We have to click the ‘refresh’ button on our minds every day, every hour, every minute.
Fear doesn’t only try and break in once a day…
Lately, anxiety comes pounding at the door of my mind every time I hear the news, scroll my social media feeds or step foot into a grocery store.
For this reason,Faith must continuously be increasing through what we are ‘snacking on’ per se.
That sounds a little weird, I agree.
But we are repeatedly fed anxious thoughts.
We can either snack on them until we are full or we can feed ourselves with faith, leaving no room for fear to reside.
My baby girl still drinks bottles, but she is at the transitional stage where we are weaning her from formula into drinking regular milk. We do this by mixing formula and regular milk together.
I noticed lately that I have been pouring too much hot water in for the formula first, and not leaving enough space for the milk. Therefore, it is too hot to give her and she has to wait to drink it. (Hungry babies do not like to wait for their bottles!)
I was a holding an overly hot bottle and had an epiphany.
If I would only pour the milk first, then I wouldn’t continue to have this issue.
Yes, If we would only be FILLED up with a faith that is being refreshedanew, then there would be no room left for fear and anxiety to settle into our minds.
Be on guard about what you are allowing yourself to hear and dwell on.
Take every thought captivate. Set your mind on the things above. Turn off the news, open the word of God. Hide it in your heart so it is what flows out when you need it. Write it on your arm or in your journal, write it on your mirror, or your letter board.
Do whatever it takes to hear and continue hearing words that bring life and peace.
There’s character in the weathering of the door, it tells a story of its own. Its why were drawn to these things, they’re real, like us.
I decided that this year, I am going to get acquainted with my area and explore the surrounding cities more. So, my husband, Brady and I hopped in the car after church this last Sunday and went on a little adventure. We ended up at the richly Greek cultured city of Tarpon Springs.
In the past, I wouldn’t have seen it, but I was intentionally looking for something that spoke to me.
When we drove by, I knew that it was what I was looking for. It was an abandoned building that was falling apart, but it possessed an immense amount of character.
You begin to see things differently when you choose to focus.
I gasped, “How beautiful is this door?” There’s something about the authenticity of it that gripped my gaze.
I saw it, tattered and aged, and declared that it was a work of art.
Yet, we deem ourselves broken and bruised because of our past. We hide our shame, we bury our hurts and try to cover them up. We make our schedules busier, try to enhance our appearances, attempt to be the perfect wife, mom, friend and the list goes on. Instead of making us feel happier, its crippling us. We might look like we have it all together, but the loneliness from the aching of our hearts is intensifying.
Have you ever faced the deepest hurts of your soul? Have you chosen to forgive those who have cut you to the core of your being? Have you truly forgiven yourself for mistakes that you have made? Have you come to peace with God for the losses in your life that you might never understand?
Until you have done this, mustered up the courage to face the past and conquer it with those words of forgiveness, you cannot heal. You cannot move forward. They will haunt you, never allowing you to be the person that God created you to be.
You were created to be free, full of joy and a light to the world.
I had to do it too.
In the past, I sat shaking, with a clenched jaw, hands to my face and a dry throat, I barely breathed out the words, “ I forgive them ”.
It was the moment that I opened the door to my healing.
I didn’t have to say it to anyones face, but God heard me and my heart felt it. I surely didn’t want to say it, but I knew it was what I needed to do. I had a choice: to allow bitterness to set in and overtake my life, or to try and find healing in the hurting.
And I will be the first to tell you, that complete healing can be a journey.
I am that old door: I have known the weathering of seasons, I have faced the rains that tear away at the soul. I had locked myself shut for years, hiding, trying desperately to be strong for myself, when I was honestly terrified of letting anyone in.
But there was day that the sun shone, the lock was turned and I was ready to open myself back up. I finally felt like myself coming alive again. I saw the door beneath, the core of who I was and it was more beautiful that I had remembered.
You, my dear, are also unbelievably beautiful.
Underneath all of the layers of hurt, depression, anxiety, self-hate, and disappointment or whatever it is that you are dealing with, there is a beautiful you that is waiting for wholeness. Draw near to the Father who desires you.
He says, “There is nothing too broken for me to fix!”
The lies tell us that it’s not true, but indeed it is. Cherish these words, it is your time to find healing under his wings.
He has made you beautiful. Its time to rise, to shine, to be filled with joy once again.
“In the shadow of your wing, I will sing for joy.” – Psalm 63:7
There can be beauty where there was brokenness. He turns our darkest hours into monuments of his goodness; Places we can look back and say, He was faithful. He is always faithful.
I urge you to write this down and put it somewhere that you can see it everyday.
“There’s nothing too broken for Him to fix.”
Let it begin to change your perspective and move you closer to living in the fullness of joy, ready to shine out in praise for what He has done in your life.
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”– Psalm 30:11-12
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built.
Jeremiah 31:3-4
If you are in a season of brokenness, pray this prayer. Let it be the raw beginning of your healing process. Let the Lord begin to build you again.
Dear Lord, thank you for being a God of restoration.
You are a Father who draws us to yourself, a perfect God who is slow to anger and abounding in love. (Psalm 103:8)
I live in a very broken world, full of real hurts and seasons of loneliness.
Lord, as I surrender my brokenness to you, would you meet me where I am and clothe me with your affections.
It is in your Perfect love that all fear is cast out. (1 John 4:18)
You declare, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah. 31:3)
This is not a love that must be earned. I do not have to be “good enough” for you to bestow your love and acceptance upon me. You love me because I am yours. You love me because I am apart of you, crafted in your image. You call me beloved child. You are a father to the fatherless, a savior to the sinner, a comforter to the brokenhearted, you are a lover to the unloved, and you are hope to the hopeless.
You are the source of all restoration, the only hope for humanity.
Daddy, I surrender to you humbly, yet boldly.Deliver me from my fears; heal my deep wounds, restore my joy, cover me in your peace, and be exactly what I need.
You are just that, the only one I need.
Here is my brokenness. I place it at your feet, oh Lord. It is messy, but honest.
Thank you for your perfect, healing, cleansing love; your everlasting love.
“Now is not the time to draw back in fear. It is a time when we must rise up and flourish in love.” – Lisa Bevere (Girls with Swords)
Deliver me from my fears; heal my deep wounds, restore my joy, cover me in your peace, and be exactly what I need.