You’ve Got This

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
When you’re feeling worried or anxious.
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 37 

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]

  

My two oldest grandchildren have played soccer since they were four years old. When they first started, you could have called it “amoeba” soccer. That’s because players from both teams bunched together in a tight group, like an amoeba, and ran from one end of the field to the other chasing the soccer ball. It’s pretty humorous.

 

As the players got older and more competitive, the parents would yell words of encouragement to their son or daughter. One of the things that they sometimes would say is, “You’ve got this”! It’s intended to give their child confidence to face any adversity that comes their way. Certainly, it’s not bad wisdom.

 

But in this psalm, David does the exact opposite. Instead of saying, “You’ve got this”, he says, “God’s got this”.

 

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand. NLT

 

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.        NIV

 

The people of Israel, experienced more than their share of worry and anxiety. After all, God led Israel out of slavery into the Promised Land. But the land was already occupied, so the Israelites needed to drive the people out by force! David also experienced extreme anxiety as he constantly fled for his life from Saul.

 

I made a list of the things that can cause me to feel anxious or to worry. Maybe you can identify with some of them.

 

Finances. Change. Circumstances that are out of my control. Health concerns. Relationships. Unmet expectations. Pressure from the outside or within. Insecurities. Feeling threatened. Conflict.

 

In Psalm 37, David wrote eight times either “inherit the land” or “dwell in the land”. For the people of Israel, the land was their salvation from slavery. But for us, it can be a metaphor for dwelling in the presence of the Lord, trusting in Him and entering into His salvation.

 

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.         NIV

 

When we do this, we’ll discover that all those things that we worry about and feel anxious about, can melt away. Not because “You’ve got this”. But because the Lord does.

 

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.      NIV                 Philippians 4                                      

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Murphy’s Law

A Series from the Psalms
God is my… Rest
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 62

 [God is many things to many people. In this series, we will be looking at various Psalms that completes the statement “God is my…” Maybe ultimately this answers the question that we all ask at some point in our life, “Who is God to me?”.]

  

Murphy’s Law: Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Have you ever started a project where everything seemed to go wrong? I did just recently. It was a very simple job, or so I thought. I had a picture frame that I wanted to hang some sports memorabilia. It was just a matter of taking the plastic off, cleaning the glass, attaching the hanger, putting the items in it and hanging it.

 

Oh my gosh! You’d think I was trying brain surgery or something! It took me over an hour, and honestly, it’s still not right. It’s just hanging there, waiting for me. No doubt to mock me again. Murphy’s Law hard at work.

 

Life can be like that; one problem solving event after another. Each one adding more stress to your life leaving you feeling frustrated, angry and overwhelmed until finally you explode. Sometimes, we need a break. We need rest. Even God did. He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.

 

David most certainly needed rest. He always seemed to be running for his life from those who wanted to kill him. Such is the case in Psalm 62. David found rest in his relationship with God.

 

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.      NIV

 

Through his relationship with God, David knew something that I need to learn. He knew who was ultimately in control and who faithfully loved him. He knew these things not just in his head, but in his heart!

 

¹¹ God has spoken plainly,
    and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
¹²     unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.      NLT

 

Murphy’s Law can take many shapes. From the mundane tasks of daily living to life changing events beyond our control. All of them can result in anxiety, stress, fear, frustration, anger, feeling overwhelmed and profound sadness.

 

It just takes that one small step of faith to reach out to Him; to pour out your heart. It only takes the faith of a mustard seed to find peace through God as your rest.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Stronger

A Series on the Milestones in Jesus’ Life

Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:40-46

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+14%3A32-42%2CLuke+22%3A40-46&version=NIV

 

In 1888, the German philosopher Nietzsche wrote what has been translated as, “Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”

 

The truth is, life is full of pressure and stress. It has the capacity to make you stronger; or to defeat you. You can experience stress anywhere. At work or at home; financial or health; even stress due to changes in your life; and life is always changing. Everybody experiences stress. Even Jesus did.

 

Arguably, the most stressful time in Jesus’ life was in the Garden of Gethsemane. A garden that he had visited frequently with his disciples for prayer and meditation was now a garden of unimaginable pressure and stress.

 

³³ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ³⁴ “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” ³⁵ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.           Mark 14

 

⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.         Luke 22

 

While his closest friends slept, Jesus called out three times in desperation to his “Abba, Father” asking him to remove the cup from him. Jesus was under immense pressure and stress.

 

In fact, Gethsemane, in Hebrew, means “oil press”. It’s a place for squeezing the oil from olives. Facing this pressure; this stress; this real life olive press; was a milestone for Jesus.

 

What stress are you facing today? How will you deal with it? Like Nietzsche’s quote, will it make you stronger in your faith?



Jesus dealt with his stress through prayer. Should we do anything less?