Some Recent Reflections
Pause and Reflect
I chronically struggle with resting and staying still.
Doing is what I do best…or so I think. The moments where I can pray and reflect can just be plain hard. Do you have a similar problem?
Instead of praying right now I could be preparing for my lesson, getting exercise, or sending that important email.
What time is it?
Did I ever respond to her message?
Do I have plans this weekend?
You get the picture.
This is why I want to practice pausing and reflecting. I need to be intentional with doing nothing. Rest is not laziness. Rest is beneficial and reveals the reality that I am a human being with limits. So, I hope to rest and reflect on what I have been learning before I rush into what is sitting in front of me.
“Rest is not laziness. rest is beneficial and reveals the reality that I am a human being with limits.”
Life is a journey. I want to be someone who fondly remembers the past and is equipped before delving into the future.
What have I learned?
What areas in my life need improvement?
Where have I seen growth?
Remembering the past is one of the best ways to be prepared for the future.
Finally, life is fleeting. This life is a limited gift and I want to savor every drop of it. I want to remember the laughter and mistakes and God’s faithfulness through every twist, turn, and incline of the journey. I want to see how He has proven himself in the past and have hope for the future until it ends in eternity—the mountain peak!
With that said, here are three ways I have been struggling, persevering, and growing in my sanctification.
The Wrestle with Anxiety
Admittedly, I can easily fall into anxiety. Lately, I have been all too familiar with restless nights. On the practical side, I have found it not helpful to “make camp inside my head” and have found asking “what if” questions gets me into trouble.
Honestly, there are times anxiety can feel inevitable. But how should my fear be handled?
There is a sign hanging in our house that says “Give it to God and go to sleep.” I have told myself this truth many times when I cannot sleep.
Just give it to God.
He knows my future, loves me, and will lead me through every step of my life. Instead of worrying about what could happen, why not rest in the reality that he has already planned what will happen? Giving all of my worries to God is a constant surrender. I am not in control and I never will be. Could I receive a cancer diagnosis? Yes. Will I lose a loved one? Probably. Is God still good and will walk me through suffering? Absolutely!
“Instead of worrying about what could happen, why not rest in the reality that he has already planned what will happen?”
When I am anxious instead of drowning in “what if” I can go to God through prayer and read Scripture over my worrying heart.
“But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your GOd, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isa. 43:1-3b)
2. The Future Has Already Been Planned
This second point links to the first.
God is the author of my life and has already planned the future. Nothing surprises him.
I often like to think that I can buy a cute planner from Marshalls, grab my marker bag, and start planning a way. Usually, those pink and purple markings never come to fruition. Why? Because while being prepared and having plans is great, at the end of the day the plan is God’s not mine.
James 4:13-15 says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
While I may have expectations for tomorrow it very well may not happen. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that something will not go according to my plan.
Just as in my first point, casting my anxieties and worries about the future on God is an act of surrender. If I truly trust him that means I know everything that happens in my life is for His glory and my good. My primary desire is that God is glorified and in turn, I will receive blessings from him. This does not promise that I will live a life that lacks suffering. Quite the opposite! What is promised is the biggest prize one could never achieve—God himself!
Everything I will do, whether it is going to a friend’s house tomorrow, eventually getting married, having kids, landing that dream job, losing a family member has already been established by the one who loves me most.
While I will always be growing in this area, I can rest in the reality of being dependent on the God who is the ultimate planner.
3. The Security of Hope
Recently a good friend of mine lost her grandmother. I would reach out to her through text leading up to the days of her grandma’s passing.
As I wanted to encourage my friend I ended up being encouraged by her responses. She was saddened, of course, but the hope she had in eternity rang true with every ding my phone sang.
For believers, like me, hope is not a wishful way of thinking. My hope is sure and the promise of eternal life flies off the pages of God’s Word.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable undefined, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5, emphasis added)
This hope is not like hoping you get an iPhone on Christmas morning. As Peter wrote this is a living hope that has been promised and will be captured by my very eyes.
Finally, this assurance of hope umbrellas my first two points I shared.
If I have hope then why be anxious about my life and the future? It is not my wish to endure challenges and fearful circumstances but if I have hope of an eternity that will never have a flaw of pain, sadness, or death why am I terrified of them now?
The pain of this world is a drop of rain compared to the vast ocean of joyful eternity with God.
Unfortunately, typing these words is tremendously easier than living them out. Even after this article is posted I will still struggle with worry but I will continue to lead my mind to the truths of God’s Word. While I am weak, he is strong. While I worry, God tells me not to fear and rest in him. While I am in this world I have a hope of eternity. A hope where fear will flee and Jesus will be present forever.
I would love to hear from you! Please email me at alannahbryantwrites@gmail.com Say hello, let me know if you have questions, give me feedback, or share prayer requests.
