How to Calm Your Anxiety

How Not to Worry

Megan Breedlove March 7, 2016 No Comments

worried woman This past Friday night, Lindsey and I were lounging on the couch together, just hanging out. She, of course, wanted to stay up late. But much as I wanted to continue our time together, I knew it would be better for her to get plenty of sleep.

“You’re going to have to get up early tomorrow,” I said.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s why I’m tired.”

“You’re tired in advance?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said again. “It happens.”

Indeed, it does. I, too, have had times where I thought ahead to something that was coming up and got tired just thinking about it. You’ve probably had those times, too.

It’s understandable. The only thing is, we have to be careful about letting tomorrow affect today too much.

Apparently you and I aren’t the first ones ever to do this, because two thousand years ago, Jesus cautioned listeners now to let tomorrow mess up today. “Do not worry about tomorrow,” He said, “for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34, NIV).

Why would Jesus tell us not to do something that comes so naturally for us? First, worrying won’t change anything. In the verses just before the one cited above, Jesus illustrates this fact in several ways: We can’t add to our height. We can’t add a day to our lives. We just. Can’t. Do. It.

Not only does worry accomplish nothing, Jesus says, but second, we know that everything we need will be provided. All we need to do, He says, is focus on God and His priorities, and God will take care of the rest. It doesn’t make sense to worry when we know that we’re going to be taken care of.

Third, worrying destroys our peace. It churns us up inside. It’s useless (that was the first reason), it’s pointless (that was the second), and, third, it’s destructive. God doesn’t want us to harm ourselves like that.

So how do we stop worrying (which is often much easier said than done)?

First, let’s realize that Jesus wasn’t saying to stop thinking about tomorrow; He was saying we should stop worrying about it (huge difference). Thinking about tomorrow is okay; worrying isn’t.

Second, we have to admit that worrying is a choice. It’s not required. Even when we’re facing something potentially difficult, we have a choice as to the perspective we choose to take. We can choose not to let thoughts of what might happen tomorrow ruin what is happening today.

When we find ourselves tempted to worry about the possibilities, let’s choose instead to focus on the fact that today, it isn’t happening. Today, there are things to rejoice in and enjoy. There is life to be lived.

Yes, what happens tomorrow might be awful. But it might not. If it is, then God will meet us there, with His incredible love, comfort, and wisdom. We will be cared for. We will survive.

If it’s not…well, then there was no point in ever worrying about it in the first place.

Matthew 6:34—Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV)

When Life Attacks

Megan Breedlove March 23, 2015 No Comments

angry dog I love to run for exercise. Recently, my youngest daughter Jessica decided to start running with me. Currently, she is working toward running enough times to earn a pair of good running shoes and some running apparel.

There is a particular loop in my neighborhood that I often run: two blocks down, one block over, two blocks back up, and one block back to where I started. In the middle of that last block, there’s an alley. And as we passed the alley on this particular day, a dun-colored dog ran out of the alleyway toward us.

We had seen this dog act aggressively toward us on a previous run, and we had simply turned around and run the other way. But this time, the dog was having none of that. He approached us aggressively, cutting off our opportunity to turn and go back the way we had come.

“Mommy! There’s that dog again!” Jessica called out (I was slightly ahead of her).

“Don’t look at it,” I instructed in a calm voice. “Just run smoothly, and look straight ahead.”

“Mommy!”

I turned and stopped. Jessica was standing frozen in fear, staring directly at the dog—who, fortunately, had stopped several yards from her. “Jessica,” I said, in the same ultra-calm voice, “keep running. Don’t look at the dog. I’ll protect you.”

Jessica tried to obey, but as she ran on and I moved in between her and the dog, the dog began to bark and advance toward us. Again, Jessica stopped and looked right at it.

“Jessica,” I said firmly but still calmly, “keep going. I will protect you. You have to keep going.”

For some reason, the dog let us go. It still barked after us, but it didn’t advance. Until we rounded the corner toward our house, that is. “Mommy, it’s following us!” Jessica cried out.

By this point, we were close enough to home that I could tell her, “Jessica, run up to the porch.” She obeyed, and the dog left off its loping pursuit and trotted away to find something else to do. We were safe.

In case you’re wondering, I reported the dog to Animal Control, and a few days later, they were able to find the dog loose again and pick it up. But that’s not the point of the story.

