Tag: Worry

Facing The Wall – A Pondering On Problems

“If you think of a problem as being like a medieval walled city, then a lot of people will attack it head on, like a battering ram.  They will storm the gates and try to smash through the defenses with sheer intellectual power and brilliance.  I just camp outside the city.  I wait.  And I think.  Until one day – maybe after I’ve turned to a completely different problem – the drawbridge comes down and the defenders say, “We surrender.” The answer to the problem comes all at once.”  -Arthur McKinsey

We all face the wall from time to time.
No, not like a child being placed in “time-out”, but like the insurmountable walls of our problems and stresses.  The kind of wall that seem to effortlessly and ominously climb into the sky and cause us to panic at the sheer magnitude of our problems.
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You know the old saying, “making a mountain out of a mole hill” – this is the mountain becoming a super mountain.  This is the small speed bump in the road of life becoming a sink-hole.  Sometimes we can do nothing but watch the city burn as we attempt to blow on the flames.  I don’t wish to paint a dark gloomy picture today for you, but I would be lying if I said walls of this magnitude never come our way.   They do.  These types of problems will come knocking on our doors.  They will just show up sometimes.  Other times they have been cresting on the horizon for a while…perhaps we just ignored the warning signs.

wall2Are you facing the wall today?
Does it seem  insurmountable?
Do you feel heavy with burdens and heart sick with these problems you are attempting to carry?

I won’t sugar coat it for you today.
There isn’t some magical pray for you to recite and *poof* all of your problems will fade away, but I would like to offer you some perspective on your walls.

The Truth: 
wallsWe all face walls.
We all endure heartache, stress, hardships…and sometimes more hardships.  Life isn’t easy…this we know all too well.
BUT – We aren’t alone.
We should all know that each of us carries difficulties, we carry stress, we face walls together.

Jesus says this still to us today –
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” -Matthew 6:25-27

handAnother Truth: 
God will show up for us!
He will be there when we call.
Sometimes He provides a means to overcome these walls.
Sometimes He provides us the endurance to wait it out.
All of the time – WE AREN’T ALONE!

“Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.” -Psalm 55:22

Waiting is the hardest part…but, we can either hem and haw about it or find the resolve to be patient.  Many times I have opted to hem and haw – (gripe and complain) about my situation instead of waiting patiently.  Did it help?  No.  Was it the best use of my time?  Absolutely not.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” -Psalm 27:14

I don’t know what wall you’re facing today.
It might be a small fence, or it could be a fortified city.
Either way, you will survive this!
You matter to God!
This life we live has it trials and troubles…but I believe in the One who overcame the world…do you?

Something more to ponder today.
To God be the glory!

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The Sentinel (Poem)

His mother,

Like a sentinel

Watches over him

Catching each breath

With her eyes

Never growing weary

of seeing him sleep…

each inflation of the lungs

and exhaling only to repeat again-

a gift, a treasured hope!

With wings unfurled,

alabaster gleaming

In the soft moonlit room,

So that while the darkness

creeps and leans in

with its shadows

she knows how to pull

him in and hold him close

again.

There will be no rest

this night as the sentinel

watches, waits, anticipates

never closing her eyes

for but a second,

lending all of her strength

to the dreaming toddler

at her side.

Such love.

An example, a reflected

beauty from the heavens…

As if God himself were there

Holding fast to the night,

holding shadows and its

Darkness away…

A sentinel, a rock

a safe harbor for those

seeking refuge in the darkness. 

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Here comes the pitch…

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you”

Psalm 55:22

 

I always get this image in my mind when I think of this passage of some guy throwing this big heap of cares in the general direction of Jesus like a pitcher would a ball to home plate.  Yet when I pause and truly consider the implications of such a passage however, I quickly realize that this passage is about my cares, my concerns, my frustrations.  Everyone who reads this passage ought to find some peace of mind in the knowledge that this verse is for us! 

 

Do you have cares?  Concerns?  I know I do, and what I am reminded of is that I don’t have to carry these concerns and troubles alone.  I am reminded of the promise at the end of this verse, not only do we find peace of mind in that we can cast our worries, concerns and cares onto Him, but the verse promises that He will sustain us through it all!  The word sustain is an interesting word to me it means to support, to keep something in position and also to nourish.  With so many descriptive definitions of this one solitary word I can begin to find more comfort in what it is that He will do for me when I relinquish control of my cares and concerns. 

 

He will hold me steadfast, support me and also nourish my feeble strength…now that’s a promise worth checking out today!  I’m at the pitcher’s mound…here goes.

 

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See you on December 22nd?

Well some of you might be reading this from a bunker today…ok probably not. Chances are you’re still working, attending school, or whatever you’re doing in your ordinary day. Isn’t it interesting how a calendar created by a long dead civilization has caused so much panic in our world? It probably hasn’t impacted your small corner of the world, but it’s impacted others – just look at the news today to confirm that! But the fact of the matter still remains that most people get a little concerned in the face of complete and total annihilation. I suppose it makes sense, but to me it just seems like needless panic about something none of us has any control over…so why get bent out of shape about it?

Matthew 6:25-34 says; “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

These were the words of Jesus, and if he had something to say about worry then I think everyone should pay attention. No matter if it is the impending “end of the world”, or that bill that you’re not sure how is going to get paid. Stop adding worry to your life. Of course Jesus was speaking to the people of His day, the living “worry” was different than it is today but it is still applicable to us here at “doomsday”.

In the old hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus”, there’s a part in the song that say; “Take it to the Lord in Prayer”. Perhaps that’s what you need to do today if there is worry in your life, whether it’s big or small. Take it to Him in prayer, and allow that peace that passes all understanding to break through your worry…and it will.

Enjoy your day…and we’ll see you on December 22nd…right? 😉

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