Dear anxious heart ✍🏼...

                                         🪷🪷🪷

It's a little past midnight, Saturday morning. A little girl stands by the roadside. She's clearly trapped in her thoughts. A thousand worries and fears plague her poor heart and mind every passing second. She knows where she needs to be, but can not move from where she currently stands. The voice of her anxiety thunders in her thoughts. It cripples her all the way to her toes. She knows she needs to make a bold move, a leap of faith we call it, and start walking... But how can she? How can she, when all she can think of is the many dangers that hide in the dead of night, waiting to pounce on such as herself? How can she, when she's heard of people who've been on that same path but ended up victims? How can she, when she can hardly see the next step? 

                                         🪷🪷🪷

I'm in a somewhat new season of life, and of course that comes with quite a number of changes ~ most of which are not too comfortable. I like being in retrospect before I fully plunge into new seasons because it kinda gives me a clearer perspective on how and where to begin. Oftentimes it's the very lessons I learn in prior seasons that carry me through the new ones. I treat every season as a brooding phase ~ a preparation for something greater in the seasons that follow ~ that which no eye has seen, no ear heard, and no human mind conceived.

In times past, the enemy has made my mind his playground. Most introverts are by nature overthinkers. It's even worse for the melancholics... usually we are very detail-oriented. We like to think through all the facts and do all the math before we plunge into something new. Trusting God is a somewhat difficult concept for us because more often than not, He withholds the details we so desperately need to know ~ the how, why, where and when. The enemy leaps at such opportunities to fill our minds with all kinds of crippling fears, worries and anxieties, so much so that it's almost impossible to make progress. 

Looking back, I realize that I allowed the voice of anxiety overrule the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, quieten the only assurance I had from the Word of God and in essence determine my fate. I'm learning just now that it doesn't have to be this way. I have the upper hand in this. There is a voice that speaks more powerfully and more majestically...far beyond what the voices of my fears can project. There is a name that is above every other, the name of He who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords. There is One with ultimate authority to determine the trajectory of my life.

When I was much younger, I really didn't understand why people sang songs that claimed to lift the name of Jesus higher. "Isn't it lifted up already? Why take it upon myself to lift it higher? Why lift the name and not the person of Jesus Himself?" 

Now I understand that there will always be stubborn thoughts, feelings and circumstances that try to compete for that highest place in our lives. Those challenges we go through and wonder why God is silent ...those that come to test our faith...those that make us wonder whether God is really as powerful as He says He is. The list goes on and on. There are names that try to exalt themselves higher than Jesus...be it terminal ailments, death of loved ones, wars and disasters, financial crisis, failures. They're the very things that make us question 'How could God allow this?...Why didn't He stop it?' Every delay or unanswered prayer leaves us belittling God and magnifying the problems. Question is, how best can we respond to such as these?

I came across an amazing passage of Scripture and I think it beautifully sums it up. 😊

😺

Psalm 93:3 NIV

The seas have lifted up, O LORD, 

the seas have lifted up their voice; 

the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

😺

When it comes to the voices, realize that it isn't a one-man show. The fact that you hear God's voice doesn't mean that other voices won't speak to you too. In any case, they will do the best they can to make their voices louder than God's, and in so doing frustrate you and keep you from enjoying the wonderful blessings that God has prepared for you in every season. NLT version rightly calls them 'mighty oceans'. Truth be told, they roar so loudly and thunder so fiercely that they drown that one voice that we're meant to listen to. However, the author of this psalm doesn't leave it at that. He continues rightly and says (Psalms 93:4 NIV):

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, 

mightier than the breakers of the sea- 

the LORD on high is mighty.

I find this declaration so powerful. The author knows that the voice of the seas and the roar of the mighty oceans are out to try and magnify themselves above the place of God. He knows the waves are out to try and make him lose his firm footing in the faith he has in God. But, he also knows that it's upon him to see to it that he does not let them win. He takes it upon himself to exalt and magnify God above those voices. NLT version rightly says, "the LORD above is MIGHTIER THAN THESE." He knew too well that there was a voice more powerful, a roar more majestic. All He had to do was lift up that voice above that of the seas and the oceans. 

Here's what David has to say concerning that voice: 😊

🌊

Psalm 29:3-4 NLT

The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. 

The God of glory thunders. 

The LORD thunders over the mighty sea.

The voice of the LORD is powerful; 

the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

🌊

You might want to read the whole of Psalm 29 and marvel at just how powerful and majestic the voice of God is. Let not the roar of the oceans and the pounding waves of the sea make you belittle this voice. In the middle of what seems like a great turbulence, let that voice thunder above it all. 

Concerning the names, here's a portion of Scripture I believe we're familiar with: 😊

🌸

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place 

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father.

🌸

Once again, there will always be things that'll try and take that highest place, and exalt their names above our Lord's. We are to consciously lift His name higher than them all. Never are we to allow them have the upper hand. God has  conferred so much power and authority in this one name...it was given for our salvation (Acts 4:12). At your lowest, let His name be lifted even higher. The storm should not silence your song. Raise a Hallelujah to the King of kings, even at your worst.

As for me, come what may, here's the song I will sing: The Lord is good, I will lift His name higher.

For every anxious heart, here's my two cents. I pray it makes a difference in your life like it did in mine. Let's brave our fears, shall we?

•

•

•

•

•

Hello there, anxious heart!

I know you're stuck

Crippled by a thousand fears

Numbed by a thousand anxieties

Here's what you should know:

Though the storms rage,

and the seas lift their voice;

Though the oceans roar like thunder,

and the waves pound the shore;

there's a voice more powerful,

there's a roar more majestic,

there's a name that's mightier.

Don't let this storm silence your song

Raise a Hallelujah even at your darkest

Lift up that voice

Exalt that name

Let it resound over the waters

Let it thunder over the seas

One thing I know...

"Mightier than the violent raging of the seas,

mightier than the breakers on the shore ~

the LORD above is MIGHTIER THAN THESE."

•

•

•

•

•

                                       🪷🪷🪷

Though still unsure, this little girl makes her first step. The night is still dark, and the voices are still trying to toss her about as they please. The only difference, however, is that there's just one voice she chooses to heed to. As if in a bid to amplify it, she echoes it out loud: His candle shines upon my head, and by His light I walk through darkness. She's breaking free from whatever it is that's been holding her back. She braves the darkness one step at a time. The other voices have not fully subsided though. She has to keep echoing out loud what that one voice whispered in her heart. She knows it's dangerous, but she marches on with yet another assurance: Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life. So on and on she goes, bold enough to face every one of her fears. I watch her until she's out of sight. I smile because I know she'll make it out the other side. Her unknown, dark though it is to her, is fully known by He whose voice she's heeded to. In essence, she is safe. 

                                        🪷🪷🪷