THE JOY OF LEAPING

Am I terrified? Yes! Will God be with me every moment of this new venture? A double yes!!!!!

And there we were in an exciting game of Keep Away – boys against the girls.  Non-athletic me was thrilled to finally get possession of the ball. I sharply pivoted to begin my sprint away from the onslaught of boys. However, I had not checked my bearings and promptly smacked into a steel volleyball pole.  I literally bounced off the pole, face first. I was down for the count.

Both eyes were black and blue.  But no CAT scan or x-rays for me!  I had to lay down on the school couch until the end of the day and then be driven home by Mom.  An intense headache.  My bruising caused me to resemble a raccoon. Lesson learned: always look before your leap, carefully consider the cost, and never leap (or so I thought).

BOUNCING AGAINST THE POLES

Is this the lesson, to never leap? Often in my life I “bounce against the poles.” I take risks into the unknown, at the prompting of God. Yes, I carefully count the cost, but God reminds me “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I pray, God continually niggles away at my doubts, and then He begins to hound me. Eventually, I leap….

OTHER LEAPERS

The Bible has many “leapers.” What if Noah looked at the plans and decided he would not build the ark? Or, how about Rahab? What if instead of putting out the scarlet cord, she and her family hid in a closet? And then we have Peter. What if he just stayed in the boat, scared out of his wits? He would have never walked on the sea, sunk, and been rescued by Christ.

LEAPING TEACHES TRUST

Leaping teaches trust. Looking back at my own life just over the years, what if I always played it safe and never took the leap? There would be a multitude of missed joys. Due to leaping, here’s a list of a few of my scary ventures that brought great delight:

  • Forming a 70-voice choir which gave benefit performances for a pregnancy center.
  • Became a Christian Life Coach (could write a book on that difficult challenge)
  • Started to teach and encourage writers who needed to find their voice.
  • Work with trauma survivors using writing therapy.
  • Consistently remind people Who God is, even when they would prefer I shut up.

GOD IS GOOD

Genuine faith involves abandoning all human reliance on self-efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, His actions, and His promises, as revealed in His Word. God is good. (GotQuestions.org) While writing this, I quit my job recently (again at God’s hounding) and began a career as a substitute teach. Am I terrified? Yes! Will God be with me every moment of this new venture? A double yes!!!!!

Leaping is scary. But, oh the joy of jumping into the Savior’s arms!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 4:10-11)

WHEN NOTHING GOES RIGHT

Is your life not working out the way you expected?

Moses went back to God and said, “My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?” (from The Message paraphrase) Can you hear the frustration in Moses’ voice? He never asked for this job, didn’t want this job, obediently begins this job, and there you have it: failure! At least, Moses thought it was failure. What was going on with this God he had decided to trust?

FROM BAD TO WORSE

As Moses follows God’s directions, in Exodus 5:1-22, Pharaoh makes it exponentially worse for the Israelites. The Israelites move from a dire situation to a worse one. Their quotas for brick making are doubled and now they must find their own straw to make the bricks. No wonder the people blamed Moses for their pain.

PHAROAH’S MIND GAMES

Observe Pharoah’s purpose in creating this impossible situation. “Let labor be heavier on the men and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God’s] lying words.” (AMP Version) This is spiritual warfare at its worst. Warfare against their hearts, their relationship to God, and their obedience to the words of Moses. Eighty-year-old Moses is at the end of his rope.

THE UNEXPECTED

I love the saying, “Everything will work out, just not the way you expect.” Moses expected immediate blue skies and parades, but God usually does not work that way. The God of the Universe fulfills His purpose; however the parade route is quite different than Moses’ expectations.

Is your life not working out the way you expected, even though you faithfully try to be obedient and follow God’s promptings? I have personal experience with this. God once led us to minister at a church. We were voted in by 100% of the congregation and naively assumed it would be smooth sailing. Nothing went to plan. That ministry shattered our hearts, fractured my husband’s health, disintegrated our plans for the future and evaporated our finances. Were we in the will of God? Yes!!!!! 

COMING OUT AT THE OTHER END

It took quite a few years to heal from the experience, but we came out with gold! For example, that experience developed me as a writer and life coach. We learned to know and trust God at a much deeper level. All those things we depended on before (our ministry experience, education, and relationships with people) went up in dust. God was and is faithful, not just in the way we expected. He is far better than we ever anticipate, even when the pain is excruciating.

