Today was MY first day of school. I am the director of our weekday program at church – Mother’s Day Out. Today we welcomed around 140 children into our classrooms for the first time this year. We survived!! And, I can say with confidence that this was the best first day yet out of the five I’ve had as a director. There were the usual tears (from kids and moms alike), bumps, and odd building issues (cricket invasion). But there were a lot of happy, excited faces (kids, moms, and teachers). Excited for their new adventure to begin.
This morning I woke up with a case of the first day jitters and headed straight to my favorite devotional that is my go-to especially when I am feeling a little overwhelmed. “Jesus Calling” . It is written as if Jesus is speaking directly to you from His Word. Every time I pick this up I feel like it was written just for me just on that day. But, you know the awesome thing about God? I have several friends who have this same devotional book and they feel exactly the same way!! God is soo good. Stress and worry has become so common these days, it’s just part of everyday life. We have become used to it.
A couple of weeks ago I was awake at 4am full of worry and stress and this is what I read:
“STOP WORRYING long enough to hear My voice. I speak softly to you, in the depths of your being. Your mind shuttles back and forth, hither and yon, weaving webs of anxious confusion. As My thoughts rise up within you, they become entangled in those sticky webs of worry. Thus, My voice is muffled and you hear only “white noise.”
Ask My Spirit to quiet your mind so that you can think My thoughts. This ability is an awesome benefit of being My child, patterned after My own image. Do not be deafened by the noise of the world or that of your own thinking. Instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Sit quietly in My Presence, letting My thoughts reprogram your thinking.”
It seems that at those times we most need to hear from God are the times we are most stressed. Our minds are so full of “anxious confusion” from our own thoughts of worry, our own efforts to problem solve, that we can’t hear the voice of God. I wonder how many times we miss the blessings, take the wrong path, make the wrong choice, simply because we were too worried to simply pause and listen for God’s voice.
The day that I read this was a day filled with lots of important decisions. I needed to hear God’s voice. I photocopied this page out of my devotional and hung it up in my office, so that throughout the day when my thoughts of worry began to create too much “white noise”, I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to quiet my mind. What a glorious power we have if we would only remember to use it.
Today when I picked up my little book, there was a different message, but still a reminder that God is in our corner. How amazing.
I challenge you…”STOP WORRYING” long enough to hear His voice, and remember God is there for you…let Him fight your battles.
