The Road to a New Study...And an Invitation to Come Along

Last week, I wound down the study I'd been doing on fear, worry, and anxiety with this:

Ultimately, when I am afraid, it's because my mind is divided.

The answer to this dilemma is where I "set" my thoughts.

Practically, I listed six things to put into practice for refocusing a divided mind.

Then...........

I found myself unable to conquer a simple moment where anxiety crept in and caught me off guard.

No amount of reasonableness (the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:6) worked....and it certainly was not "known to all." Just the opposite was true.

In fact, I found myself in a total tailspin....

Have you ever watched one of those flight shows, either in person, or via the internet.

I do admire pilots who can pull a plane out of a tailspin at the last minute.

I desperately tried to refocus my thoughts.

Nothing.

From deep breaths to preaching TRUTH to myself; from reminding myself God is ever-near to recalling my Kingdom-calling; from confession to worship....nothing seemed to ease the "jitters" that settled into my soul.

So, I stared the lion in the face and simply did the next right thing - fear and all, I ran toward the roar.

I couldn't back down, so I stood up.

All the while feeling like a fool for being so anxious.

When I could finally "sit down," and "set my mind on things above;" when all was said and done (and, I could breathe deeply once again), Scripture pierced the deep places of my heart.

How I needed this Encouragement:

I call.

God answers.

He comes to my Rescue...and increases the strength of my soul.

He does.

He did.

Even amidst the tailspin, at the last second, I gave up control of the control-panel (this is key!).

Somehow, He pulled me out; and salvaged what I had given Him to work with in the end.

The truth is...the circumstances surrounding the irrational fear were all so ridiculous.

It was a simple little request that required my participation, not a life threatening event.

Plain truth? My reputation felt at stake. I wanted to impress, because in this situation, I felt extremely unimpressionable, undervalued, and unaccepted (and, this is why I held the controls so tightly).

Oh, how image gets in the way. Right?

And, this right here is the transition into a new study where the Lord has led me to trek.

It's not up a mountain....

However, it is deep into a new word.

A word He has sent me to explore.

You'll find the word hidden in the Colossians 3:1-2 passage.

It seems rather obscure.

Yet, I'm discovering it's impact to be incredibly powerful.

After the debacle mentioned above, The-Spirit-of-My-God sent me scampering to reboot on Truth.

These things consoled my heart:

God forgives our attempts to control when we confess.

To battle nervousness is, yep, human (The Lord knows it's going to happen, and He's waiting in the wings to do the RESUCE...He's particularly tender toward our nervous-system).

When we call,  He will stoop low to strengthen our soul.

However, there is a word we can employ that MAKES a huge difference in alleviating the anxiety that our image-distortions raise.

This word is "seated."

Come, join me on this little journey up the mountain of Truth.  We'll begin here:

Ponder it.