Take heart in the words of Paul: Be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Like Moses, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Consistently obey God and trust Him, even when the forces of the night threaten to devour you. When nothing goes right, God is faithful!

WHAT WAS GOD THINKING OF?

God’s Chosen People didn’t want to know God. They just wanted a smooth, painless and easy brief excursion.

You think you have it bad? God (on purpose) called Moses to the worst job ever. Moses is 80 years old, feels like a failure and can’t even speak a sentence without stuttering. Rewind it back forty years when Moses was hot to trot. Now, the fire has burned out. If Moses went to a career counselor they would probably suggest he be a greeter at Wal-Mart (not that there is anything wrong with that position).

What was God thinking of?

Not only does Moses feel unequipped, he called to lead a group of people famous for consistently whining, complaining, and rebelling against Moses’ leadership.

What was God thinking of?

It took culling an entire generation before the Israelite people were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. This journey should have taken a few weeks. It took them forty years. This is the slowest exit strategy ever.

What was God thinking of?

He was thinking must more of heart preparation than comfort level. God’s Chosen People didn’t want to know God. They just wanted a smooth, painless and easy brief excursion.

What was God thinking of?

“The healthy Christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God’s presence stamped deep on his soul, who trembles at God’s word, who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it.” (J.I. Packer)

God wants His people to KNOW Him.

“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

WORST CASE SCENARIOS

Everything came to a head on that Friday. I was told that a decision would be reached Monday whether I would be fired.

Have you ever tossed and turned at night dwelling on worst case scenarios? One of my bosses had made a complaint to HR about me. His story was a lie, but I had little standing in the company. Everything came to a head on Friday. I was told that a decision would be reached Monday whether I would be fired. I was devastated. During this time my job was paying our bills, and I was carrying our health insurance. The “what ifs” cancelled a lot of sleep that weekend.

THE OLD “WHAT IF” LIST

In the Christian life “what ifs” are common. What if:

  • I try sharing Christ with a person and they cancel me?
  • I talk about how powerful God is and I sound like a fool?
  • I can’t get one word straight in front of another?
  • I totally fail?

THE COMMON DENOMINATOR

Did you notice the common denominator in all those sentences is “I”? Moses comes up with an entire shopping list of “what ifs” in Exodus 4:1-17. Behind all his hesitation are his numerous personal doubts and fears. It gets so bad that he even asks God to make a different choice of leader; anyone but him.

WHO THE CENTRAL CHARACTER IS

He does not realize that the central character in this story is not himself, but God. He knew God but didn’t necessarily KNOW God. Afterall, if someone speaks to you out of a burning bush and you have to ask them their name, it tends to show that you aren’t on the closest of terms.

MOSES’ BIGGEST CONCERN

Out of kindness, God gives Moses two miracles and even supplies a third. However, there is still the sticking point. Moses says, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Do you see it? We have a show of miracles, but Moses’ central concern is himself. He is scared to death of public speaking. In baby steps of getting to know the I AM, Moses assumes that this mandate from God rests on Moses’ skills as an orator.

GOD IS BIGGER THAN OUR IMAGINATION

Can you see the amazement in heaven? The angels realize Moses thinks that God is sending him off on a task, patting him on the shoulder and saying, “Good luck!” At this point I paraphrase God’s words, “Look Moses, the I AM picked you out of the desert, spoke to you out of a burning bush, and you think it all depends on you???”  All God asked of Moses was obedience. God takes care of details. He decimates Moses’ excuses.  God has a remedy for each of those worst case scenarios. Our God is bigger than anything or anyone we can imagine.

Circle back to my terrible weekend regarding my job. Despite all my “what ifs”, God arranged a plan of His own. First thing, Monday, a department manager pulled me into a conference room. He had mapped out a game plan to retain my position. God bothered him so much that the guy went out of his way to see the right thing done.  All that time I spent playing out worst case scenarios was wasted time. God is Sovereign and God is in control. Moses needed to learn this, I need to live and learn this. Do you also need to master this lesson?

THE CHOICE

Choose to begin living Psalm 27:1-3. The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?  When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

Click and listen to the story of Paul Hastings

PRAYERS THAT MOVE THE WORLD

If we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.

Do you know the significance of North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, & Afghanistan? He asked the significance of these names. They were the names of the top ten offenders of the 50 countries that made up the World Watch List 2024.