The point is this: what happened with me, Jessica, and the dog has important spiritual parallels, and it all comes back to the reason I told Jessica to keep going and not look at the dog.

Why did I do that?

You may be aware that when you encounter an aggressive dog, one of the worst things you can do is make eye contact with it and stare at it. Often, that only provokes the dog and makes things worse for you. So I told Jessica not to look at the dog so that the situation wouldn’t get worse.

And I told her to keep going because I needed to know exactly where she was so that I could more easily position myself between her and the dog, as well as because I needed her to get some distance from him.

I could protect her better if she did what I asked.

When we face attacks in this life, our natural, human inclination is to freeze in fear and focus on the terrible thing that happened (or is threatening to happen). But Jesus tells us to do exactly the opposite. He tells us to keep going and to focus on something else (God). All too often, we assume that He’s trying to minimize or invalidate our fear, or maybe just that He has a thing for being obeyed and doesn’t really care what’s happening to us.

The reality is that Jesus knows exactly how to help us deal with our distress, and that’s why He tells us not to focus on it. Focusing on it only makes things worse for us. He’s not telling us to deny it; He’s always all about truth and accuracy. He’s simply telling us that there’s something better to focus on—something that will help us out a whole lot more than making the attack the primary focal point of our attention.

That’s why He tells us to keep going—because He knows that if we don’t, we’ll stay stuck, and things will never get any better. Just as I wanted Jessica to run towards home, so He wants us to run toward our home—heaven—where all the fear and pain will be behind us.

As Jessica ran, she was still afraid. I knew she would be. I wasn’t suggesting that she not deal with her fear. I was telling her something she needed to do despite her fear. At first, she didn’t see how she could obey, and she remained frozen. But when she began to obey, then she saw that my instructions were, indeed, to her benefit.

Likewise, Jesus only tells us to do things that will help us, not hurt us. Oh, if only we believed that, we would be ready—eager, even—to do whatever He might ask.

But there’s one more thing we need to consider. And this is perhaps the most precious thing of all.

Remember where I was when I was telling Jessica to keep going, and not to look?

Between her and the dog.

Oh, precious mom, hear me. Better yet, hear the heart of God for you. When trials come—when you’re attacked—it may feel like Jesus has left you alone to deal with them. But He hasn’t.

He’s standing between you and the dog.

Keep going, mom. Fix your eyes on God, and keep going. Let Jesus stand between you and the dog, and head for home.

James 1:12—Blessed is the [mom] who perseveres under trial, because when [she] has stood the test, [she] will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Times of Refreshing

Megan Breedlove December 22, 2014 No Comments

Sometimes, opportunities for relaxation pop up at the most unexpected times.

Take, for example, a recent Sunday morning. Our church has two morning services, of which we attend the second (there’s no way in the world we could get everybody up and to church by 8:00). On the first Sunday of every month, after the second service, there is either a light lunch or some finger foods served so parishioners can enjoy food and fellowship.

Our family was sitting together at one particular table. I don’t remember whom I was talking to, but I wasn’t looking in Jessica’s direction. Not, that is, until I heard her say, “Mommy, look at me!”

I looked, and Jessica was leaning back in her chair, a blissful smile on her face. A cucumber slice rested on each closed eyelid.

Clearly, Jessica had been visiting the vegetable tray. Equally obviously, she somehow knew what goes on at luxury spas. (Must be all the times I’ve gone to one, come home, and told her about it. Yeah, right….)

I laughed, and then I took her picture. I thought it was adorable. Maybe it wasn’t the kind of refreshment our church had in mind to provide (and it probably wasn’t what the kitchen staff thought people would do with the cucumber slices, either), but it was refreshing indeed.

You know, God promises us that He will grant us times of refreshing. Maybe sometimes these will involve actual spas, warm bubble baths, or some other kind of physical relaxation. Maybe we’ll get to go to lunch with a friend, or even—gasp!—go to the grocery store without children in tow!

I don’t know exactly what our times of refreshment will look like from day to day, but I do know this—there will be opportunities to receive the Lord’s refreshment every single day. I can’t guarantee it will involve cucumbers, but I can guarantee it will involve something even better.

How do I know? Because we have the opportunity to be with God every single day, and being in His presence is the ultimate refreshment—spiritually, emotionally, and even physically.

