Can't Sleep? Talk to Me. -- God

On my FB message yesterday, a couple of people commented that it was just the words they needed. My response? "Me, too! I typically post with what I need the most!" In all seriousness, my daily posts are the words I'm sending out to you AND me!

A friend came over yesterday. She was discouraged and was filled with all kinds of negative emotions. Oh, I know those emotions, and when we succomb to them, they can overwhelm us. In fact, during the nighttime is when they have usually come "knocking on my heart's door". I tell you what I told her. Instead of continuing to lay there wollering in the funk and despair, I do what I've told you before. I toss those doubts and fears away like a "hot potato". I do that by getting up, and going to my "prayer" chair. Though it's usually 3 am in the morning, I read my devotion, read my chapters in the Bible (I'm reading through the Bible this year), and I pray. After an hour or so of "fixing my eyes Who is my burden bearer", I go back to bed and get the rest of the sleep I needed. The scripture that applies to that routine is "Him/Her I will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Me." Isaiah 26:3. Getting my eyes and heart off of me and my concerns, and fixing them on Him for that hour of time, gets me back to peace.

I found that when the storms come, it's just our human nature to have the mindset that, "I've got to figure this out. I've got to work this out on my own!" And, oftentimes, praying and seeking God for the answer is the last thing we do to escape our storms. "Well, I've tried everything else.....so as a last resort, "I'll ask God for help!"

The disciples knew Jesus was on land and they discounted the fact that He was the authentic, unparalled STORM CHASER and PEACE MAKER. They toiled and feared, but Christ was praying on the shore for them because He saw the storm come up. And we should realize that He sees and knows the storms we're going through and He is hearing our prayers in the midst of OUR storms.

We can know this: There is no difficulty in life that is stronger than Jesus. We can face our difficult times with courage because He promised to ALWAYS be with us! I love knowing that His peace is ours in the midst of our storms....and how reassuring to know that right behind this storm is a rainbow of blessing! He promised it, and I've come to count on it!

Let's Play Hot Potato With Our Cares

Do you remember playing the game of “Hot Potato” as a child? We got in a circle and we tossed around a small ball, instead of a potato, but the object was to pretend it was a a very HOT potato. It was way to HOT to hold so we wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. Either music was played and stopped or someone was designated to shout out “HOT” and whoever was holding the “potato”….er…ball, would be out of the game. It was a great opportunity for practicing motor skills involving eye-hand coordination and catching.

I think it's time for us, as adults, to play that HOT potato game with the worries, concerns, challenges, fears, intimidations and any other adverse taunts that the enemy sends our way. He plays games with us, so why don’t we play games with him? When we play offensively against our arch-enemy #1, with the power of God’s Word and His Spirit within us…..he will be the loser every time. 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” I love that. Casting is like playing Hot Potato – getting rid of that potato as soon as possible, and getting rid of our worries and anxieties by casting them on He Who is our worry-bearer, our care-bearer, and all our other concerns-bearer.

Anything that causes us anxiety takes a lot of space in our brains. Let’s trade those thoughts for “I am expecting things to turn around for me. I am expecting blessings. I am expecting the answer to my problems. I am expecting God to take over all my concerns. I am expecting good things coming my way. I am a faith-filled, fully devoted follower of Christ, therefore, there is no space in my place for doubt and worry. I can’t help but overcome because THE GREATER ONE LIVES in me and occupies ALL that space in my brain, in my thoughts and in my actions. I speak to the enemy “Liar, Liar – pants on fire – you lose. I win, because I am on the winning team!