Encouragement grounded in Scripture
Rooted in truth. Anchored in Christ.
New reflections weekly.
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Hold on and keep me safe
“I lost my safe. And then I did what you call a spiral. I spiraled.”
These were the words I heard in that moment. When talking about loss and fear. And I felt that. Every bit of what was said.
Let me explain…
Prior to the isolation and anxiety that came with COVID, life was virtually predictable. Get up. Go to work. No fears or worries of any impending disasters. Safety was a job. Safety was financial security. Safety was a routine. Safety was good health. Safety was comfort in the presence of people. Safety was conversation. Safety was a hug.
But then…”I lost my safe.” And I began to spiral, too.
Nothing and no one felt safe anymore. And old habits. Old beliefs. Old hang-ups. Old negative thoughts. Old traumas took safety’s place, and left an endless cycle of anxious spirals.
The safety of a job was replaced with a loss of purpose. The safety of good health was replaced by constant panic or worry of becoming unhealthy. The safety of people was replaced with isolation, and the realization that presence doesn’t mean connection. The safety of a hug was replaced with lack of touch and physical closeness. Comfort. Warmth.
But in those spirals, those cravings for safety once again; I realized safety and security were really none of these things. Even if I could no longer hold a job. Hold onto my previous routine. Hold onto my friends and loved ones.
There was still One holding me.
Hold on to me when it’s too dark to see You
When I am sure I have reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need You
When I let go, hold me again. -Lauren DaigleSafety cannot be found in the “arms” of the world and what it holds as secure. Those things can easily be taken away. Lost. People leave. Sometimes in your darkest moments. Some were never really safe to begin with.
But God.
God is our security. He is the one who provides when the job is lost. He secures our future. He holds us in his arms and gives us a big, safe hug.
He is what keeps us safe. Hold onto Him. A sure, constant, and present promise of safety.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8I do not own rights to these lyrics, music, or video.
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WWJD: Make time or excuses?
There is this quote I often see circulating around on the internet. It goes something like this-“People make time for what they consider a priority,” or something of that nature. In essence, this is what that means: We make a priority, give our time to, and seek out what is essentially important to us.
For some, our work becomes number one. For others, it may be a hobby. A relationship. A family member. A habit we can’t put down.
Others may make the comfort of people a priority, abandoning their work, hobbies, relationships, and other obligations to run and help at a moment’s notice. Feeling the sting when it is not reciprocated.
When we decide to set some things as a priority, or not sacrifice our time, we may say these things-“I couldn’t come because…” “I didn’t call because…” “I didn’t finish because…”
We all do this. Sometimes we are just pulled in many directions. Our time really is scarce. Other times we are making excuses. Sending the message, “This/That/You are not a priority to me.”
When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! John 5:6-9, NLT
The man in this story was no different than we are at times. Did he want to get well? Make his healing a priority? Or was he making excuses to stay sick?
What about you? Do you want to get well?
Then it’s time to make the decision to get well. To stop making excuses. Excuses to skip church, or never go at all. Excuses not to pray. Not to read your Bible. Excuses to hold onto resentment, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Excuses not to find your source of peace. Real freedom. Real healing. Real love.
Do you truly want to get well?
The solution according to Jesus? “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
Put down your excuses. Pick up your mat. Finally choose Jesus. Choose to make Him a priority.
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Seeing “red”
“You better never wear that red suit again!” This is what my friend had told me after I came out of a meeting with my boss. A meeting in which I had been somewhat nasty. Probably insubordinate. Even uttered the words, “Well, just fire me then.” Apparently, I was out of character, because my friend attributed it to the red suit I was wearing.
The desire to speak up, demand something, or gain power summed up in one color?
Red has been defined in fashion circles as a “power” color. For those that study the meanings of colors, red is believed to symbolize motivation to change, and is said to “provide a sense of security and protection against fear and anxiety.”
Really? Just by seeing red?
Love. Safety. Protection. Motivation to change. Action. Courage. Familiarity.
The Bible is written at times in red. The words written as such to denote the spoken word of Jesus.
Lover. Protector. Motivator. A man of action. Courage. Familiarity.
Yes. There is power in the color red.
Then I read the red letters
And the ground began to shake
The prison walls started falling
And I became a free man that day. David Crowder, “Red Letters”Those red letters have the power to provide freedom.
Freedom from the worries of this life: “Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs” (Luke 12:29-30)
Freedom from your hunger and thirst for earthly desires: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
Freedom from hatred: “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you” (John 14:12).
Freedom from condemnation: “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you? “No, Lord,” she said. “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-12)
Freedom from abandonment: “No, I will not abandon you as orphans-I will come to you.” (John 14:18).
Freedom from your sin: “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)
And countless others that are written in the color of power, security, and protection. All His promises and instructions for peace, love, security. Action. Freedom.
Those letters written in “red.”
I do not own the rights to this video, music, or lyrics.
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You can run…but you can’t hide
Rocks. I mentioned some of them in my last post. Those I threw into the ocean of surrender. And those I threw at cars when younger.
