Daily Nuggets of Grace Part 6 Calm!

Scriptures: Matthew 6:25-34, James 1:5-8, Mark 4:18-19, 1 Peter 5:6-8

Anxiety Robs Us

Google “news on anxiety,” and you’ll find various articles. 

·Why some people experience anxiety more intensely than others. 

·Financial anxiety beginning as young as 14 years. 

·Anxiety is the number one issue among workers. 

·Anxiety as a daughter navigates her first school year. 

Conversation about anxiety is as typical as coffee for breakfast. 

People are quick to talk about their anxiety. Anxiety’s not life-giving, rather – speaking from personal experience – it’s destructive. 

Anxiety gives an illusion of doing something when things are out of control. But as Jesus points out, who can add a single hour to their life by being anxious? The anxiety-prone are always seeking – something to eat, something to drink, or something to wear. They are seeking something that will give comfort.In the meantime, they’re missing out on real living! 

Anxiety robs us of the abundant life Jesus offered. 

The word “anxious” means double-minded or having a divided mind. God tells us there’s a correlation between being double-minded and unstable in all your ways. Overcoming that instability is a great reason to seek God’s answers to anxiety. 

The Gospel of Mark tells us that worries of this world choke out the Word and lead to an unfruitful life. 

First Peter 5 explains that some activity of our spiritual enemy is linked to anxiety. We’re encouraged to cast our anxiety on God because the devil is like a ravenous lion who’s out to make us his next prey. 

Anxiety keeps us from living in God’s great adventure and confines us to a small story revolving around our anxious thoughts. 

So, what’s a believer to do in an anxiety-ridden age? Today’s passages frame our worries with the theme of God’s care for us. Matthew points us to God’s care for His creation and, thus, His care for you. He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the field’s lilies.You’re of much greater value than these. You can cast your cares on Him because He cares for you! 

That is the rub for many of us. Do I believe He cares even in the most challenging times? And that’s what we’ll be working on together through this week. 

Reflect and Respond 

How has anxiety robbed you of the abundant life Jesus offers? 

Pray

I believe, Lord. Help me this week in my unbelief about your care. In the mighty name of Jesus help me to throw my anxiety to You, knowing that You care for me.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-10

The Happy Surrender

Some years ago, my husband and I had the meal of a lifetime at an African restaurant in Nairobi. As we entered the restaurant, the sights and tantalizing smells of food cooking over coals in an open barbeque pit greeted us. Once we were seated, the entrees began to be served with various savory sauces. One culinary delight after another continued until someone raised the white flag. It was the happy surrender of fullness and contentment. 

In 1 Peter 5:1-10, Peter calls for a more complex surrender. This surrender is needed as we live with imperfect people in an imperfect world. It’s needed as we do life in the imperfect organism called the church. It’s needed because suffering is involved in our journey. 

The suffering we face in this world often causes anxiety. We don’t know what will happen next. We don’t know what the outcome will be. We don’t know what others will say and do. These unknowns often work together to make us anxious. 

Surrendering to God delivers us from this anxiety. 

Serving God does not exclude us from this suffering. Whether we are shepherds of God’s flock or have accepted the all-encompassing command to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another, we can face hardship and feel anxiety. Peter tells us that suffering is not something that we alone experience; it’s experienced by believers worldwide as we live out our calling as lights in a world that loves darkness. 

But with the command to humble ourselves comes the promises. They are ours to feast on! Faithful shepherds who suffer will receive an unfading crown of glory. When we humble ourselves, God gives grace. He will lift us up at just the right time. 

Unresolved anxiety can lead us into dark, hopeless places, opening the door for the enemy to devour. We can cast the stress that comes from suffering on Jesus because of His character; He cares for us. 

There is a continual feast of God’s promises for the humble believer who feels anxious. 

Suffering lasts for a little while in God’s eternal plan! But when we surrender ourselves to God’s purposes, true and lasting satisfaction comes from God’s amazing grace as He perfects, confirms, and strengthens us. 

Much more satisfying than a meal at a great restaurant, lasting satisfaction comes from receiving God’s grace in suffering. 

Reflect and Respond

As you live in the church and the world, where is God calling you to surrender to Him in suffering? 

Pray

Lord Jesus, it is only by your grace that I can choose to submit to You in suffering. Your grace is here with me now. By faith, I choose the happy surrender of walking in Your grace!

Scriptures: 1 Peter 5:6, Joshua 4:23-24, Exodus 3:1-21

Mighty Hand of God

What comes to your mind as you read the command to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God? Those words “mighty hand of God” can spark all sorts of images. 

Is the mighty hand of God terrifying, ready to punish me if I do wrong? Is the mighty hand of God one that would see me as a small ant or fly, able to swat or squish me? Is it the mighty hand that will rescue you and provide heroically? 

What is the mighty hand of God as revealed in His Word? 

