Well, in case you haven't seen the news of the southeast, we are in the midst of hurricane season. Ms. Florence is making her way towards the Carolinas. I can't say I blame her, it is a fantastic place to visit, especially in September.
I love hurricanes. I don't know what it is, but it gets me ready and fired up. I lived in the north and have seen my share of blizzards and snow storms. I remember one hurricane that made its way to the Cape and my science teacher made us track it. I wish he was still alive. I would find him on Facebook or something and talk about the storms all day. One thing that I do not do with hurricanes is panic. I'm not sure what it is, but when the people around me go into crisis mode, I go into chill out mode. Perhaps it is me trying to even the emotions, but I feel like it's more than that. I've always been a lot like my father. I know, you're all shocked. I've noticed how he and I react in times of trouble. We keep the steady course. We do what needs to be done, hunker down, and stay calm. Having a level head is always admirable. The few times I am in frantic mode I feel like I don't even know myself. Being level headed is the way to be. The world needs people that will lower their shoulder and plow through the muck. It's funny. Lately I've been around a lot of people that are going into worried/crazy mode. When I was younger I would have just walked away. I can't do it. Don't throw your anxiety my way. I can make my own if necessary. In the last few years I have learned a different way to approach it all. Ok, so in reality I switched from running away to I'll fix it! That didn't work either because people didn't want my ways to fix it. So then I would get angry and walk away. Since then I have learned that I just need to stay calm and be a steady force. Interestingly, my daughter's Bible study touched on this a bit. We use a VeggieTales Growing Day by Day devotional book. Today's lesson was "God Can Handle It." They use the verse 1 Peter 5:10 which instills in us the confidence that God will restore, establish, strengthen, and support us. Wow. What an amazing thing to even try to comprehend. The Bible study then talks about how nothing is too big for God and that he is loving and protective. He can fix it. "God's got it all under control!" It ends each lesson with a short prayer. Today's is, "Dear God, I know You will take care of me. Help me not to worry when things go wrong and just trust You. Amen." I bet a few of you read that and went back to read it again as your prayer. Peter writes that God will restore, establish, strengthen and support us AFTER he says that we need to cast all our cares and anxieties on him. They go together. When you cast your cares on him and stop worrying and stressing and freaking out, you can be strengthened and supported. It's like on TV when someone goes a little crazy and their friend slaps them across the face. That's how I have always felt around worrisome people. I want to slap them and get them to calm down. But that isn't going to help. Until that person places their anxiety at the feet of Jesus, they cannot truly feel the established way, nor will they be restored to peace. Some time ago I came to the realization that God truly is sovereign. I also understand this knowing that just because He allows for something terrible (like a natural disaster, children dying, hunger and pain) it doesn't mean he enjoys it. The more I have turned to God for his sovereignty and knowing that he is in control, and wills things and allows things, the less worried I am by things. It doesn't mean I don't take action. It just means I have peace. When you lose peace you lose more than just my friendship and attention. Losing your peace leaves you open to attacks. Don't believe me? Let's fill in 1 Peter 5 from verse 7 (cast your cares) to verse 10 (he will strengthen). Verse 8 says: Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Verse 9: Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. When you lose the ability to be level headed you are moved up on the hit list for the devil's attack. Worrying is one of the most selfish things on the planet. Verse 9 tells us that. How? Worrying says, "This is my problem. Waahh. I'm scared. I'm nervous. I'm anxious. I'm stressed." Look, I'm sure you are. I have no doubt that you have problems that need to be dealt with. However, worrying over it doesn't do anything for you. It puts you in a pity party. "The storm is coming! What do I do? Should I leave? Should I stay? Do I have enough water? And bread! I need gas!" You're right. This is the first ever! Nobody has ever experienced this AND you're the only one going through it!! Ok, so I'm being dramatic. From the viewpoint of the calm person, it's kind of what you look like. But we see that worry is a selfish act. It turns all the focus onto you and your problems instead of God and his solutions. God is sovereign. When the storm hits, he is still there. So here I am in the midst of the incoming storm. It is predicted to hit north of us and we will get some wind and rain. I'm ok with that. I love the time together as a family. Not once have I worried. I know that there could be a shift. If that happens and we need to leave, so be it. If it stays on course, we'll be just fine. Even if we aren't fine, God has that under his control as well. Who am I to worry about the future? Trust me, if there is a problem, you'll want the people that are level headed to come to your rescue, not the fretting and nervous. Lean on 1 Peter 5 as we head into the brunt of hurricane season. Cling to it during the storms of your life. Let the power of God was over you and enjoy the peace and calm.
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May 2023
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