YET, THE CHURCH GROWS

Believers in these countries pay the cost of following Jesus. Extremists exploit instability in Africa, foreign influence bolsters autocratic regimes, and there are unprecedented attacks on churches. Over 365 million Christians around the world face discrimination for their faith. My mind boggles with the sheer numbers. Yet, despite this, the Christian Church grows.

Every morning, I read and pray for one of the countries on the Watch List. In my Global Prayer Guide I follow an additional different country. My geography skills have proven very inadequate as countries change names and shapes. God knows the locations. My heart breaks as I follow the testimonies of The voices of the martyrs.

WHY DO WE PRAY?

I do not personally know these people I pray for. Their situations are unimaginable to me. Yet I pray and then pray some more. Why? Because of this passage: “This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.” (I John 5:13-14)

GOD KNOWS!

God understands each situation and every individual on this earth. He knows about the believers who spend years in solitary confinement in metal shipping containers in the heat of Eritrea. The Holy Spirit groans for those in Korea, imprisoned in concentration camps because they possessed a Bible. Our Savior hears the cries of refugees from Sudan whose homes are destroyed by militants.

BIG RAIN-STOPPING PRAYERS

It is easy to get discouraged and think that our little prayers do not matter. Did you ever wonder why James 5:17-18 points out that Elijah had “a nature like ours”? Matt Bradson notes that we are to pray for huge movements of the Holy Spirit: “Even Elijah was only human. God can answer our big, rain-stopping, holiness-pleading prayers just like his.” If as a righteous person you pray according to God’s will, expect God to answer the prayer. He will grant what you ask. That is based on God’s promise, not wishful thinking.

HOW TO PRAY

How can you know exactly what and how to pray? Check out the resources I have already mentioned. Even more, learn to plunder Scripture as you pray, interceding for people using the words of the Apostle Paul or the Psalms. “Plunder” means “take goods violently from a place, especially during a war.” Do you open your Bible with force and realize that this is your sword for global warfare?

PRAY TODAY!

The Apostle Paul wrote: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Why not begin today using this as your prayer for believers in North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, & Afghanistan. God has offered His ear. Speak powerfully into it!

Click here for the miraculous testimony entitled “A Die-hard Shia Muslim Becomes a Believer”

A HOT FIRE AND A BROKEN MAN

God chooses the most unlikely people to conduct His greatest purpose.

After a long hard day of caring for the sheep, he is tired and hungry. Moses sees a fire in the distance. A guy sits at a campfire roasting hot dogs and making smores. The stranger invites Moses to share in the feast. They end a great evening of companionship singing Kumbaya. Moses walks away, thinking of the nice little visit he had.

However, the biblical version in Exodus 3:1-15 is not a friendly campfire. In Exodus 3, the fire of the holiness of the God of the Universe is burning and it is hot!

THE OLD MAN WHO HAD SEEN BETTER DAYS

God’s timing is unique. He reveals Himself to an old shepherd who has seen better days. While in his prime, Moses’ future held great promise. Raised in Pharoah’s Court, Moses was privileged, bright, articulate and brash. Impulsive Moses took on the cloak of a revolutionary. By murdering an Egyptian, he rebelled against the oppression of his people, the Israelites. However, none of his people joined the cause. Moses flees for his life. By Exodus 3 he is broken, and his years don’t seem golden.  

WHEN GOD CAN FINALLY WORK

If asked the identity of Moses, the Israelites during this time would probably all ask, “Moses??? Moses who?” But God thoroughly knew who Moses had become, the man who matured during all those years while tending stupid sheep. Moses’ pride departed a long time ago. When people get to the end of themselves, this is when God can finally work.

GOD’S TIMING IS RIGHT

From the burning bush, God declares, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings”. Nothing gets past God. His timing is always right.

This is not a comfortable, feel-good God. You can understand the terror of Moses when he hears: “’I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

WHO IS GOD?

Moses not only wonders, “Who am I?” he asks God “Who are You?” God answers, “I AM.” Those two words describe the God of eternity. “When used as a stand-alone description, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish. (Gotquestions.org)

YOUR INABILITIES DON’T MATTER

Is this the God you know and acknowledge every day of your life? Do you wake up with joy knowing that God is eternally present in your day? When you are exhausted, do you choose to still obey and serve the completely sufficient God? God doesn’t care about all your inabilities; God just requires that you offer yourself unreservedly to Him.

