Sometimes anxiety washes over me, depleting my energy, leaving me limp with weakness. Like the shifting sand beneath the power of an ebbing tide, I lose my sure footing. A misty fog shrouds any clear thoughts that try to stand their ground and leaves me straining to walk by faith and not by sight because I can't find my way.
Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever find yourself letting your guard down, lowering your shield of faith only to find yourself getting zapped by a fiery dart of the enemy? The poison in the dart is swift and sure and finds its mark making a way of entry for the anxiety, the shifting sand, and the fog that clouds the mind.
It's a relentless cycle, isn't it?
Or it can be, if we don't learn how to stop it.
The Lord is teaching me. Some days I don't have the gumption to do the things I know to do, but those days are becoming fewer. I'm beginning to understand in my knower that God IS my refuge - I mean really know it and act on it. I'm learning that stopping the busyness, if only for a few moments, and resting IN Him calms the furious storm. His Presence stabilizes my footing and anoints my heart with His peace that surpasses all understanding.
But it requires obedience to His quiet whisper to come and sit with Him awhile.
Are you caught in this same cycle? Let's break these chains together. I'll scoot over and make room for you while we sit with the One who loves us with a perfect love.
For thus said the Lord
God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me]
you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be
your strength.
~ Isaiah 30:15, AMP
A Tweetable to Encourage Others
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The Perils of a Pastor's Wife
by Nan Jones
Chapter One
After the Fire, A Gentle Whisper
ONLY GOD KNEW where my husband was. I had run from the business meeting before its completion. Tempers flared. Tongues were unleashed, and nearly three years of fruitful ministry were all but destroyed. My heart beat madly within my chest, fighting desperately not to break from the pain of rejection. Angry tears stung my cheeks as I bolted from the sanctuary. I didn’t know if I could continue in this thing called ministry. God was asking too much of me.
My husband, David, and I had been ministering in the small rural church for three years. Under his leadership and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, the church had experienced exponential growth. God’s mercy and grace flowed into the lives of our people. Church had become a place of joy, restoration, and refuge.
Then evil reared its ugly head.
The Perils of a Pastor's Wife may be purchased on Amazon. This would make the perfect gift for Pastor Appreciation Month (October).
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