Tag Archives: fear

What’s Wrong With The World?

29 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in mental health

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

grayscale photo of woman covering her face by her hand
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Pexels.com

Do you ever just find yourself looking at the world around you and think, “What in the world is happening?” It seems as if everything is just off. What used to roll off the backs of people now sets them off. The things that glued us to the news, we are now numb to it. People are more agitated, fearful, distrusting, and isolated than ever before. And we all feel it.

But what about our kids? How are they coping?

In a word… poorly.

According to CDC statistics released in March 2022:

  • More than 1 in 3 high school students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic.
  • Nearly half of students felt persistently sad or hopeless.
  • Two-thirds said they had difficulty with understanding or concentrating on schoolwork.
  • More than half of students experienced emotional abuse in their home.
  • A quarter of teens struggled with hunger.
  • Female students were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide compared to male students.
  • 19.9% of students had seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9.0% had attempted suicide.

While it’s true that so many people young and old are struggling more mentally than before the pandemic, it’s the youth who seem to be a more steady decline. Before COVID-19, suicide was already reported as the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10–34, and the CDC reported that youth mental health was already declining. But since the start of the pandemic, the state of youth mental health has undoubtedly worsened.

How Did We Get Here?

Between the constant comparisons and challenges to keep up with the pressure to perform on social media; the expectation of being “always on” that comes with technology, instantaneous communication and troubling news cycles; the lack of God and His word within the home and/or school; and the isolation, uncertainty, and trauma and grief that have come from an unprecedented global crisis… Young people today are being challenged in ways we couldn’t believe.

For lack of a better way to say it, our youth are in a mental health crisis.

Unfortunately, the way youth respond to their emotional situation is often difficult to predict. Some act out in violence, seeking attention in ways that are completely out of their normal behavior. Some become hypervigilant, fearful of making a mistake, leaving their safe spaces, or making friends. Others might isolate, withdrawing from family, friends, and things they love. Let’s face it, in more instances than we care to accept, our kids feel more safe in their rooms on a computer screen than out in the “real world.” We did that to them. We took away their schools, their friends, their church, their extracurricular activities and stuffed them in their rooms while we spiraled into our fear-based abyss. And even though we have begun to see a bit of normalcy in our daily choices, our kids don’t know how to step back into a world with face-to-face interactions. It’s a lot. And too often we say to them, “Just suck it up. You’re young; you can handle it.”

Reality check … they can’t handle it! They don’t know how and we aren’t helping them. So they do what they know… they learn from us. If you are an adult who doesn’t talk about your feelings, neither will your kids. If you act out in violence, so will your kids. If you don’t pray to God, neither will your kids. Our youth are looking to us for leadership. They want to know how to handle things and we simply are letting them down because WE aren’t handling things well at all.

The Church Response

Recently, a 14-year-old said to me, “Is there anywhere we can go where we feel safe and can just be kids?”

That question nearly crushed me. Because the truth is that there is no where any of us can go in this world and not be touched by evil in some way. It’s infiltrated our homes, churches, schools, businesses, governments, sports… the list goes on and on. Evil is something humankind has encountered since the Garden of Eden. And the only response to evil is God.

I can’t help but wonder where our churches are because they aren’t stepping up. As a whole, churches have dropped the ball on the basic premise of providing hope to the hurting world through the spreading of the Gospel. Churches have become, instead, a place of entertainment, political activism, and acceptance of sin. We can’t accept this any longer as Christians. When we said yes to Jesus Christ’s invitation to eternal salvation, we also agreed to the Great Commission: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Our kids are desperately seeking hope because they are living in a hopeless world. If we don’t share with them “to obey everything [Jesus has] commanded” we are complicit in the suicides, school shootings, gang violence, pornography, unwanted pregnancies, gender confusion, bullying, and more. It’s their blood on our hands if we stay quiet about the very thing they need to know most… sin. Sin is what separates us from God. If we don’t know what the sin is, how can we ever expect to grow close to Him to have the very hope we are most seeking?

What can you do?

Listen. Stop trying to talk AT your kids or simply brushing their concerns aside as if they’re not important. Really listen to your kids. Create a space in your day when you put your phone down, turn off the TV, and just listen to your child. What was great about their day? What wasn’t so good? Why? How are they doing? Is there something they are struggling with? These are just a few questions parents can ask and then just really listen to their answers. If more parents did this, more young lives would be saved.

Make God important in your life. If your kids see you studying the word of God, praying, attending church, and spending time with others studying God’s word, they will see how important that relationship is in their own life. But if your priorities do not show God at the top every day, then neither will your kids. God is always there but the relationship can only happen if you nurture it.

