Practicing His Presence

I am so glad to be walking this journey together as we learn God’s plan for overcoming worry.

I love this powerful quote:

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” Leo F. Buscaglia

friend, isn’t that a powerful truth? The question that we must answer is what can we do today to ensure that our roots are so deep in trusting God that we never lose our joy????

 The Bible says:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV) 

Jeremiah was a man who struggled with both worry and sorrow. He was known as the “weeping prophet”, and his prophetic book is filled with anxious thoughts about the future of Israel and the deep emotion of feeling abandoned by God.

However, Jeremiah makes a declaration as he seeks to overcome worry. He encourages all of us to put our spiritual roots down deep into the presence of God....why? So that when the heat of anxiousness and the desolation of drought hits our lives, our roots are tapped into the Living Water of Jesus! Jesus said in John 7:37-39:

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  (John 7:37-39, NIV)

By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 

The presence of the Holy Spirit keeps us grounded in times of spiritual heat and drought so that we can be confident that God knows about these challenging times and that He will sustain us through it all!!!

As in the past days, when we talked about trust, worship, and prayer, now we are called to come into the presence of God because we know that in His presence there is no room for worry! When we draw near to God, He draws near to us (see James 4:8) and we find comfort for our souls and peace for all that stirs our anxious hearts.

Take a moment and experience His presence. Sit quietly and allow Him to draw near to your anxious thoughts. Hand each source of anxiety over to Him in prayer and worship Him in spirit and truth.

Rest easy friend, God has you covered!

You are a miracle!