So when the thanksgiving celebration is over and the turkey is gone and the meal has been devoured are the hearts still thankful ~ or not? Do we still persevere and run the race in thankfulness or have we somewhere along the way picked up negative vibes of other stuff to slow us down, and push our gratefulness to the back burner? Pushed it to some out-of-sight, remote corner of our world where it’s dark and dismal? A place where anxious worry and fears, oh so real fears, tug at us from all the far corners of the earth and overpower our clear thinking? What is it that won’t let go of the mind so that you can find the peace you desire, and need? Yeah, we all have the moments when we forget to be thankful for the small stuff because anxiety trumps (no pun intended) our thankful spirit! Worry takes over life and we begin living in nooks and crannies of despair simply because it all seems so hopeless. There’s a whole bunch of us living there, in the crowded corners of fear, wondering our next move and what it should be! There’s no empty space! No clear way! No direct path out and so what’s one to do as a prisoner in your own body?
Beautiful you ~ Track back to that corner of gratefulness, wherever you left it and find the blessing in the bleak! Track back to the good and yeah, even the not so good and find the golden threads of promise that have held you together this long. Untie them! Unravel them and take a good, long look at what you hold in your hand. Promises of God? His love, His guidance, His faithfulness, His Blessings? Yeah, so many, some mixed in with hurts and disappointment because life is life but things that God used to make you who you are today. He doesn’t waste pain! He uses every trace of it to strengthen our weakness and pull us out and up from where we are to where we can be. He still cares and that’s reason to offer praise from even a hurting heart! An offering of praise to our creator is the best antidote for anxiety. David lamented while hiding in a cave, fearing for his life, and writes his heart felt prayer in Psalm 142: 5, “I cry to your O Lord; I say ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison that I may praise Your name.” and then He does just that in Psalm 145:1, “I will exalt You, my God the King;…great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.”
So yeah, today in that anxious corner find the blessing in the bleak and let praise pour out of your grateful heart to the One on the heavenly throne. The Sovereign One in charge and watch the fear dissipate and melt away from your mind! Enter into the land of the living once more and allow God to be your refuge and your portion!
~k
#Soulfire
Hope and Healing In Hard Places 