Stressing Less..At Least Today
I began an online bible study today over at Melissa Taylor, Real Hope for Real Life using the book by Tracie Miles called Stressed-Less Living. The folks that are participating are encouraged to leave comments so that we can uplift each other, reap from what others are sharing and for me, realizing I'm not the only control freak out there.
The comments are beginning to pour into the first day of study. As I read through them, I realize that I am in the same boat as many of the women on this study. I try to take control over my own life when God doesn't seem to move fast enough for me. Many of these women are saying the same thing, but in different tones. Overall, we all want to control our own circumstances.
We, as women, were created as natural caregivers. The world has thrown us into roles where we wear multiple hats. We care for our children, our husbands as God created us to do, but we also care about what others think of us in all the other roles we've taken on. Breadwinner, social network guru, leaders in our churches and/or social circles. To top it off, we've all succumbed to what the world defines as the perfect woman and to be honest, we just can't do it all. Yet we continue to try.
I recently listened to God (an amazing feat for me lately) and made some major changes in my life. The goal was to slow down, stress less and to spend more time with God. Now that I wasn't doing what life forced me into doing to survive, I wanted, no, needed to find out what God had in store for me. After praying, I didn't get an immediate response. That 15 seconds into eternity after saying "Amen" sent me back into control mode. I took the reigns right out of Gods hands and begin driving this team (me) faster. I need to add right here, that was the stupidest thing I've done ina week awhile.
This bible study (Thank you Melissa) came at the right time I need to de-stress and s-l-o-w down. Waiting PATIENTLY on God and His timing makes me envision sitting in a rocking chair with a pleasant smile on my face. Not true! Patiently waiting is defined as "bearing or enduring pain, difficulty, provocation or annoyance with calmness. That changes the picture in my head drastically. That pleasant smile turned to grit and determination to sit still and not rush in to rescue squat!
How do we do that? Well first and foremost, we HAVE to trust God. This is new and uncharted territory for many of us as we all THINK we trust God, but we really don't. If we did, all of our lives would be much different than it is currently. But IF we believe that the bible is true and seriously take it to heart, Psalms 105, vs 4 says "Trust in the Lord and His mighty power." vs 8 says "He will never forget His agreement or His promises, not in thousands of years." We need to learn to really, really believe Gods' promises and let go. Let go of our stress, and our control. Our control is the MAIN reason why we stress. We find it almost impossible to let God control our lives.
In the book Stressed-Less Living, there is a quote by an unknown author. "God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the only person I can, and the wisdom to know that person is me." When we allow God to change us, the "problems" in others and our surroundings seem to diminish. Note I didn't say our problems go away. They are still there, but we learn to deal with them differently.
Ps 55:22 says " Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." Sustain means to strengthen or support physically or mentally, and one word for righteous is genuine. Read that again:
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will strengthen and support you physically and mentally. He will never let the genuine fall.
Lord, help me to put my trust in You! My head knows you can be trusted, but due to my sin of taking control over my life and not letting You, I've managed to walk myself into plenty of hurts and blamed those on you. Forgive me Lord for not letting You be in control of my life, for not trusting You. Teach me to slow down, listen to you and in doing so, I'll learn to trust you the way you want me to.
The comments are beginning to pour into the first day of study. As I read through them, I realize that I am in the same boat as many of the women on this study. I try to take control over my own life when God doesn't seem to move fast enough for me. Many of these women are saying the same thing, but in different tones. Overall, we all want to control our own circumstances.
We, as women, were created as natural caregivers. The world has thrown us into roles where we wear multiple hats. We care for our children, our husbands as God created us to do, but we also care about what others think of us in all the other roles we've taken on. Breadwinner, social network guru, leaders in our churches and/or social circles. To top it off, we've all succumbed to what the world defines as the perfect woman and to be honest, we just can't do it all. Yet we continue to try.
I recently listened to God (an amazing feat for me lately) and made some major changes in my life. The goal was to slow down, stress less and to spend more time with God. Now that I wasn't doing what life forced me into doing to survive, I wanted, no, needed to find out what God had in store for me. After praying, I didn't get an immediate response. That 15 seconds into eternity after saying "Amen" sent me back into control mode. I took the reigns right out of Gods hands and begin driving this team (me) faster. I need to add right here, that was the stupidest thing I've done in
This bible study (Thank you Melissa) came at the right time I need to de-stress and s-l-o-w down. Waiting PATIENTLY on God and His timing makes me envision sitting in a rocking chair with a pleasant smile on my face. Not true! Patiently waiting is defined as "bearing or enduring pain, difficulty, provocation or annoyance with calmness. That changes the picture in my head drastically. That pleasant smile turned to grit and determination to sit still and not rush in to rescue squat!
How do we do that? Well first and foremost, we HAVE to trust God. This is new and uncharted territory for many of us as we all THINK we trust God, but we really don't. If we did, all of our lives would be much different than it is currently. But IF we believe that the bible is true and seriously take it to heart, Psalms 105, vs 4 says "Trust in the Lord and His mighty power." vs 8 says "He will never forget His agreement or His promises, not in thousands of years." We need to learn to really, really believe Gods' promises and let go. Let go of our stress, and our control. Our control is the MAIN reason why we stress. We find it almost impossible to let God control our lives.
In the book Stressed-Less Living, there is a quote by an unknown author. "God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the only person I can, and the wisdom to know that person is me." When we allow God to change us, the "problems" in others and our surroundings seem to diminish. Note I didn't say our problems go away. They are still there, but we learn to deal with them differently.
Ps 55:22 says " Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." Sustain means to strengthen or support physically or mentally, and one word for righteous is genuine. Read that again:
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will strengthen and support you physically and mentally. He will never let the genuine fall.
Lord, help me to put my trust in You! My head knows you can be trusted, but due to my sin of taking control over my life and not letting You, I've managed to walk myself into plenty of hurts and blamed those on you. Forgive me Lord for not letting You be in control of my life, for not trusting You. Teach me to slow down, listen to you and in doing so, I'll learn to trust you the way you want me to.
Dont give up Mindy. Keep fightin the good fight!
ReplyDeleteThank you mindy. So very true.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! Excellent point that waiting isn't pleasant. Sometimes, waiting is active, as we have to sit on our hands to keep ourselves from reaching out and grabbing whatever we are waiting on! Keep on keeping on. He is faithful!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog. Thanks for sharing. Love your prayer. Debbie W. (OBS Group Leader)
ReplyDelete