This morning I woke up wondering, “What was my brain doing during the night?” Perhaps you’ve experienced this…
My body hasn’t even realized I’m awake, and my mind and heart are flooded with worries and anxieties: projects that need to be completed, business challenges, deep heartaches of family and friends, Haiti, the homeless, and the list continues.
My heart is heavy, there’s tension in my muscles, and I am very overwhelmed.
What was my mind doing the last six hours that brings this feeling of hopelessness before I even get out of bed?
My reaction is instinctive: try and solve the problems and stay in this land of worry until I can fix them.
Yea, like that helps.
I’m learning to change my reaction and behaviors when these thoughts try and steal my peace and joy. And I’ve discovered there’s only one place that will set a new course for my day: the arms of my Heavenly Father. And it’s in his arms that I place my Bible on my lap and search for the promises that will change my thinking.
Two things I am reminded of:
1) God cares about my worries. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29 NIV).
2) God gives me hope. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:21-24 RSV).
I choose to believe those promises and in doing so, my thinking begins to change. I recognize that I can’t solve those problems by worrying about them, and that God is still in control. God is a merciful, gracious, loving Heavenly Father.
I think this is part of learning to live with purpose. Choosing what I think about. Choosing my response. And recognizing—always—that God is God. His promises never fail. He is faithful.
What would I do if I were ten times bolder (my theme for 2010)? I would get into God’s lap much faster.