God is ready and willing—eager, even!—to meet with us any day, all day. The only thing we have to do to be in instant communion with Him is to lift up our hearts and minds toward Him. We can do this any time, anywhere—publicly or privately, planned or spontaneous, visibly or in our hearts only. God doesn’t demand that we spend hours at a time with Him in order to experience the refreshment of His presence. (Good thing, too, because otherwise, very few of us would ever get there.) He can and does begin to refresh our souls instantly, the moment we reach out to Him. Of course, He can also strengthen and refresh us at any moment, whether we’re in conscious communion with Him or not, but I believe that there is a special refreshment that comes when we seek Him purposely.

Are you stressed out with Christmas preparations? Are you frustrated with your children’s behavior? Are you overwhelmed with, well, life? Then you need refreshment.

Fortunately, it’s as close as He who lives inside your heart.

Acts 3:19—Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Because You’re Here

Megan Breedlove November 26, 2012 2 Comments

A few nights ago, Jessica had a nightmare. She came into our room crying and needing reassurance that no, no one was going to come into her room and take her. I made her a “bed” of quilts on the floor next to my side of the bed, and we told her she could sleep right there next to Mommy.

Jessica lay down on her “bed”, but all was not yet well. She was still scared, and she wasn’t able to settle down and go to sleep. (I would have taken her into my bed, but she is wiggly when she sleeps and usually keeps me awake or wakes me up repeatedly.) We reassured her that she was okay and that everything would be just fine, but it wasn’t enough. Jessica needed more.

“Can you sleep down here with me?” she asked in a small voice.

I thought about it for a second and decided that I was willing to sacrifice my sleep if that was what she needed. “Sure I can,” I said. That way, I figured, at least my husband would still get a good night’s sleep.

As I sat down next to Jessica and began to straighten out the covers over us, she said, “I’ll be able to sleep now because you’re here.” Sure enough, we lay down together, and within a minute or two, she was fast asleep.

I lost some sleep that night, but I gained a precious memory. I also gained some neat insight into exactly what Jesus did for us.

Just as Jessica needed someone down on the floor with her, we human beings needed Someone down here on earth with us. So, knowing our need, Jesus took on human form and came “down here”. But as incredible as that is, that He would be willing to do that, there’s even more to it. You see, His coming makes a huge difference in our daily lives, not just in our eternal destiny.

Remember how once I was down on the floor with her, Jessica said she could sleep, and how she was able to immediately fall asleep and stay comfortably sleeping the rest of the night? It’s like that with us. Jesus’ presence down here with us (now in the form of His Holy Spirit) means that we can feel loved, protected, and secure.

How much of a difference would that make in our daily life if we truly grasped that? Probably more than you might think.

If we just realized how much Jesus loves us, we could stop demanding that others fulfill our need for love. If we understood how powerful Jesus is, we would know that nothing can touch us outside of what He permits and to the extent that He permits. Knowing that we’re completely loved and fully protected, we could then rest easier, not just at night, but all day long. Better yet, all life long. We wouldn’t have to worry about—well, anything. We wouldn’t have to try to use others to get our needs met. We could turn all our concerns over to Someone Who is infinitely more capable than we are of dealing with what needs to be dealt with, and we could be at peace.

So if all this is really available to us, why don’t we take advantage of it?

Because we don’t really understand what Jesus has done for us.

Most of us know that Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our sins, so that we didn’t have to. We understand that when we die, we’ll go to heaven instead of hell. What we don’t really comprehend is how much of a difference His presence with us makes in the meantime.

I didn’t really do anything big for Jessica that night. I was just there. That was all she needed.

Really, that’s all we need, too. To know that Jesus is here and that we can rest in Him. Precious mom, if you didn’t know this before, now you do.

“Jesus, we’re okay now. Because You’re here.”

Matthew 1:23—Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Tremble Not

Megan Breedlove September 17, 2012 No Comments

You know how you hear something over and over, and it never means all that much until WHAM! the same old words you thought you knew reach out and smack you between the eyes?

Such was the case for me last Sunday in church. In the bulletin was listed the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. Oh, good, I thought. I like that one. When it came time to sing the song, I sang along with everyone else. I wasn’t using the hymnal because I know almost all the words. I was kind of singing on autopilot, enjoying the sounds of the congregation’s voices raised together and of the organ music.

