Just Pray ....

"Faith is the bridge from where you are now and where God is taking you." - The Message, SiriusXM

Over the past few weeks, I have been in the presence of hurting women.  Much like all of us at one time or another, these women faced sudden fear caused by unexpected events.  Anxiety overwhelmed them to the depths of their souls.  In two separate instances, I sat with these beautiful women as the tears began to fall.  Painful stories emerged.  They were stories of a medical diagnosis and job loss.  In those moments, nothing else in the world seemed to matter except for my soul listening to the hurt on their hearts.  As I sat, I quietly thanked God for the blessed opportunity to be in the presence of the suffering.  In this hour, my response to these struggling souls mattered.  In a perfect pause created by the Holy Spirit, a small group of women laid hands on the heartbroken and decided to just pray.

Last week, my daughter and her best friend drove 50 minutes outside of their college town, late on a Monday night, to seek the highest level of medical care possible.  As I sat in my favorite quiet space of our home, the anxiety continued to build.  My head and my heart felt absent of all peace.  The others, under my roof, struggled too.  Soon I received a text message from my mom with these words:  "Just pray."   Over the course of the next hour, all the words...a reflection of the anxiety infiltrating my soul...spilled out over the pages of my journal.  Those words formed a beautiful prayer.  Shortly after prayer writing, I learned my girl simply needed a change of medication to treat her infection.  Thank you, Jesus.

In the book Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado writes, "Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands.  We see the problems of the world and bend our knees."  The truth is I believe you and me oftentimes spend far too much time wringing our hands.  In our human brokenness, we search for multiple ways to solve problems and handle the challenges of our lives by our own strengths.  Praise God that His strength always sustains us in every hour of need.  Today, what are the worries on your heart?  Identifying them is so important.  How will you respond to the fears and anxiety disrupting your daily routine?  Choose one response.  Just pray.  Wait expectantly for the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, to calm your anxious heart.  Amen.