Today I got up as I normally would to get ready for work. Feeling a bit pressed for time since I got off to late start. Rushing about my morning, I showered, dressed and hurried to my car. I started it up and headed to the interstate, dreading my 2 hour commute. But like most days, I took this time to turn on my Bible app to begin hearing the daily word. There’s something about being in the presence of the Lord that soothes our fears, and feeds the need for not giving up. There are specified narrative plans dedicated to feed the the hunger of whatever it is you may be facing. With scripture after scripture for devoting time mediating, learning the Word of God, and worship. Whatever season you may be in, there is a plan to see you through it. I love the app, and highly recommend it. You can read alone if you choose, or with a group of people. What I love most about it is, I can Hear the Word of God. Guaranteed faith fuel, and a conversation with the Lord!
Reminded of Romans 10:17: “17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
I’ve added 4 plans to my studies. Yes, I actively study them all. I toggle back and fourth doing one after another. Somehow they seem to be all connected or reference one another. There are days where I find myself pondering text from one plan, and get revelation of what God is showing me in text from another plan. Here’s a list of plans I’ve committed to completing.
1). The Ruth Challenge
2). Seeking Wisdom
3). God’s Promise’s for the Hungry Heart
4). Soul Rest: Seven Days to Renewal.
I started with Seeking Wisdom. What a beautiful moment it was…
Straight from the Book of Matthew 6th chapter. A Cure for Anxiety, about 30 minutes into listening to the reading of the Word. The narrator begin the mediation with talking about the day on the hill on the shore of Sea of Galilee, how they all crowded around to hear Jesus share His thoughts on how to live a life dedicated to pleasing God. A life lived to glorify God, and enjoying Him forever. A life not spent rushing, or concealed in shame or anxiety. It’s easy to get in tune with the Holy Spirit when I open my heart up and relive what’s hurting me, or the things that gives me anxiety. Something I need filling up on. It was like Jesus Himself was guiding me through saying, “Right there where you are with those uncomfortable feelings, and insecurities.” The unknown – that’s where I begin. I start to call out on Jesus’ name. Declaring victory over my anxieties and anxiousness. I cried out all the things that I had needed and feared. Claiming peace over my thoughts. Asking God for wisdom and understanding above anything else. Thanking Him for this moment, thanking Him for giving me the strength to endure another day. A burst of thanksgiving shot through my body as I thought about my kids, my job, and my state of mind. It was Powerful! Breathing in God’s grace, and exhaling worry. Breathing in God’s love, exhaling fear. Breathing in the Holy Spirit, exhaling all my anxieties. Breathing in heavens prosperity, exhaling condemnation. 30 minutes in, just as the narrator began to close out mediation with praying saying,
“Now that you remember to stop being worried or anxious, perpetually uneasy, and distracted about your life. God loves and cares for you far more than anything else in His creation. Besides, worrying won’t add one hour to the length of your life. Now to the Father, and to the Son, and Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever will be. Amen.
Today you have the opportunity to be cared for. Expect anxiety. Anticipate it approaching and expect it to subside. Leaving you whole and present. It has come before. It has passed before. God has been there before. He is here now. He will be here again. So when you are ready, step into your day and be mindful of moments to be cared for by God.”
At that point I had decided it was best to get off the highway and take the backroads because traffic was too heavy. About an hour and a half away from work, I turned off the highway and onto the street and my car shutdown. It was if the car completely went dead. The dash was dark and the steering wheel seemed to have locked. There I was 60 seconds before mediating on the word of God, and how to face my anxieties, and I hit with a major test just as the narrator said I would. Scared out of my mind of being hit by a semiconductor, or another vehicle. I began to panic. I called my supervisor, cousin, and kids father. 10% left on my battery life, I shut the phone off and looked around at the valley fields and begin to thank God for placing me right in the midst of His beauty. I prayed for a hedge of protection for myself as I waited for someone to come get me off the side of the road. Just as I felt a calmness, I hear a clicking noise. Almost as if there was an electrical surge noise. I thought I would try and start the car and it started right up. I wasted no time lifting up the name of Jesus, because I know it was Him who saw me through. Trying to dodge oncoming trucks, I drove out onto the road and stopped at a nearby gas station as waited for the help. You can’t tell me God isn’t real!!! Everything He said He would do, and so much more!
Which bring about revelation of my own life. Where I begin to internalize and evaluate the costs. Where questions begin to surface, and inventory of what’s left of the old life is counted. Maybe there’s a lifetime movie, or #1 Bestseller storybook to be written, only God knows what the new life would look like. I think hardest part about anticipating a new life is the walking away from the old one.
Lundun Bridges 