask?  

The builders had given us great sod for the front and side yards, but left the back yard up to us.  Do you know how hard it is to transform a plot of clay into lush, thick, green grass? Let's just say that it's easier to teach a fish how to ride a bicycle.

Lately that memory has had me thinking. In what ways have I made myself look good? In what ways have I attempted to cover up my sin on my own? Am I pretending to be ok in the eyes of God without coming to Him in confession? In other words, am I trying to ignore the weeds in the back yard of my heart? 

Hosea 5:15 says, "I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me."

My thought this morning is that I need to continually be on my knees - confessing my sins. In doing so, I will be truly free. Remember what the prophet Zechariah said about Jesus? Luke 1:77, He will "give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins."

How is your lawn doing?