Maybe you will not be leading millions of people out of captivity, but regardless of the challenge you can courageously obey Christ. After all, I Am is the eternally constant God. His plans are much bigger than a little comfortable campfire. Before this God we take off our shoes, lay prone, and offer up our hands in obedience. What a God!

MORE UNLIKELY PEOPLE GOD USED

God chooses the most unlikely people to conduct His greatest purpose. Unlikely? Yes! But not unwilling. Read about: Mary Slessor, a millworker. Christiana Tsai, who reached hundreds of Chinese students for Christ from her bed in Paradise, PA. She said, “My bed is not a prison, but a training school; the Holy Spirit is my mentor, and my visitors are my homework.” Hudson Taylor, the father of modern missions.

A PLANTING SEASON

“Planting: How to create a powerful mindset that anticipates comebacks”

“You are not your label!” That’s on the cover of Demi Tebow’s book, “A Crown That Lasts”. Of course, as I’m glancing at the cover picture, I don’t think it would hurt to be labeled as blond, gorgeous, and a former Miss Universe. So, what in the world do I have in common with Tim Tebow’s wife? (By the way, he is also gorgeous and athletic)

MINDSET THAT ANTICIPATES COMEBACKS

Halfway through the book is a section entitled “Planting: How to create a powerful mindset that anticipates comebacks”. Though we are life experiences apart (I will never be Miss Universe), Demi has a section which deals with the concept of reframing. Rather than looking back at something that hurt deeply and bearing those scars as permanent handicaps, instead look back and begin to pull some positive things you learned.

THE TRUCKLOAD OF HURTS

For example, when I was growing up my parents were absentee parents. It was not a deliberate choice, but they had me later in life and were both workaholics. They were either not present to communicate or else not mentally present to communicate. In some ways they loved me, but their love language in no way coincided with mine. I developed a truckload of hurts I carried around for years because of this.

To illustrate, when I had my first boyfriend, not only did my mom and I never talk about him, but she never asked me what we were doing or where we were. She was mentally absent when I really needed a mom. I was naive as naive can be.

So, dial forward many many years. What positive things can I reframe those hurts with? What good came out of those experiences? I woke up in the middle of the night and began thanking God for these results of my experience:

I decided that when I had children, I would parent by not doing what my mom did.

I learned to write, because there was no one at home who wanted to hear me.

They drove me to God as my Protector.

I learned that no one is going to come in to fix things for me, so no matter what the project is, whether a craft, mechanical, or electronic, I can usually figure out the logic.

THE CHALLENGE

All of these things I am deeply grateful for. I challenge you this week. Pull one of those dark memories from your past and try to begin reframing how you see it. I’m not saying to ignore the hurt. I’m asking what positive things or experiences came about to make that a planting season, rather than a season of complete devastation. It is surprising some positive thoughts that can come about in the middle of the night.

But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! (Ephesians 1:18-19)

RECIPE FOR RESENTMENT, BITTERNESS OR HATRED

You can be free of resentment

“If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free. If you ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free. Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness, and you will be free.

“Even when you don’t really want it for them, and your prayers are only words and you don’t mean it, go ahead and do it anyway.

“Do it every day for two weeks and you will find you have come to mean it and to want it for them, and you will realize that where you used to feel bitterness and resentment and hatred, you now feel compassionate understanding and love.”

From “God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours” by Regina Brett

Listen to the story of a Rwandan Genocide Survivor

WHAT TO DO IN A SEASON OF DOUBT

Like the Israelites, have you forgotten Who you believe?

What bestseller begins with: “And these are the names of”? Exodus chapter one does not seek to be on the Times Bestseller list. The author reminds us this is the saga of the family chosen to play a crucial role in God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. God takes childless, elderly Abraham and Sarah and makes them the ancestors of a family which ends up numbering in the millions. Abraham and Sarah trust God even when they could not see the future.

THE PERFECT PETRI DISH

In His plans, God often relocates people. If the twelve brothers from Genesis had remained in pagan Canaan, good chance that they would have intermarried with the Canaanites. That would have been the spiritual end of God’s chosen people. By God’s grace, He relocates them via famine and Joseph to Egypt. God then takes advantage of Egypt’s racial bias. David Guzik notes: “Egypt had such an entrenched system of racial separation that Israel could grow there over several centuries without being assimilated.” This made the perfect petri dish for growing God’s people numerically, to the great alarm of the new Pharoah in Exodus 1.