Until…WHAM!

The third verse goes like this: “And tho’ this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thro’ us.”

I know what it’s like to have this devil-filled world threaten to undo me. Maybe you do too. So I was excited about this stanza, because it reminds me that I don’t have to fear! Over and over in Scripture, my God has promised that I will triumph!

But then came the next line, the one that was so meaningful to me: “The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him.”

WHAM.

All of a sudden, I could see clearly the ways in which I had indeed been trembling because of the Prince of Darkness, that is, Satan. Oh, I know that Jesus has saved me and will take me to heaven to live with Him one day. I don’t tremble in terms of my eternal destiny. Nor do I tremble in fear that I might not be victorious one day; I know I will be because God has already won the victory.

My trembling looks more like trying to force people to treat me a certain way so that I can feel loved and secure. Satan has used circumstances in my past to wound me to such an extent that sometimes, the thought that something similar might be happening again seems like the worst thing I can imagine at that moment. So when someone acts a certain way toward me, or fails to take action, the pain from those experiences in my life rises up and demands a response. The fact that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will take care of me gets pushed into the background.

The thing is, Satan can’t cause me to tremble unless I allow him to. I don’t have to tremble before him or his plans because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. Yes, certain things happened or failed to happen in the past, but I don’t have to let those things determine how I respond today. And I don’t have to live in fear that anything that might happen in the present can truly harm me, because I have a God who loves me passionately and has promised that He’ll always take care of me.

True, sometimes people do wound me. But being wounded by someone’s verbal remarks (or lack thereof) here on earth not the worst thing that can happen, even when my emotions tell me that it is. The worst thing that can happen is that in those moments I might forget that God has already won the victory over my pain and that I don’t need to tremble anymore. The worst thing would be trembling instead of standing strong and secure in the knowledge that God loves me and won’t let anything destroy me.

As the third verse continues, “His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him.” In other words, one day God is going to put an end to Satan’s ever hurting anyone ever again. You won’t be destroyed by Satan’s schemes. For one thing, Jesus has brought you into relationship with Himself and will never let you go. For another, Satan is already defeated by Jesus’ victory over sin and death. He just doesn’t recognize it yet.

Satan’s doom is sure—not yours. That means you’ve already won the victory.

So don’t tremble before Satan and his schemes any more. Praise God, you don’t have to.

John 10:28—“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

1 Corinthians 15:57—But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:4-5—For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 4:4—Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Just Like I Said

Megan Breedlove September 3, 2012 No Comments

I wrote before about the vacation my family and I took to Austin (our state capital) when my husband had to attend a professional conference. The rest of us went with him, and we all stayed at a nice hotel. My kids still talk about that vacation, especially our youngest, Jessica (she’s 4). Every now and then, she says, “I wish we could attach our house to the hotel and live there forever.”

Her favorite part of being at the hotel was the pool. Even more often than wishing to attach our house to the hotel, Jessica says, “Can we go back to that place where they had the cold pool and the hot pool (a hot tub)?” She absolutely loved the pool, and so did the rest of the kids and I.

We spent several hours on a couple of different occasions playing in the pool and hot tub. For some reason, we were the only people at the pool both times—which was fine by me. It felt sort of like a private pool. I wasn’t always in the water with them, though. Sometimes, I sat on a nearby lounge chair and watched them.

Ever so often, one of the kids would check back in with me. “Mommy, are you watching us?” We are very conscious about pool safety, and I’ve made sure the kids know that they are never to swim unless there is an adult watching them closely.

“Yes, I’m still watching,” I would say. “I’m right here, just like I said I would be.”

Just like I said. As those words left my mouth one time, I could almost hear God speaking them to me. I’m right here. Just like I said I would be.

Just as my kids immediately felt more confident in their play upon realizing that Mommy was watching and would take care of them, I felt more secure upon hearing God’s words. God’s with me. He’s taking care of me right now. I can live confidently as long as God is watching.

Granted, sometimes bad things do happen to Christians. Christians aren’t immune from financial difficulties, sickness, or even death. But neither do Christians need to be afraid of living. We shouldn’t fear attempting new things when God is looking on in approval (and of course, having His approval is key). We shouldn’t be anxious about going out there and having a blast. There’s simply no reason to be afraid.