Set boundaries. Believe it or not, kids prefer rules over free-range parenting. God set a clear boundary with Adam and Eve and they broke it. We are still paying for those consequences. Set clear boundaries with your kids. Be nosey about their electronic communications. Don’t let them stay behind a closed bedroom door all the time. Monitor their friends. Be the parent! The friendship comes once they are adults.

Ask for help. Believe it or not, parents don’t know everything. Not only that, but as a parent, you are more invested in your child than anyone else in the world so it’s sometimes difficult to be unbiased when they are going through things. That’s why therapists exists! We are the unbiased professionals trained to help people navigate difficult situations. There is no shame in talking to someone. In fact, seeing a therapist is as normal as seeing a physician. So, if your child is struggling, ask if they would like to talk to a therapist. And if they come to you can say they want to go to counseling, applaud them for taking an active role in their mental health and then act upon their request. And vet the therapist. I love it when parents want to meet with me. You’re trusting your child with someone so you need to know who it is. If you want Christian counseling, make sure the therapist follows scripture. If you need a trauma specialist, ask for their experience working with trauma. Ask questions and then make a decision.

It is easy to throw statistics and what-ifs at you. But it’s the kids we have to really focus on. Our youth are lost and we are the ones who are supposed to be guiding them. It’s time to step up and do the hard work. If you know of a young person struggling, please reach out to First Step Counseling. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call 988. Someone is available 24-hours a day to help you. You are not alone.

Holy Saturday

03 Saturday Apr 2021

Posted by in Lent

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. — Micah 7:7

Today, we wait. Today, the silence is deafening. Today, we stand stranded between dark and Light. And so we wait. But it is within such dark moments, when fear and hiding are our temptations, that we must recall relentless hope and enduring life.

Holy Saturday is a solemn day for mourning. We are asked to consider what it would have been like if we were close friends of Jesus when his life was taken. How would we have spent this day? Would we, like the disciples, have given up hope? Would we have found ourselves hiding in an upper room?

Our world today is not so different. It kind of feels like we have been in a period of spiritual silence for over a year, locked in our homes for fear of the world. Holy Saturday offers a remedy. “The entire Christian message stands as a countercultural emblem that shouts out to a suffering world that hope truly does reign. Hope is not blind trust nor a mental exercise in spiritual roulette that an outcome will turn out exactly as we desire. Hope is a condition in friendship when you know your friend is with you, even when he is not physically next to you. Hope is the capacity to see that we are never truly alone and that God can overcome any obstacle, even death.” [1]

Passion Week is not an easy week to sail through. If you really stop to ponder each day, it can feel like roller coaster, full of ups and downs. And then you have to face Holy Saturday and the silence that darkness brings. But silence offers a chance to ponder. Would we have left Christ all alone in his suffering? How are we being asked to journey with others in their suffering today?

The day in between Jesus’ death and resurrection stands at a pivotal juncture between despair and hope, fear and courage, death and new life. Holy Saturday was a real point in time, but it also symbolizes the current state of our world.

We are in time and place between darkness and light, destruction and renewal. We are in desperate need of looking toward brighter days for our country, politics, church, and world.

When intense, widespread suffering strikes again — and it will — we should not turn to the fear that evil wins. Instead, when the Holy Saturdays enter our lives, we must remember there is hope in the waiting. Trials and darkness never last forever. The tomb always turns up empty and our lives always recover if we hold fast to the Hope only found in Jesus Christ.

1 Thomas Griffin. EmptyTombProject.org

Holy Tuesday

30 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by in Lent

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. —Mark 14:66-72

Why did Peter deny Jesus? He was the rock, the first to follow Jesus, leaving so much behind to walk the uncertain road of discipleship. He had witnessed incredible miracles as his Master healed the sick, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. Peter had a front row seat to the miracle of the transfiguration. And he had even walked on water. So why did Peter deny Jesus?

Fear.

Fear is the four-letter word that causes us to lock our doors. It’s why we keep a light on in the middle of the night. It prevents us from reaching for our dreams or from reaching out to others in love. Fear cripples our souls and binds our hearts. It locks us in prison and throws away the key. In fearful moments, all we think of is how to protect ourselves, perhaps at any cost.

Peter was no different than we are when faced with fear. All that he had hoped seemed to be crumbling before him. The one he believed to be the Messiah, the Savior of Israel, was now arrested. Jesus’ death seemed certain, and with his death the end of Peter’s reason for living.

Add to that the overwhelming sense of seeing his powerful Teacher so helpless must have confused Peter. Why didn’t Jesus just call down a legion of angels? Why did the one with the power to still the storm not use that power now? And if Jesus was helpless to defend himself, what did that mean for Peter? How could he escape a fate like that of Jesus…arrest, abuse, execution?

