A Thought For Today....

Hello my beautiful sisters in Christ...and that is what you are! Beautiful and in Christ!

I would like to share a thought that my wonderful adorable cousin gave to me the other day while we were talking. Her father was a pastor and told her this (I am using my words, though, to explain it as I forgot how she said it verbatim)

"Things that you worry about are always worse in your mind than they really would be. When you imagine something bad, you are imagining these things without the grace God will provide. He will provide grace for you when/if things happen. So do not worry about tomorrow."

Sisters, just THINK about that! When you are fretful and anxious, if you have OCD or panic disorder, if you are depressed or dreading something, you are living a situation in your mind that has not happened yet or is not over. The Lord HAS grace for you. He HAS mercy for you. He HAS help for you.

But He is NOT going to insert Himself into our "vain imaginings" of things that have not happened yet...He expects you to turn your anxiety over to Him and watch Him work in your life.

I never could have imagined that a brain tumor in my husband would lead us both to such heights of closeness with each other and with God. If I had thought about TWS having a brain tumor back in March, I would have imagined losing him, him in pain and suffering. I would have imagined that nothing would go right, that I would be miserable and in a state of panic.

I would NOT have imagined what really happened when we found out he did have one: that the Lord's grace would so fully overwhelm me, so incredibly spill over into my life to where I was utterly filled with mercy and grace. I would NEVER have imagined that I would look on the situation and PRAISE THE LORD. In my imaginings, I would imagine that the brain tumor was the biggest part of the picture, not the Lord and His grace and that TWS and I would both be THANKFUL for the experience. Yes, thankful! PRAISING GOD! We never could have imagined the blessings that come out of what seems to be so bad. Healed relationships, strengthened relationships, closeness with Him, peace that passes all understanding.

Now, it is possible that the outcome of things in our lives will be what we do not want to happen. However, I am slowly learning that even those times the Lord REALLY DOES work out for our good. He worked out so many years of fear and misery for my good. He worked out an incredibly painful past for my good. It took over 20 years for the bitter trees of fear, sorrow, pain, to bear sweet fruit, but they did!

Remember: our fears never imagine the Lord's grace. We NEVER think "Oh I could get in an AWFUL car wreck today! What if I wrecked?!? Oh and then what if the Lord had sent angels to guard me and we all walked out without a scratch! Or what if I did break my arm, but the Lord provided me with full grace so that it really did not hurt that badly AND He introduced me to someone who would minister to me in ways I could not imagine! What if He blessed me MIGHTILY today!?!".

So do not borrow trouble. The Lord taught me clearly that to worry about tomorrow is to intentionally put my hand on a hot stove--I might think that it helps me prepare for some other time when I might put my hand on a stove, but really it just gives me unnecessary pain. It keeps me from praising Him because my mind is too full of fear and anxiety (and we do NOT praise Him when we are saying "I praise You, of course, but I do not trust that You can take care of this for me...."). It is worthless, foolish, and a BIG HUGE SIN, just as bad as adultery or stealing because I am tainting the blessings He gives me each day with my fear and I am robbing Him of praise.

Our imaginings are without the grace of the Lord. So put bad thoughts out of your head COMPLETELY and trust Him. His grace WILL be there and will NOT fail because He is faithful. You will see, I promise! The Lord will show Himself MIGHTILY in your life when you stop your vain imagining and start trusting and resting in Him! You will be able to laugh at the days to come, just like the Proverbs 31 woman.