God sees the affliction and suffering of His children and does something about it with His mighty hand. In Exodus, God saw the ancient Egyptians oppressing His chosen people. He knew they were taskmasters who demanded more of those under them though offering fewer resources to fulfill the demands. Their ruthless, united demand was “more bricks with less straw.” They made the lives of God’s people bitter. 

God heard the cries of His people. They were the people of the promise given to Abraham. Because of God’s character, which never changes, He did something about their suffering. God protected and delivered His own. He brought them out from the place of oppression and led them through what would have swallowed them alive: the mighty Red Sea. And He led them to the place of His provision. This was all through His mighty hand so that they might be in awe of God forever. 

The great escape began with God’s people humbling themselves and submitting to God’s ways by putting the blood of an innocent lamb on their doorposts, foreshadowing Jesus. Our deliverance starts the same way. Will you trust and humble yourself before the spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ, who loved you and gave His life for you? 

When you entrust yourself to the One who loved you enough to die for you, then you can humble yourself daily under His mighty hand. 

Reflect and Respond

What seems too heavy a load for you to carry today? What are you facing that feels ready to swallow you? 

Pray

Loving Father, You made the ultimate way for me by generously giving Your Son so that I can be Your child. I trust you and humble myself under Your mighty hand in (mention to God the area you need to humble yourself under His mighty hand.)

Scriptures: Romans 8:28-29, 2 Peter 1:1-8

God’s Goals or Mine?

We had a goal, an end game. My husband and I would take an early retirement, and he would fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a farmer. A detailed plan came together with the know-how from his youth as a farm kid, his experience in the agricultural industry, and the counsel of other farmers. 

We would live in a small nearby college town with plenty of opportunities to enjoy various sports and concerts. We met with a pastor there and were excited about our new future. Goodbye city life! We were moving full steam ahead until the price of crops grown in that area took a nosedive, and we couldn’t realistically afford the expensive equipment needed to begin operations. 

Our dream was gone like the fine mist of morning rain, but God’s plans for us were not. It felt under our control, but it was not. Circumstances and people thwarted our goal. 

How’s it going with your goals? You may have had a career goal thwarted or a desired relationship that ended. Perhaps your goal for a happy, harmonious family has seemingly gone up in smoke. 

But amid disappointment, you can still realize God’s goal for you. Our circumstances cannot thwart His goal. His goal for us, born out of His heart of love and care, is to become like Jesus. He’s all about developing our character. He delights in seeing things like self-control, patient endurance, brotherly affection, and the crown jewel of love. These all reflect the character of Christ. 

His no’s are as vital as His yes’s. Even in His no’s, there is a yes when we put our hope in His unfailing love. There is only one who can thwart God’s goal for us—it’s the man or woman in the mirror. 

Having goals that are unclear, out of reach, or blocked by others can generate anxiety in our minds. We fret vigorously as we strive for the goals we’ve set for ourselves. 

However, great peace enters our souls when we embrace God’s goal for us – growing in Christ-like character. As we pursue the character of Jesus, anxiety melts away. 

Reflect and Respond

Are circumstances or people thwarting a current goal? What can you remember about God that can lead you to trust His love and thus reflect His character? 

Pray

Lord Jesus, your no’s are hard. But Your love is behind all of them. I want to receive Your abundant grace and, by faith, submit to Your goal of looking like You!

Scriptures: Psalms 100:4-5, Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 7:24-27

Appreciation Calms the Anxious Heart

Have you ever wished you walked the earth with Jesus? 

Did you know that you can experience His presence today? It’s part of God’s toolbox for washing away anxiety. 

Appreciation is how we enter the experience of God’s presence. 

Thanksgiving draws our attention away from our struggles, weaknesses, and problems. Appreciation focuses our eyes on God’s power, kindness, and involvement in our situations. 

In our relationships and circumstances, we want to live with the awareness that God is with and for us and that He delights in us. Thanksgiving helps us do that. 

The Bible tells us that we come near to Father God through thanksgiving and praise. 

Appreciation is recognizing that someone or something is valuable and important. The apostle Paul tells us to dwell on anything worthy of praise! This points us to the many things God has done for us. 

The command word in Philippians 4:8 is to dwell on or think about praiseworthy things. This means to focus your thoughts on them, to emphasize them, to underscore them. 

When we feel anxious, we often disregard, forget, or ignore the praiseworthy deeds of God. 

In marinating in thanksgiving, our hearts become tender, and anxiety diminishes. 

Paul tells us we need to practice dwelling on praiseworthy things. Maybe you practiced a musical instrument, sports skills, or Algebra equations growing up. But have you practiced appreciation? 

It can start simply – go outside and look up! Then, describe to God what you noticed, liked, and appreciated. 

I have an appreciation file full of appreciation memories with God. This file helps me readily recall things God has done. When I meditate on these appreciation memories with the Lord, I can choose to trust my Heavenly Father in my current struggles. 