Mom, do you hold back from truly living because you’re afraid something might go wrong? Do you stay safely on the side of the pool because you’re afraid to venture into the water? Or are you willing to get into the water and have fun?

True, it was possible that one of my children could have mistakenly strayed into the deep end of the pool and needed rescuing. But I would have been there to perform the rescue. Likewise, if something goes wrong in our life, God has had a solution in mind since before the foundation of the world. He doesn’t want us to miss out on living because we’re afraid of what might go wrong. He wants us to remember that if something does go wrong (and eventually, that will happen, because we live in a fallen world), He will take care of it.

But not only that, He wants us to realize that He is not a mere observer on the side of the pool watching us live our lives. He is right there in the water with us. We don’t live life on our own. We live life with God right there, having fun with us when things go right, and ready to hold us up so we don’t drown as He puts His solution into place when things go wrong.

With such a God, why would we not fling ourselves into the pool and live? Why would we miss out on all the fun and everything God has planned for us because of fear? Especially when that fear is unrealistic, because nothing can happen to us that God isn’t prepared to handle?

Jump in, my friend. As long as you’re jumping into His arms, you have nothing to worry about.

Hebrews 13:6—the Lord is my helper and my salvation; I will not fear. What can mortal man [or life, or circumstances] do to me?

Off the Deep End

Megan Breedlove August 2, 2010 No Comments

I remember the city pool I used to frequent when I was a kid. I loved that pool, and I spent many hours there every summer. One of my favorite things to do was jump off the high dive. That diving board was at least a hundred feet up in the air. You had to gather your courage just to climb the ladder and walk out to the end of the diving board. Then, you had to muster up some serious courage in order to take the leap off the end of the board, into the water that waited for you a mile below.

Even though I was a good swimmer, and even though I’d gone off that board a million times, I still felt that shiver of fear when I got ready to jump. So I can understand why my kids, who are still learning to swim, are afraid of jumping off the side of the pool and into their swim instructor’s waiting arms. It’s scary. Sure, the teacher says she’ll catch you, but will she really? Or might you somehow go under water? Like all the way, with even your head under?

As I watched my children’s instructor trying to coax them to jump to her in the water, I thought about how much we moms are sometimes like my children. We fear entering something that might be dangerous. So we stand there, arms outstretched, bouncing a little, but afraid to get our whole body into the jump and leap forward, because we’re afraid we’ll go under. We’re afraid He won’t really be there when we hit the water’s surface. After all, bad things happen sometimes in life, right? Even to good people. So how do we know we can trust God to be there for us when we really need Him?

Or perhaps we’ve been pushed off the edge of the pool by someone’s death or by tragedy, and we’re desperately hoping Someone will be there to catch us and help us keep our head above water. Will God meet us? Or will we drown?

Those are honest, heart-wrenching questions, and they deserve an honest answer. The answer is this: yes, sometimes bad things happen to us. Sometimes, when we leap into the pool, we do go under. But it’s not because God is simply standing by, arms crossed, not even trying to catch us. If that’s what we think, we’re badly mistaken. No, when we jump into the pool, God is standing there with His arms reaching for us, ready to catch us as we begin to fall. And if we go under, He goes under with us, holding us tightly in His arms.

God didn’t promise that we’ll never have trouble, but He did promise to go through everything with us. He also promised that our trials won’t overwhelm us. Yes, sometimes they seem overwhelming, and relief takes forever in coming. Sometimes, it doesn’t come until heaven. But it will come. We’ll shake the water droplets from our hair and wipe them from our eyes, and we’ll realize we’ve made it. God has safely brought us through one more time. And then, I imagine we’ll do what my children always do when I catch them when they jump—we’ll cling tightly to the One who saved us and rest our head on His shoulder. He’ll set us back on dry land, and going under will have become only a memory—a memory, and a testimony to the grace of God in bringing us through.

Isaiah 43:2—When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walkthrough the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

John 16:33—I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Never Sleeps

Megan Breedlove July 26, 2010 No Comments

It was the time of night that all moms look forward to, when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet. The other night, my husband and I had gotten the kids to bed a few minutes before. We’d had just enough time to sigh and begin to relax when we heard Jessica calling, “Lindsey! Lindsey!”

As my husband later related it to me, he went into the girls’ room to see what the matter was. “Lindsey’s not listening to me,” Jessica said.

