Monday, April 7, 2008

A Soft Place

I just realized that I am, in fact, an adult. I don't like being labeled as an adult. When I was 15 I longed to be an adult. At 35, not so much. I remember when my parents were 35, I thought they were old (no offense, mom and dad). I remember thinking how terrible it would be to be 35 and my life be over. Being an adult means you have lots of responsibilities and people depend on you (that is a scary thought -people depend on me? - yikes!). I had a moment recently when I realized just how much my kids depend on me. My husband and I are their "safe place". Someone can hurt their feelings and they come to me and they are safe and everything is okay. They can get hurt and mommy's love and attention will make them feel better. We are a soft place to fall for our children.

I have noticed that my oldest son tends to worry about things more than he used to. He worries that people may not like him or that he didn't win first place at field day. Small worries in comparison to what many people face, but they are big in his life. I used to worry. A lot. I used to worry about everything. Little things, big things, anything. I used to worry if I didn't have anything to worry about. "How can a Christian worry so much?", you ask. The answer is pretty simple - lack of trust. I didn't see the big picture. I didn't refer to the back of the Book to see how it ends. I didn't allow God to be God and do what only He can do.

One of the biggest tools satan uses against us is worry. Why is worry one of satan's favorite weapons? Because worry is born out of fear, and when we fear there is lack of trust, and when there is lack of trust there is lack of belief, and when there is lack of belief there is lack of relationship, and when there is lack of relationship there is lack of worship, and when there is lack of worship God is not glorified - satan is. (Attn English Teachers: How's that for a run-on sentence?) The devil loves it when God's people are not worshipping Him. When we aren't worshipping God, then we are in fact, worshipping something/someone else (ourselves, our stuff, this world maybe?). That, my friends, is called idolatry. The devil loves for us to buy into his idea that God is not big enough, not able to take care of all our problems and concerns, because it taints our witness and hinders our worship.

When we live in constant worry, others sense the spirit of fear in our lives. A life filled with worry and fear is life lived walking in the flesh. What better way to keep people from Christ than to let them see you (me), a Christian, paralyzed by worry and fear? After all, satan's goal is to keep unbelievers from believing and to make the witness of the believer completely ineffective. I cannot think of a better way to ruin your witness than to constantly give in to a spirit of fear. The two of you who are left reading this are probably thinking, "I have heard this all before, this is not news to me." And you are right, you have heard it before, but have you ever really taken it to heart? Can you say that you have given up your habitual worry and fear? Sometimes we need to hear something over and over before it really sinks in. Sometimes a fresh word brings about change, but other times we 'get it' when we hear it for the hundredth time.

Romans 8:15 says, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." As you know, Abba means 'Daddy'. So, every time we feel that fear/worry creep in, we need to have a heart to heart talk with our "Daddy" so that He can remind us that we are not a slave to fear, He is in control, and He is our "Daddy" who loves us. We need to bring our rejection, fear, and bruised hearts to Him so He can put His arms around us and be our 'safe place'. We need to remember that, like our children, a soft place to fall and His name is Abba, Daddy.

17 comments:

ocean mommy said...

LOVE THIS!!!

And I especially loved your run-on sentence!!!

I so needed to be reminded of this today....

Jenny said...

I needed to be reminded of that today, thank you bethie- Love you much :)

Amanda said...

Great Post. You know what I have "worried" about this weekend and I realized I was worshiping. I worried that my husband wasn't Christian enough and that my son would get mixed messages from us both about what it means to be a Christian. I let Satan hit my button that if he were just a little more committed (like me, LOL) we would have a happier more fulfilled life. I confessed this "sin" to him yesterday and hopefully healed some wounds created by disrespect that had been creeping into our relationship. I realized that I had made an "idol" out of the so-caled "perfect Christian marriage" whatever that means. I know that with DAILY prayer and DAILY confession of this, I can be delivered and give the respect my wonderful CHRISTIAN husband is due. Thank you for reminding me that anything (even if it seems noble and good) can become an idol and can be something that we worry about...therfore, not trusting God with the future.

Sadie said...

Great post. I worry more than I should. Randall and I both. We have found many scriptures to go back on and remind ourselves, there is no need. Thanks for the reminder!

Earen said...

Ah yes...worry. Something that I definitely struggle with from time to time..especially when something is wrong. I worried BIG TIME when I was pregnant...especially with my first. I didn't feel him move much & it was an internal battle. I was given the advice by of course my very Godly Mama to replace the thoughts of worry, taking captive every thought to the power of Christ & replacing those worry thoughts with the Word of God. I said scripture alot in my pregnancies and it worked!! Praise the Lord for the power of His Word!!

Mary Lou said...

Thanks for the reminder. I loved your run on sentence too. I completely understood it. We all need to be reminded daily that worry and anxiety are tools of satan. When we worry etc. it is truly a lack of trust, it shows a lack of trust. I keep catching myself and have to bring those thougths captive. You can not think two thoughts at the same time and if you replace the worry thoughts with thoughts of Him and His faithfulness, He wins....Thanks again for your excellent reminder.

Mommyluann said...

Love you blog! I didn't know you did this..I think it's good to express our thoughts...wether it be personal ( without too many details! ha ha) or spiritual or maybe a little of both!
Great photo of you too!

Mari said...

I love this post. I too can be a worrier. now that my kids are older I find I just have bigger things to worry about. It's so good to be able to go to our "soft place" and rest there.

Fran said...

WOW!! Worry is just some serious unbelief. Do we believe Him to do what He CAN do??? Did you do "Believing God?" Highly recommend it if you didn't.

Increase our belief and trust Lord!
INCREASE IT!! :)

Needin some of this today....

Kellie said...

Hey girl!! I didn't have a clue who you were!! ha ha I had to ask LuAnn Walker. ha ha I needed to be reminded of this so much because I had to be put on some medicine a couple of weeks ago for anxiety. I have a problem with trust even with God. I'm working on it but have not mastered complete trust yet. I'm a work in progress ;-P

Greg P. said...

Wonderful post! Sure we've all heard it before, but, we need to be reminded regularly. I know I do. I screw up enough and Jesus keeps picking me up, dusting me off, giving me a hug and putting me back out there. You just keep preaching it! You're doing great.

Mari said...

Hi again - I just saw your question on my blog. The link for that post is
http://marislittlecorner.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-really-works.html

The makeup is Loreal Bare Naturals - like Bare Essentials I guess.

Unknown said...

I came across your Blog on Cassie's blog. I had no idea it was you. I just read your wonderful post on worry/fear. This is one of the biggest struggles I face. I have always been a worrier and I am definately not proud of that.

Your words were so uplifting and encouraging. Exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.

Diana

Rochelle said...

I really needed to read this today. I know I worry too much when I should simply trust Him.

Alana said...

That soft place is such a gift. I'm learning to fall there more often.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes, it's a moment by moment, minute by minute of dying to ourself!

Anonymous said...

Good words.