In Matthew 7, Jesus talks about two types of people. One built his life on the rock and the other on the sand. Jesus says this about the man who built his house on the rock: he heard the Word and put it into practice. It’s not those who hear the word who are on the rock. It’s those who practice it. It’s like learning to swim – you learn a little and practice a lot. 

The Bible makes a tremendous promise to those who practice dwelling on praiseworthy things. Instead of experiencing anxiety, the God of peace will be with you! 

Reflect and Respond

Go outside and look up. What can you appreciate about God and His creation? 

Pray

Lord, remind me by your Spirit to practice appreciation and experience your promised peace. Help me to recognize Your involvement in my life each day.

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 9:1-11, 1 Timothy 1:14, Exodus 34:6, 2 Corinthians 1:5, Romans 15:13

The God of Abundance

When did you last hear a “rags to riches” story? We all love a good Cinderella story, but there’s nothing like a true story. In God’s Word, there is such a story about a man named Mephibosheth (I’ll just call him “M”). 

The very meaning of M’s home, Lo Debar, meant “not having” or “no pasture.” It was a town of forgotten people, including M, son of David’s best friend, Jonathan. The Scripture records in 2 Samuel 9:5 that David brought M from this place of “not having.” 

M’s fortunes changed dramatically on the day David showed him kindness. He was adopted as one of the king’s sons. He began enjoying the king’s feasts at the king’s table. King David restored all the lands taken from him. David also gave him resources to cultivate and bring in the harvest.35 men put at his disposal! 

M was given abundance! 

Does M’s story sound familiar? It should be because you, as a child of God, have been brought from afar, shown kindness, given access to the throne of God, and granted abundance. The Bible’s authors are not shy about speaking of our great abundance through Jesus Christ. 

·He’s abundant in grace. 

·He’s abundant in goodness and truth. 

·He’s abundant in mercy, withholding judgment. 

·He gives peace in abundance. 

·In abundant suffering, there’s abundant comfort. 

·He wants us to overflow with abundant hope through faith in Him! 

Take time to absorb the extent of His abundance, and watch your anxieties fade! Where have you seen His abundance today? 

Because we have the best seat as God’s precious children at the King’s table, it’s an abundance that will never run dry. 

As we take our focus off our anxiety and put our attention on the One who cares for us, peace is promised to us in abundance. 

Reflect and Respond

The lie that God is withholding good from you is as old as the Garden of Eden. Where have you believed that God is stingy, withholding what you need? As God leads, confess and renounce each lie. 

Pray

Lord, I receive the abundance of your grace. I take my time today thinking about the generosity of Your gifts to me – grace, peace, truth, mercy, comfort, and hope.

Scriptures: Jeremiah 31:3, Isaiah 42:1-3, John 10:10-15, Psalms 18:2-6

God’s Heart is Good

Do you have a story you long to read over and over? The passages about our God of grace are like that for me. I long for them, but sometimes struggle to move them from my head to my heart. My anxiety is not yet replaced with trust. 

Recently I heard a pastor speak about being highly invested in the life of his unborn sibling. The baby passed away soon after birth, significantly impacting the pastor’s life. His words pierced my soul. My story is similar. 

I knew her name, Elizabeth Ann. As my mom passed through her later years, my sister and I often half-jokingly said, “Sure wish Elizabeth Ann was here!” But this was different. I could picture myself, nearly three years old, feeling the baby kick, seeing the bassinet set up in my parent’s room, and hearing the questions of kindhearted neighbors about my soon-to-be status as a big sister. 

I never met Elizabeth Ann, as her short life ended one day after she entered the world. 

Even recently the tears began to flow. I found Elizabeth Ann’s obituary, a picture of her in a beautiful white gown, and a picture of the room in the church filled with flowers where her body lay. 

I needed to dig in with the God of grace. 

So, I asked Him, “Lord, what lies did I believe from this loss?” The answer came quickly and clearly. I believed that God was mean and that He snatched away something meant to be a good and precious gift. A lurking suspicion of His character was left producing anxiety in me. 

In The Grace Course, there is a renunciation of lies and a declaration of truth about our Father God. One of them states this: 

I renounce the lie that God is mean, cruel, or abusive. 

I announce the truth that you, Father God, are loving, gentle, and protective. 

God was protective; Elizabeth Ann didn’t have to suffer long in this life. He held her little life gently in His hands and walked her home to be with him. And because He proved His love at the cross, I will see my sweet little sister again on that marvelous day of heavenly reunions! 

Reflect and Respond

How have you believed that God is mean, cruel, or abusive? How has this led to anxiety in your life? Invite God to reframe your experience considering His great love shown to you at the cross of Christ. 

Pray

Lord Jesus, no god except You has ever willingly sacrificed His life for me. In the losses of this life, I receive your grace to believe that Your heart is always good. Replace my anxiety with trust in Your love.