In fear, Peter did what he swore he would never do. He denied Jesus Christ, not once, but three times, just as Jesus had promised. Fear had overtaken Peter.

Though you may say you would never deny Jesus, I would challenge you to examine yourself. Truth be told, I think we’ve all denied Jesus for the simple reason of fear.

Have you felt like you were supposed to do something, but then you chickened out because you were afraid? Have you known what it’s like to downplay the significance of your faith in some conversation because your were afraid of offending someone?

What is the antidote to such fear? Trusting God. It’s believing the Word of Christ. It’s experiencing the perfect love of God that casts out fear. In today’s world, Christians must battle against fear faithfully. We must learn to fully trust God and not the world. Jesus spent Holy Tuesday avoiding traps and teaching. The priests set four traps for Jesus, the first questioning His authority, to which He answered with a question and then taught three parables: The Parable of the Two Sons, The Parable of the Tenants, and The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. The second trap challenged Jesus’ allegiance, the third trap attempted to ridicule Jesus’ belief in resurrection, and the fourth Jesus answered by claiming God’s greatest command to be “Love.”

Jesus knew what was coming but he didn’t walk through Holy Week in fear. His life was in God’s hands. That was all he needed to know.

This Means War!

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in My Story. My Faith.

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Image

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word.” – Ephesians 6:17 (CEB)

I was alone but felt that I was surrounded. It was almost suffocating. I kept looking all around me, certain that evil was about show its face. But there was no one there. Fear and panic engulfed me. What was that verse again from the Bible? The one about armor? I couldn’t remember it.

As could only happen in a dream, I found myself transported from the room I was in to a church. And there it was – the Bible. My Bible. I threw myself toward it but kept getting pulled further from it. I wanted to scream but no sounds would come.

I awoke with a panicked heart. Looking around in the darkness of my bedroom, I realized that I was safe. But what did my dream mean? I had never experienced anything like that before. Usually, if I remembered my dreams at all, they were silly and vibrant. But this one was so real. So full of fear and confusion. I was physically exhausted from the battle I had just experienced in my dream. “Pray” was all I kept hearing as I sat quietly in my bed, listening to the rhythmic sounds of my sleeping husband’s breath. For the next 30 minutes, I stared at the cross next to my bed and spoke to Jesus. Tears flowed as I poured out my fears, failures and lost dreams.

The next day, I thought a lot about that dream. I realized that what I experienced that night was no ordinary dream. It was much deeper. It was spiritual warfare and I was fighting without my armor.

Matthew 4:15 says:

Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

How could I have allowed this to happen? I was invested in God’s Word. I tried to live it to the best of my ability. And yet, I allowed Satan to infiltrate. The past two years have been marked by one harsh blow after another. I had tried to keep a positive outlook on life but deep down inside I was a big ole’ mess! I was fighting these unseen forces and it was physically, mentally, and spiritually wearing me down.

As I prayed about what to do, God led me to some truths. I had been carrying around some anger, resentments and fears that needed to be dealt with. Otherwise, I was just inviting Satan in my life where he would take the Word of God and root it right out. Satan realized that negative emotions which stemmed from being hurt by someone I loved, concerns about finances, as well as frustration and hopelessness regarding circumstances in my life, had all built a barrier between God and me. The truth is, I’d grown weary of praying because if felt selfish and forced. My feelings overshadowed my faith and I’d been relying on my own advice for handling adversities, rather than seeking God’s wisdom. As a result, I’d given Satan the very thing he was looking for – a foothold in my heart. So much time focused on me and my “woes” had inadvertently smothered out God’s Word and His truths which could set me free.

The fact is, even though I felt utterly alone, I really had no one to blame but ME! God never left me or abandoned me. He didn’t ignore my prayers. He still caught every tear I ever cried. I just chose to wallow instead of wrapping myself in His Word. Deep down I still knew that only He held the power to make me feel whole again.

So why did it take a dream to get me to wake up?

I believe God used the stillness of my rest to wrestle with me with He did with Jacob. I believe He wanted me to physically understand that spiritual warfare is not just something that happened in Biblical times. It happens everyday. We must be ready at all times, just like a soldier. And I had let my guard down, which enabled the enemy to get in. I believe that this dream showed me what weapons I need to fight this daily battle. When I couldn’t reach the Bible in my dream, I felt hopeless. His Word is the sword to fight Satan and the stronghold he tries to make. Only God’s Word can defeat him.