Yes. My brother and I were often bored on our little street growing up. If we were not yelling across the street for our cousins to come out and play, we would often pick up small rocks and throw them at cars. Just the tires. Or that was always our intention.
Want to know what happened when a rock was thrown where it wasn’t intended?
We hid. Why?
Because what was intended to be thrown at a tire, ended up on a windshield. And when those brake lights came on, and that car stopped? We ran. We hid.
Hoping if we hid long enough. Far away enough. We wouldn’t be found out.
Sounds like another story I know.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” Genesis 3:8-10, NLT
They felt naked. Exposed. They ran and hid. Hoping God didn’t see. God wouldn’t know. Wouldn’t find out.
But we can’t hide from God.
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. Luke 12:2, NIV
God sees it. He sees our comings and goings. He knows our thoughts, and though we may run, hide, hope we will not be found out-God knows.
He knows the thing we do behind closed doors we hope no one ever finds out. He knows the words we say to ourselves, and the thoughts that fill our heads. He knows the ways we have hurt others, even if we try to forget. He knows when we talk one way, and live another. He knows the things we do in the dark.
He knows.
He also knows our secret pains. Our deepest hurts. Our hearts desire. Our struggles. Those other things we hide.
He knows and He wants us to come out of hiding.
Not blame the “other,” as the first woman and man did, but confess what we have done. Our actions. Our sins. Our transgression. Our hurts. All the things we hope people don’t know.
He knows, and He still wants to give us His love. He wants us to run to him, instead of away.
And when we do, when we come out of hiding, we discover what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 121:
He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121:3, 7-8, NLT
You can’t hide from Him, and He won’t hide from you. Just as he knows the things you hope to keep hidden, if you seek His face and His salvation, He will walk with you daily. Protecting you. Keeping you from harm.
Are you ready to come out of hiding? Stop running? Stop pretending?
Stop hiding, and run to Him.
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It will all be OK
Ever skipped rocks across a body of water? Picked up one with just the right shape and texture? Tossed it in such a way that it skips over the surface of the water before it finally chooses the place it will finally sink? I’ve never tried it. But I have thrown a few. Outside our yard as kids, at the tires of cars that would ride by. Devious? Yes, maybe. But it always helped with the boredom, and it seemed fun until the day my brother and I got caught.
Chucking rocks at cars as they drive by doesn’t have carefree consequences as skipping them across a lake. Both are meant to be playful, but one has severe consequences if one of those rocks gets caught up in a tire, or worse-hits a target it was never intended to.
But both can be heavy. Bulky. Jagged. They can hurt if projected in the wrong direction. Cause great pain. Too much to carry around if lugging and holding onto too many.
Kind of like our burdens.
Like worry. It gets heavy.
Past hurts. They get heavy.
Even people. They get heavy.
And some of them, some of the “rocks” I was lugging around had become heavy.
I’ve blamed myself
And if I’m honest, maybe I’ve blamed You too
But You would not forsake me
‘Cause only good things come from You. Tasha Layton, “Into the Sea”I blamed myself for the burdens that I had held onto for far too long. That I didn’t have enough faith. Wanted too much control. Went the wrong way and said “yes,” when maybe God said, “No.” And I blamed Him, too. Because He could take some of the hurts and burdens away in a hot minute, but He had not done as I had been asking.
Because I was still lugging too much stuff around
Think about the last time you spent some time on the shore, watching the waves crash. Anything in the path of the waves crashing either gets thrown back to shore, or thrown into the sea. As I walked along one morning, thinking of the burdens I had asked God to take. Those I wasn’t yet ready for Him to take. And those I didn’t yet realize I needed to give Him, I finally decided some things needed to be plunked into the sea. Only anything that came crashing back, because God had chosen it to, could stay.
Rejection. Approval. Shame. People. Control. Past hurts. The burdens of others. God, I give them to you. Help them not to pick them back up when you have left them buried in the sea. Help me to only pick up those things you have intended for good. Those things, meant for your purpose, you have decided was meant for me to carry.
I picked up a shell or rock, and one by one let each of the heavy, guilt-laden burdens sink into the sea. Surrendered them to Him. Knowing I would be OK. Knowing that once He grabs hold of these burdens, even if He sends some crashing back to me for some reason beyond my understanding; everything will be OK
What do you need to surrender to Him? What burdens or weights are you carrying around that you need to sink into the bottom of the sea? Allow Him to handle? To take away? Maybe it’s the weight of your sins-past or present. He doesn’t want you to carry that baggage. Maybe it’s the pain you still carry like a badge of honor. Or the burden of other’s expectations. Those are things He wants you to eliminate as well. Maybe you are the one carrying the burdens of everyone else. Toss it. Hand it over to Him. Give Him control of your burden, and rest in His promise that everything will be OK.
About Me
I am January! Wife, mother, meemaw, pastor, and mental health provider who makes it through the day with my coffee, my journal, and my God. A simple human, navigating life through the messy and sometimes chaotic. All focused on Him.
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Grace 'n Grounds 