My husband looked up into Lindsey’s top bunk, where Lindsey lay amidst all her stuffed animals and blankets. She was sacked out. “Jessica, she’s asleep,” Phil said.

“But she’s not listening to me!” Jessica insisted.

“Lindsey can’t hear you,” Phil repeated. “She’s asleep.”

“Oh. Okay,” Jessica said agreeably as what Daddy was saying finally clicked. “Lindsey’s tired.”

Phil settled her back down in bed, covered her up, and left the room. He came and told me about their conversation, and we both had a good laugh. Lindsey hadn’t been ignoring Jessica at all. She’d been asleep.

In fact, that was what Elijah suggested was going on when the prophets of Baal couldn’t elicit the desired response from their god on Mount Carmel. “Oh, Baal, answer us!” they begged.

“Hey,” Elijah said (I’m paraphrasing here), “maybe he’s busy. Or maybe he’s on a business trip. No, wait! I’ve got it. Maybe he’s asleep!”

Obviously, their god wasn’t asleep, because he was no god at all. He wasn’t real. But when it came time for Elijah’s God to respond, God sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices, the altar, and even the water around it. He wasn’t asleep. He was listening to what was going on the whole time.

Aren’t you glad God never sleeps? He never gets tired and has to check out of humanity’s concerns for a little siesta. He’s always listening to the prayers of His beloved children and watching what goes on with us. Unlike Jessica, we’ll never cry out for His attention, only to find out later that He didn’t hear us because He was sleeping.

There may be times when we cry out repeatedly, and it seems like God doesn’t respond. But it’s not because He’s sleeping. He’s not unaware of what goes on in our lives, and He’s not unconcerned. Just because we don’t get the response we want, when we want it, doesn’t mean He’s oblivious.

Over and over in the Bible, we’re told that God always watches over us and never grows weary. To me, that’s amazing. I try to be a vigilant mom, paying careful attention to my children and taking good care of them, but I can’t even approach God’s level of watchful care—especially considering that I need sleep, and He doesn’t.

He’s always awake and always attentive. He’s always concerned about everything we do, and everything that happens to us. Even while we sleep, He remains awake to watch over us and all His beloved children. So before we go to bed tonight, let’s take a minute to stop and thank God for staying awake so that we can go to sleep—for handling things for us so that we can check out for some rest when we need to. What an amazing God we have!

Psalm 121:4—Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Feeling Brave

Megan Breedlove October 26, 2009 No Comments

My six-year-old, Ellie, is learning to ride her bike. She likes to practice any chance she gets. At this point, she uses training wheels, and she often prefers when I walk nearby. Recently, she has pedaled away on her own a few times, but she still likes it better when I can be right there.

One time, she wanted me to take her bike riding, and I was unable to. So she asked Daddy. Daddy agreed, and Ellie gave him some instructions. “I still need your help, though,” she said. “So walk by me, and put your hand on my back, just like Mommy does. Just a little; not too much. When Mommy does that, it helps me feel brave.”

I knew that when I placed my hand on her back, at about shoulder-blade level, she rode better and faster. But I had never thought about it in terms of my touch giving her courage.

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of what our Father does for us?

God knows that sometimes, we’re uncertain. Sometimes, we’re not all that brave. Other times, we’re just plain scared. So He places His hand at our back as we try to figure out how to balance. His touch is light enough so we can stretch our wings a little, but heavy enough to remind us He’s there. And He walks along beside us as we head into the unknown.

I wonder what you and I would have the confidence to attempt if we could truly grasp the fact that God’s hand is keeping us from falling.

Granted, there are times bad things do happen to us, which God chooses not to prevent. But I am describing here what happens when God calls us to do something. In other words, He asks us to learn to ride.

God never calls us to something we’re unable to do, then refuses to help us learn to do it. He doesn’t set us up to fail. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to be able to perform the work He has for us. So He does everything in His incredible power to fit us for fulfilling our calling.

You might be learning how to study your Bible. Or maybe you’re trying to reach out to people more often. Maybe you’re preparing for a particular avenue of ministry, or going back to school. For sure, you’re trying to be the best mom you can be.

Friend, you don’t make the attempt alone. God is with you, and He’s even closer than right beside you. If you are His child, His spirit is within you. He will see you through this process you’ve started, for as long as it takes.

