Thank You, Lord, For The Gift of Anxiety: Reclaiming Christmas With Praise and Prayer...
Friends...I have to tell you the truth...During my time in school, I became prideful enough to believe that my studies for educational purposes were enough. It's true that the work I did was valuable and helpful to my familiarity with God's Word, BUT I now recognize that, in my busyness, I traded my relentless pursuit of fellowship with Jesus and an understanding of the Father's perfect Word for a grade.
I began to see this several months before I finished because of a combination of increased anxiety and depression, inability to think..to work..to function, and the Holy Spirit's faithful reminder of a verse I had fallen in love with years ago...
"He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts." Luke 1:51
This passage (Luke 1:46-55) comes from "The Magnificat"—Mary's song of praise after she grasps the fact that God has placed His Son in her womb. Here she opens herself in worship to YAHWEH, calling Him her Savior, indicating a close fellowship with Him. She uses Old Testament references she studied and held dear to declare His faithfulness, power, holiness, mercy, and favor toward Israel.
Mary understood that God did not have a physical body, but the reference to "His arm" had always meant that His power came from Him like one, both for His merciful protection and the discipline of His people, but also to drive out those who proudly positioned themselves as authorities over God and man.
For instance, "when the proud Assyrian, Egyptian, or Babylonian had come against the people of God, He had often scattered them and driven away their armies."* We also see many other moments in Scripture where God allows scatter...even where He literally scatters His people among the nations...in order to humble them, "turning their counsel into folly, and confounding them in their own imaginations."*
In other words, God allowed confusion, anxiety, and depression...frustrating their plans.
Oh goodness...modern-day girl...does this feel familiar?
Psalm 107 takes the reader on a beautiful journey through the depths of chesed...God's faithful, covenant love and loyalty. We know that Romans 8 shows that nothing can separate a Child of God from His love. Still, here the Psalmist notes four layers of humanity that will separate us from His protection: Ignorance, Sin, Rebellion, and Self-sufficiency.
We are going to focus on the prideful place of self-sufficiency...
In verses 23-27, we see that the wayfarers, "conducting trade on the vast waters," couldn't help but be believers in God's mighty arm because of what they had seen in the deep waves. However, in their busyness, they forgot about Him. They became prideful. Yet in His faithfulness, and by His mercy, He used a storm at sea to get their attention:
He spoke and raised a stormy wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage melting away in anguish,
they reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
And all their skill was useless."
(v 25-27)
Do you see this? They were so overwhelmed by the storm before them that they could not function. They were physically scattered to the point that they could no longer do their job.
They were useless.
Oh goodness...Christmas-week girl, does this feel familiar?
Don't stop reading, though. Consider what happens next. God put a prayer in their hearts and then rescued them:
"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for."
(v 28-30)
This is the rhythm of this entire chapter. Every time God's children fall into the pit of self, He gives them a prayer and a way out.
This is precisely what happened to me! When I look back now, I see the glory of His arm moving to both hold me fast and put me square on my back so that all I could see was HIM. He scattered my prideful mind...Completing what He wanted to according to His plan for my life and confounding many of my own efforts that I pursued without Him.
On the flip side, my heart is so full as I dwell on the praises of both Mary and the Psalmist...
"Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love -- chesed --
and his wondrous works for all humanity.
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love."
(Ps 107:31-32, 43)
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
(Luke 1:46-47)
Ladies, I am almost positive you can relate to all of this from your own perspective. With that, can I challenge you with something I have shared with several in my close circle? You may already be doing this…but if not...spend 30 mins every day this week in surrendered prayer outside of your quiet time. For instance, I do my Bible study in the morning, then my 30 minutes of prayer in the evening before bed.
One thing the Lord has been so faithful to show me in my prideful scatter...He is worthy ABOVE ALL. Thus, slowing down is not just a best practice; it is the difference between life and death... thriving or crashing... having a sound mind or being filled with fear and fog.
There’s no time like Christmas to be intentional in this way!
Take back the busyness -- the scatter -- and give it to our merciful God, who is offering you the truth that fellowship with Him is more important than any other thing, ever!
"It was my cross you bore
So I could live in the freedom you died for
And now my life is yours
And I will sing of your goodness forevermore
Worthy is your name Jesus
You deserve the praise
Worthy is your name
And now my shame is gone
I stand amazed in your love undeniable
Your grace goes on and on
And I will sing of your goodness forevermore
Be exalted now in the heavens
As your glory fills this place
You alone deserve our praise
You’re the name above all names"
*Barnes Notes on the Bible
*Matthew Poole's Commentary
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