Over the past couple of months, I had been feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of inevitable change. The thought and knowledge of such change both excited me with anticipation of adventure, journey and growth, but instilled nerves at the thought of coping with it all. I regularly read the daily devotional tab on the App: 'Vision Christian Media'. One evening when I was feeling overwhelmed, the devotional for the day, as detailed below, brought me much reassurance and comfort. It moved the cloud from the judgement and put things into perspective. Titled 'Trust In His Goodness', the devotional was based on the bible verse ‘The Lord is good.’ from the Old Testament book of Nahum ch 1 v 7.
~~We read in Exodus 32 v 1 that ‘when the people saw how long it
was taking Moses to come… down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come
on,” they said, “make us… gods who can lead us.”’ Why
did Israel make a golden calf? Because they wanted a god they could see. It’s
harder to relate to an invisible God, and Moses, His representative, stayed on
Mount Sinai so long [that] the Israelites felt helpless and abandoned. So they did
what we do when we’re scared—resort to the comfort of the familiar [often staying
inside our comfort zone].
Mark D. Roberts writes: ‘How
often do we find ourselves in a situation like the Israelites? We ‘hear’ God’s
call to something new, and boldly step out in faith. But when we don’t sense
His presence [either before or after stepping out in faith], and our prayers seem to [or feel like they] bounce off the ceiling, we feel abandoned,
scared, and helpless. We grasp for the familiar.’
The Bible says, [as we read in Nahum, ‘The Lord is good… He cares for
those who trust in Him.’
Nancy
Ortberg says: ‘The difficult parts of change are most often where God lives…
All the things I glibly say, in change I have to live out… Most of us go
kicking and screaming instead of moving into it with an assuredness that not
only is God on the other side, but new facets of Him that we haven’t heretofore
understood are also there. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a job loss, a
move across the country etc—if we allow ourselves to push through the difficult
parts we’ll discover God is there… and He’s entirely, wonderfully, amazingly,
good.~~
***
***
Reading this made me realise that I am worrying and prolonging my worry when I should not be. Yes it was and is normal to be concerned, but I needed to give it to the Lord and let it go. I needed to 'cast my fears on him'. The word 'cast' refers to that which a fisherman casts out his net to catch fish in the ocean.
I was fearful of big change. Then I prayed, with tears streaming down my face - 'Lord I know that you have plans for my life - you tell me so in Jeremiah 29 v 11 - plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give hope and a future. I know that you are a good and gracious King. Gold is formed out of fire - Lord I feel do overwhelmed by the daunting process and inevitable experience of change, but it is exciting and I know that you are and will be with me always. It will be a good thing both personally and professionally - I will grow from this. Please Lord help me, give me your PEACE, STRENGTH AND COMFORT; and remind me when I am feeling burdened to continue to 'cast' my anxiety and fears on you.'
I encourage you to seek the Lord's strength and guidance. He will help you through it! Trust in Him: in His goodness; His kindness; His mercy; His compassion; His unconditional love and HIS PLAN for your life.
I was fearful of big change. Then I prayed, with tears streaming down my face - 'Lord I know that you have plans for my life - you tell me so in Jeremiah 29 v 11 - plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give hope and a future. I know that you are a good and gracious King. Gold is formed out of fire - Lord I feel do overwhelmed by the daunting process and inevitable experience of change, but it is exciting and I know that you are and will be with me always. It will be a good thing both personally and professionally - I will grow from this. Please Lord help me, give me your PEACE, STRENGTH AND COMFORT; and remind me when I am feeling burdened to continue to 'cast' my anxiety and fears on you.'
I encourage you to seek the Lord's strength and guidance. He will help you through it! Trust in Him: in His goodness; His kindness; His mercy; His compassion; His unconditional love and HIS PLAN for your life.
When
God closes one door, He opens another—but you must be willing to walk through
it.
Concept idea and basis for text taken from Word For Today Australia. Emphasis is mine.