I wonder what kind of confidence it would give us if we only realized that God is right there throughout our attempts.

We could start forward in boldness, knowing that God will catch us if we begin to fall. After all, can we not trust Him to enable us to successfully perform that which He’s called us to do? You see, I know how to protect Ellie on her bike, and any loving thing I can do is only an imperfect shadow of what our Heavenly Father can do for us.

Every time Ellie and I go outside for her to practice bike riding, she chooses to place her trust in me. Why? Because she knows I have been trustworthy in the past, and she has confidence in my ability to keep her safe.

God is infinitely more trustworthy than even the best parent in the world, and He is certainly more able. Should we then not have far greater confidence in our Father than Ellie has in me?

Ellie knows she can’t ride a bike on her own. You and I know that we can’t fulfill what God has asked us to do on our own. But just as Ellie can ride when she has my help, we can accomplish anything God has called us to do when we have His enabling power—which is always.

Is there some area in your life where you’re still standing up on the porch, looking at the bike, afraid to get on and try? Have you forgotten that with your Father’s help, you can ride?

Come down off the porch. Your Father is waiting to help you.

Philippians 4:13—I am strong in all things through the one empowering me.

Safety

Megan Breedlove August 17, 2009 No Comments

My youngest, Jessica, is fascinated with how things work and what she can make them do. She loves watching us use a particular object, then trying to do the same thing with it herself. She also likes to figure things out on her own.

A couple months ago, I was sitting at the computer, and Jessica was crouched on the floor nearby playing with a toy. She wasn’t really familiar with it, and she was exploring it. After whacking on it in various ways for awhile, she suddenly hit the wrong button, and the toy started playing really loud music.

Immediately, she straightened up and came running the few feet to me, wanting up in my lap. I picked her up, and she looked back at the toy, giving it a wary glance.

I reassured her that everything was okay, and she soon got down and began playing with the toy again. It wasn’t frightening anymore, because she knew what to expect.

But when she was scared, she did exactly the best thing, in terms of what would produce the most immediate, best comfort: she ran to her mommy. Her first instinct was to seek comfort from me.

Do our instincts work the same way? When we are frightened, is our first reaction to run to the arms of our heavenly Father?

Often, it isn’t. We call a friend, or we read a book about fear, or we try some other technique we learned somewhere to take our mind off our emotions. There’s nothing wrong with doing any of those things, but why are they our first reaction? Why don’t we seek God first?

I’ve caught myself many times remembering to seek God in a particular matter only after I’ve sought counsel from others. Sometimes, it feels like I simply must talk to someone else about whatever happened, and I pick up the phone. Why do I think any human being can give me better help than God can?

Sometimes, God does touch us through others. I can think of times when God has ministered to me through someone else’s words, and I’m sure you can think of times when you’ve been ministered to in this way, too. But I don’t want God to be an afterthought. I want Him to be my First thought.

I want to seek Him as instinctively as Jessica sought me when she was scared. She didn’t take time to call a friend or read a book, and it wasn’t just because she doesn’t know how to read or use the phone. It was simply because when she was scared, she wanted Mommy. I want my seeking God when I’m troubled to be equally instinctive.

You see, whether we realize it or not, we need Him as desperately as Jessica needed me that moment. Not just when we’re scared, but every moment of every day. I want seeking Him to be as natural for me as breathing is. I want it to be both my first thought and my last, and to color every thought in between.

I know you do, too.

Let’s both do something this week. Let’s bow before God and confess our utter insufficiency in and of ourselves, and His complete sufficiency. Let’s tell Him that we want Him to be our “best thought, by day or by night”—that we want to live in an attitude of seeking Him. Then, let’s ask Him so to change and order our hearts and minds that we seek Him as naturally as we seek our next breath.

Beloved, nothing could make more of a difference in our lives, or be more worthwhile. Because the incredible thing is, when we seek Him, He has promised that we will find Him. He will reveal Himself to us. I guarantee that no phone call, no book, could ever satisfy you more.

Psalm 73:28—But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

How to Calm Your Anxiety

How Not to Worry

When Life Attacks

Times of Refreshing

Because You’re Here

Tremble Not

Just Like I Said

Off the Deep End

Never Sleeps

Feeling Brave

Safety

You Missed

Priorities

I Wouldn’t Do That

Little Things

8 Seconds