WHEN A FRIEND OF GOD SPEAKS
Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25
I’m not a stranger to pain. I’ve lived long enough to recognize the foreboding fronts on the horizon that often heads my way. I’ve felt the change in the atmosphere and remember bracing myself for what I knew was coming. Since I have survived similar storms before, it’s somewhat comforting. At least I’ve gained a little experience that will help me navigate the next one.
Regardless, the anxiety you and I experience when our world stops is profound. These moments will come to each of us. Like those who attended the soccer match in Paris, or those who casually had dinner at a sidewalk cafe, we can’t conceive that our world is about to change. When it happens to me, I wonder if I’ll ever breathe easily again. There’s a new edginess in my gut and I know I need to cultivate a deeper relationship with God in order to survive it. I look inside for Jesus, my Anchor, and know I must hold on tightly.
What can make the greatest impact are the reassuring words of others who are connected to God and close to me. When I have reached out to selectively share my burdens with them, the other person’s response made the difference between drowning and pressing on. What they passed on to me was what I needed most. FAITH.
- “Christine, God is not stunned by this nor has He forgotten you!”
- “Let me lend you my faith right now. I know yours is weak.”
- “I don’t know how God will redeem this, but I’m waiting to see it with you.”