THE PROMISE

Centuries before, God told Abraham: “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.  But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions (Genesis 15:13-14) It appears that while living 400 years in Egypt many of Abraham’s descendants forgot God’s promise. The Egyptian Pharoah certainly did not know or believe the promise.

GOD CIRCUMVENTS PHARAOH

Pharaoh did not know The Promise keeper. So agitated at the population growth of the Hebrews, he tells the Hebrew midwives to kill the newborn boys. The midwives do not cooperate. Pharaoh makes a far more radical command. All male babies be murdered by drowning in the river. His plan would effectively eliminate the Hebrews within one generation. The miracle is that the method Pharaoh commanded for the death of the male babies of Israel becomes the divine provision for saving the deliverer of Israel: Moses. God, the Promise Keeper, circumvents Pharoah’s plans for evil and ends up rescuing millions of Jewish people.

THE REAL BATTLE

The real battle in Exodus includes God in the equation. That changes everything. Pharaoh didn’t understand Who he was fighting. Many of the Jewish people did not realize Who Pharaoh was dealing with. Do you know this God of the Universe Who loves you?

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO YOU BELIEVE?

Like the Israelites, have you forgotten Who you believe? The beginning of Exodus may seem smooth sailing. “We think, ‘Oh, boy! It’s going to get really bad, and they’re going to have to make bricks without straw, but that’s just setting it up for when God’s going to come. It’s going to be so sweet when he gets them out!’ The Hebrews didn’t know that. They lived as slaves for 400 years. That’s a long time to keep believing the promises.” (Kevin DeYoung)

TRY THIS LITTLE EXERCISE

Do you feel like the slaves of Egypt? How about trying one little exercise. Begin this season of doubt by daily working on memorizing and believing the words of Psalm 121:1-8. I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

WHITE KNUCKLE FEAR

“Don’t worry” is not Jesus’ polite little suggestion for Christian wannabes. 

Who over the past few years has not gone through periods of speculation? A situation approaches (whether something scheduled in the next day’s events or an item that slithers into your heart as a vague possibility). Maybe it is that upcoming meeting with the boss or that memorable TV newsflash on how many people have been diagnosed with serious flu in the adjoining town?

FEAR THAT WAKES YOU UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

These are large fears, not my little fears wondering whether people will notice that I’m wearing two different colors of shoes (one being navy and the other being black). This is white knuckle fear. It wakes you up in the middle of the night and robs you of being able to breathe deeply. All joy runs away. Faith goes up in flames. However, in reality, the actual event has yet to happen.

Just want you to know, you are not alone.

ROBBED OF RESILIENCE

The pandemic and the resulting changes in our world robbed us of resilience. We lost the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Situations once not considered formidable clobbered us. Speculation has gained a great deal of dangerous power, all at our own personal expense. The faith ship sinks. 

BIG CHANGES AT WORK

I have a friend who went through turmoil at work.  Her boss kept telling the employees that “big changes are going to happen imminently”. However, the “imminent” drug into weeks.  At work, usually “big changes” mean big sacrifices at the employees’ expense.  So, fears among her co-workers amped up into hyper mode. Speculation ran amuck.  My friend is a believer. A few years back she had the reserves to take a “wait and see” attitude.  The problem is that she has lost her capacity to put speculation on the back burner. 

THE SPECULATION BAN

Did you know that Jesus banned speculation?  So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34) This “don’t worry” is not Jesus’ polite little suggestion for Christian wannabes.  It is a command. Jesus is saying, “Look, if you trust me enough to take care of you for eternity, will you trust me enough to take care of those events that have not even happened yet?”  We need resilience.

HOW TO BUILD RESILIENCE

John Eldredge writes:  “You can start building mental resilience right here, by roping in speculation. Every time you find yourself speculating, tell yourself to stop it! Bring your thoughts back under control: I’m not indulging in speculation. It’s godless. Turn your thoughts immediately to God: You are good, Father. You are with me. You are still in control.”

This is not a quick and easy fix, it is a discipline which can only be learned by letting the Holy Spirit take charge of how we view life, even as it is only today.  Jesus says, “Deal with the present, not with speculating over the future.” He wants to rid us of white-knuckle fear over what has not happened. Will you let Him? 

Click to read what the Bible has to say about anxiety