But I also realized that I need to spend more time with God so that I can retrieve His Word from the depths of my soul, not just on a page. The more time I spend on my relationship with the Lord, the better I will know Him. It’s like any friendship really. If you want a close relationship, you take the time to get to know that person. If I am spending time with the Lord, Satan won’t be invited in! It’s actually quite simple.

A song by Big Daddy Weave has a great verse. It says, “Then You look at this prisoner and say to me son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won.” This battle that I experienced in my dream was of my own doing. God is not going to forsake me to fight these fights on my own. He has already won them. He did it by conquering the cross. I don’t have to fight this fight anymore. I have experienced victory through Jesus Christ. All I need to do is reach out to Him and invite Him to fight it for me.

Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG) says

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

Heavenly Father, I don’t want to fight this battle alone. Forgive me for ever thinking that I have to do it alone. Thank you for your Sword so that I never will go into battle alone again. Amen.

Image

I Am Willing.

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in My Story. My Faith.

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Mark 1:40-41 (NASB)

It was the third day of a week-long conference and I was, once again, sitting alone for lunch. Everywhere I looked, I saw smiling faces and warm embraces greeting friends. I heard laughter of folks swapping stories of the mornings happenings. And while I was in a room of 300 people, I felt utterly alone. It occurred to me that I needed human contact. Real contact.

It sounded pitiful and needy in my head to admit that. I mean, I had met some folks and they were very nice but they were not fulfilling the role that I desperately needed. It got me thinking…. is there something about this human touch thing in the Bible? Um…yes!

In the New American Standard Bible, the word “touch” appears 132 times. “Forgiveness” only appears 20 times. And yet, we emphasize the need for forgiveness all of the time. Why don’t we ever emphasize the need for touch? The need for human contact in a loving and Christ-like way is talked about in some of Jesus’ most compassionate moments. In Mark 1:40-41, Jesus encounters a leper. Lepers were truly the outcasts of the day. People knew that you simply did not touch them or you would become “unclean” yourself. But when asked by the leper to heal him, Jesus said, “I am willing.” He could have easily healed this man without touching him. But the human touch was just as important in his healing as the grace of God. Jesus was filled with compassion and touched him. This type of simple gesture is repeated in Jesus’ ministry over and over again. Jesus was not afraid to touch.

So why are we?

In today’s technology-savvy world, more and more “relationships” are built around an electronic screen of some sort, whether a smart phone, tablet or computer. I am just as guilty as the next person of allowing a phone call go to voicemail and then texting later to respond. Why? Are we so afraid of physical touch or human contact? Are we really that busy or is it that we have built walls around our hearts and fear letting anyone get close enough to tear it down? What are we so afraid of letting another human see? God designed us to need touch. In fact, it is critical to our health-both emotional and physical. Babies need touch for their brains to develop and children need touch for their emotions to develop. Experts say appropriate touch has a profound effect on the brain’s programming and re-programming. But we are programming ourselves to deny ourselves this basic need, thus teaching our children the same things. Instead of board games, they play video games. Instead of letters, we write emails. The touch is disappearing.

Perhaps it’s time to become more intentional about making human contact to others. I know that I need it and I would be willing to bet that many of you do, too. Jesus knew the importance of it. It’s time we take our cues from Him and apply His ways to our ways. As I have studied the New Testament in seminary, I have picked up on things that I have missed or overlooked for years. This includes the human touch that they engaged in with each other. They hugged and kissed each other often; a tradition that is continued in many cultures today.

Getting back to my aloneness at the conference, I realize now that it has been by my choice to be alone there. I could have easily joined in any number of groups but it chose not to. Instead, I buried my head in my Kindle. I would rather be wrapped in my false security then step out in uncharted territory. Sad, isn’t it? I would go out on a ledge and say that I’m not the only one. So now my heart has been convicted to be more intentional. Whether it’s a hug, touch on the arm, pat on the back, touch is desperately needed. Jesus knew it. And we know it too.

As I challenge myself, I issue a challenge to you, too. The next time you are with friends, family or colleagues, be intentional in your human contact. Become the person who offers a hug, rather than waiting for one.

Heavenly Father, I need human touch just as I need your touch. Please help me to step out of my shell and offer the touch we all so desperately need. Amen.

In Flesh We Trust?

23 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in My Story. My Faith.

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

“‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.” 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 (NIV)

Gosh, I wish I were strong. I have often thought what it would be like to be strong, both physically and emotionally. I wouldn’t have to ask people for help all of the time. I see other women who are physically fit and I get a bit down. I listen to women with stories of courage and survival and I think I would have folded in such a situation. I know we are not supposed to compare ourselves to others but it is so easy to do that. It’s easy to just allow that little voice in the back of my mind to speak words of discouragement. Why is that? Why are those voices always so much clearer and impactful then positive words? Why do we allow ourselves to be chained to such negativity when we are made in the image of such a glorious God?

