photo credit- Karen Holland
When my heart is
overwhelmed-
lead
me to the Rock that is
higher than I!
It wasn’t pretty, but it was loud and earnest; we began singing Psalm 61 and praying as I drove my husband, Jeff, to the Emergency Room Monday night.
w
My anxiety climbed as I watched Jeff struggle to breathe- turn white as a sheet, complained of tightness in his chest- racing pulse- and tingling in his extremities. I watched helplessly as he shook uncontrollably.
s
They hooked Jeff up to heart monitors, a rush of people drawing blood, assessing, and testing, I kept praying- God! Help us! You’re our Rock- lift us above this.
3 hours and a sedative or two later, the blood tests came back as negative for a heart attack.
s
It wasn’t his physical heart, but it was his “emotional heart”. Too much is too much!
a
Stress- Anxiety- Panic- Fear- Overwhelmedness-
[Tweet “#Anxiety doesn’t take a holiday just because we’re Christians. We are, after all, #mortal.”]
The picture that comforts me the most is the story of Jesus and his disciples in the boat. Jesus is sleeping- knocked out- taking some much needed zzzzz’s. His disciples are awake when a maverick storm blows in! They look to Jesus- He’s still sleeping!!!!
s
The NIV – Matt 8 says, “Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
q
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
a
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
s
[Tweet “Jesus can #speak to your #storms and surround you with #peace. #trust”]
s
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
~
That man is Almighty God come in the flesh!
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As we get to know God, we learn to “let go” of control and look to our Father. We’re learning to “be his children” instead of grownups who carry the weight and responsibilities the world tells us we should handle by ourselves. We’re reminding ourselves, Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest. My yoke is EASY and my burden is LIGHT!’
s
Jesus-
take
the
wheel!
I laughed when I saw this picture on Pinterest- I used to love being in control, but the older I get, the more relieved I am that Someone who loves us and is Higher than any problem that comes our way!
[Tweet “God will #hear and #answer every #cry for #help. #AwesomeGod”]
I will agree with you in prayer this week for peace to be felt in your heart and souls this week.
Sheryl- thank you so much! His peace is amazing- we have some follow-up appointments and such so we really appreciate your prayer! I’ll tell Jeff <3 so great to get reconnected.
What a great reminder and mom. God truly wants us to come to him when we are weak and weary. I think that when we want to trust God he puts that dependency in us because he works best in our weaknesses. Its just hard some times because everyone wants to trust God, but no one wants to be weak.:) I am praying that all of us can learn to give our whole lives over to Him and worry no more. Love you guys
Wow! That’s so insightful- “everyone wants to trust God- BUT NO ONE wants to be weak!” Yes- I agree- we will press in and give our lives over to Him- WORRY NO MORE! love you