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Fighting the Infestation of Worry
At present, grease ants are infesting/invading our home. These are the tiniest, brown ants I’ve ever seen. They have HUGE colonies of thousands of ants and queens and are very prolific. We have been fighting them for over two weeks (Photo: the bottom of two yogurt containers with Borax and cooking oil. They are supposed to eat and take itback to their nests, hopefully to die.)
You can see the two trails they use to get to their supposed food source, and hopefully their demise. However, the infestation is so much more than we can battle. They are now coming in into two areas of our home, and they seem relentless in their numbers. We are so tired of moving pots and pans from cupboards, washing down countertops, and worrying where they will appear next.
Well, God in His sovereign plans provided an interesting quote on the perspective of worrying that has helped me in dealing with the ants – as well as other worries.
Ette Hillesum, a survivor of a Nazi Concentration Camp, wrote in her diary during the Nazi occupation:
“We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies … The things that have to be done must be done, and for the rest we must not allow ourselves to become infested with thousands of petty fears and worries, so many motions of no confidence in God. Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.”
These precious words really struck me in light of ‘our current infestation.’ How often do I let the infestation of worry … will my husband relapse, will my children follow Jesus, will my health issues flare again, will … And I look at Ette’s quote and realize each and every worry is showing no confidence in God!
So, my prayer today, and at least until the ants disappear is,
“God, help me rest and surrender my infestations of worry over to You to manage. Fill me with the presence of Your Holy Spirit so I may receive Your gifts of Joy and Peace in the midst of struggles. Thank You for reminders from people who have suffered much more than I am how to remain trusting in You. Amen.”
May God bless you as you surrender your worries to the God who holds the universe in the span of His hands and knew everything about you before He laid the earth’s foundations! What a Mighty God we serve. ~ Faye
Delight
What a simple word – DELIGHT. It has been wonderful this week to just “sit” with. Have you ever delighted in a flower, a bee, a hummingbird, or a sunset? How do you feel as you sit still and enjoy what you are seeing? Does it bring you joy? encouragement? hope? peace? Are you able to “sit still” and “delight” in it?
At a recent retreat, I was introduced to Joni Eareckson Tada’s book, The Practice of the Presence of Jesus. She has clips from Brother Lawrance’s, The Practice of the Presence of God. Here’s what I read:
My King, … He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. ~ Brother Lawrence, p. 34
Delight means – “a feeling of joy or satisfaction; something that gives great pleasure, excitement, and happiness.”
I encourage you, as I was challenged, to just sit and ponder HOW God delights in you!? Does He delight in you as His created child? Read that quote again, realize God doesn’t just delight in you for a moment, but He delights in you incessantly!
There are many verses in the Bible that remind us how special we are to God that He delights in us. Here are a few:
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. ~ Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
The LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their HOPE in His unfailing, HESED, love. ~ Psalm 147:11 NIV
He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. ~ Psalm 18:19 NLT
What makes God’s delighting in us so special is when we delight in Him as well. God delights in our delight of Him.
Take delight in the LORD, and He He will give you your heart’s desires. ~ Psalm 37:4 NLT
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness. ~ Isaiah 61:10a
Some questions to ponder and journal:
- How do you feel when you think of God delighting in you? As you sit still, can you imagine His arms around you, or Him talking to you face to face, or both of you sitting side-by-side watching a sunset just “being still” together?
- What does it look like that God delights in you?
- How do you delight in God?
- Are you struggling to delight in God? If so, I encourage you to just sit still with Him and ask Him to show you His presence in your life. This takes time. It takes surrendering your self. It takes opening up and trusting that God is who He says He is.
I pray you will find time to be filled with wonder that the Creator of the universe takes time to delight in you! He is an amazing God.
God’s abundant blessings to you, Faye
God's Abundant Blessings! 