But these thoughts are true for my life – and probably for many of you, too. It is so much easier to focus on my weaknesses and inconsistencies then the positives. For most of my life, I’ve battled this. From the time I was a little girl I have felt just a bit inadequate. Just a bit on the outside looking in. These feelings frustrate me. I wear a mask of securities and find myself shrinking on the inside. I can lead someone to Christ for their healing but not depend on him for my own weaknesses in areas like over-eating or depression. Frustrating, isn’t it? Can you relate?

The other day I read 2 Chronicles 32: 7-8. It made me stop. How had I missed this story? It was like I was reading it for the first time. “Be strong and courageous.” I have heard that part of the verse many many times. But it is the rest of it that caused my heart to jump. “…there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is The Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” Oh my goodness!! “A greater power with us..!!” Do you realize what this is saying? I don’t have to focus on my weaknesses, even if others do. I am strong because God is within me! And you! I am ashamed to say that I completely forget that at times. I forget that God doesn’t pick or choose when He gives us strength. Nope. If we aren’t feeling His strength, it’s because we CHOOSE not to accept it. He gives it freely, all day every day! Did you hear that? God never leaves us. We leave Him. I’m ashamed to say that at times when things are most overwhelming, I try to rely on my own humanness instead of reaching for my Lord. Why do we do that? Why do we not scream out to God? There is no reason for any us to ever feel week or hopeless. And yet, don’t we all feel that way from time to time? Don’t we all feel inadequate and unsure of ourselves in certain situations? If you are like me, then the answer is yes.

Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV) says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” I think that is the essence of my problem. I don’t always have the confidence I am supposed to have in God. I fear that He will forget about me so I have to do it myself. But He doesn’t work like that. He will be there as long as I seek Him. I have to learn to stop depending on my “flesh” as Hezekiah said, and rely completely on Him. My confidence in God is stronger then it was but not where it should be yet. What I can attest to is that for all the times I have completely submitted to God, I have experienced a source of strength and perseverance that I never could have experienced relying on my own flesh.

As you apply this to your life, ask yourself this question: How would your life be changed if you believed that God’s strength was living in you everyday, all day?

Lord, please forgive me for relying on my own flesh and humanness instead of solely on You. You have guaranteed your strength and grace through the spilled blood of Jesus Christ. Thank you for never leaving me even when I leave you. Convict my heart to never leave you again. Amen.

I’m In Control…Right?

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in My Story. My Faith.

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

It’s hard to believe that it’s already nearing the end of March! Time seems to speed by quicker each year. And with each passing year, I find that I am less and less in control of my life. Actually, to be honest, I am discovering that I was never really in control in the first place. Ugh! What’s worse is that I will never be in control. In fact, God will never allow us to have control, certainty or clarity. Never!

That can be a really frightening statement for many people. We like to keep our lives all managed within this neat little package. But then something comes along that throws us for a loop and we fall into anxiety and panic because we begin to see just how fragile our little world really is. The fact is, none of us have control over the things that happen to us. It could be a sickness or death. It could be loss of a job or house fire. So many things can shake up our “best laid plans.” In actuality, if we take the Word to heart, we would understand that control is not ours to have.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it reads:

Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.

Wow! What a concept. I rather like the idea of not having to control every aspect of my life. Wearing the world on my shoulders can become a tedious task. Anyone agree?

God is just waiting for us to acknowledge that He is in control. Once we do, the anxiety and panic will cease to be a part of our lives. As humans, we tend to think that we know what is best for us. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Remember what Luke 18:27 promises –

With God, all things are possible!

It doesn’t say that some things are possible, as long as we humans do the controlling. It says that ALL things are possible with God! I take that to mean that we are ultimately in control of our responses to situations but God provides the roadmap to dealing with anything that comes your way. He wants you to invite Him to the daily situations that might be causing stress or joy. Matthew 6:33 says:

Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will fall into place.

Read that again. Did you see the word “all”? Finally, a guarantee in life beyond death and taxes! You can have comfort that ONLY comes from the growing confidence in God’s promises. I guarantee that if you fully rely on God, you will not be disappointed. Things may not be happening at the rate you want them to happen. They may not be happening in the way that you would have planned them. But, if it comes down to my way or God’s way — I know which one I have more faith in!

Lord, letting go and letting God is an easy thing to say but not an easy thing to do. Please forgive me for thinking I know more than you. I ask you to help me by taking these burdens of control from me and helping me to follow your lead in all things. Amen.