Me too.

Sometimes life is just so hard. The uncertainties act like a cancer, slowly eating away at our peace. 

Honestly, if you’ve ever been through some excruciatingly hard things before, you tend to believe you can predict what is coming–and your predictions are not good. Even though Christ has healed the past, you have not forgotten. As a result, the anxiety consumes.

That is where I’ve been recently. Consumed. I’m embarrassed, honestly, as I have discovered myself living with a double-mind. 

On one hand, I trust God completely because I can clearly see how His hand carried me through the difficult roads of the past. On the other hand, I viscerally remember the pain. 

So, how should we cope? How do we (biblically) process this overwhelming anxiety?

Lately, I’ve found great peace in going back to the basics. 

When anxiety begins to bubble up, I start to ask myself a series of questions. 

Questions like:

Do I have food TODAY?  Then I know my Father has kept His promises. 

Do I have water TODAY? Then I know my Father has kept His promises.

Does my mind work TODAY? Then I know my Father has kept His promises.

Are my kids safe TODAY? Then I know my Father has kept His promises.

Am I clothed TODAY? Then I know my Father has kept His promises.

It may be simplistic, but it functions as a mind reset. Here’s why—>

When our minds are trapped in the worries of the future, we find ourselves spinning wildly in an inescapable cycle. Not only are we chained down by worries about the future, now we are chained for today, too. This mind reset reins in our wild thoughts and focuses them on one singular point of time: the here and now.

Frankly, one singular point of time is all our frail human frames were built to carry. Jesus alone has the strength to carry the weight of the world. The burden of tomorrow lays firmly on His capable shoulders. 

Thankfully, He has given us the offer to graciously take the weight off our shoulders. We are promised not just freedom in eternity, but freedom NOW as well. “So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free.” (John 8:36 AMP)

Unquestionably.

Yet, we do have our role to play, too. If we stubbornly keep picking our anxieties back up, we get crushed by their untameable weight. Ouch. 

I know. This is both hard to hear (because it’s convicting) and amazing to hear (because it’s freeing) at the same time. I’m right here with you.

We must surrender tomorrow to Him. 

You know, Jesus Himself gave us some plain instructions for dealing with worry in the book of Matthew, chapter 6. Here is what He says: 

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
( NIV) 

Did you note that he said “Do not worry” like a command? I don’t know if we always take it that seriously. We justify our worries, believing that this is just a “normal” part of human life. But is it normal? Or have we simply normalized it? Ouch again. 

God’s good plan is that we would never worry. 

In fact, He goes further. He calls us “you of little faith” when we worry. OUCH FOR THE THIRD TIME. I’m sweatin’, y’all.

That is painful to write. I don’t want to be someone of little faith. I want to be someone who brims so full of faith it spills out over my family, my community, and the world. I want life-changing faith. But Jesus Himself says that if I have not yet mastered how to trust Him for the provision of TODAY, then I am actually a woman of little faith. 

Sometimes God’s blunt nature hurts.

But can any of us deny how true His statement really is?

True faith is such that we fiercely choose to trust that our Heavenly Father will fulfill His promises, and we don’t have to worry, knowing He is in control and He’s GOT THIS. 

If we have prayed and asked Him for provision, He’s got it.

If we have prayed and asked for protection over our kiddos, He’s got it.

If we have prayed and asked for peace, He’s got it.

He does all the heavy lifting. All we have to do is choose to trust.

And we serve a capable God, y’all.  So we can breathe. And just let go into His capable, mighty, eternally existent hands.

Let me pray for you today:

 “Jesus, I thank you so much for every individual soul who reads this. I ask for a fresh strength to trust You today. I ask that Your Holy Spirit would minister to every reader. I ask that You would remind them that if you can maintain an entire universe–with all 100 billion galaxies–You can handle what they need, too. You are more than capable. And in the timespan of ALL eternity, You have never once broken even one singular promise. I thank you that we can find rest in Your capable arms. Please provide them peace. Remove the anxiety from their hearts. I command Satan to take His hands off their mind in the powerful name of Jesus. Remind every reader that they are MORE than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Remind them that GREATER is He who is in them than he who is in the world. Remind them that You bought their healing on the cross. And remind them that what You have promised, You will fulfill. Bring them Your peace to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus today. 

In Jesus name, 

Amen.

Need a few more minutes to process? Worship along to this song:

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Want to memorize Romans 15:13 (“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”) then go here: 

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**LIFE UPDATE!**

For those of you who follow me on social media (@authorlizhouse), then you know that through a crazy set of circumstances, the Lord opened the way for me to attend an expensive writers conference that I thought I would not be able to attend due to finances. There, I had the opportunity to have appointments with six literary agents. What happned next was nothing short of a miracle: Not 1, 2, 3, 4, or even 5, but ALL SIX asked for my book proposal!

I cannot overstate what a big deal this is. If they decide they want to work with me, then they will present my manuscript for my upcoming book to major Christian publishing houses.

As promised, I wanted to give my newsletter subscribers the latest update first: 

I HAVE COMPLETED AND NOW SUBMITTED MY BOOK PROPOSAL to all six of these agents.

Please pray for me, guys. All I want is the Lord’s will to be done in my life and in my writing. I want my writing to reach as many people as God desires. If he chooses to open the door to a major contract, so be it. If He doesn’t, so be it. This is His story, and He simply allows me to be a part of it.

I will keep you updated in regards to their responses.  Thank you for praying for me and my ministry. I love you all!