Verse of the Day - Psalm 3:5-6

I lay down and slept; I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side. ~Psalm 3:5-6 (NLT)

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If anyone had cause to sleep with one eye open, it was David. Saul was trying to kill David, plain and simple, and Saul didn't go on his own. He took help with him, and lots of it -- David was a wanted man on the run. And yet, he could say that he slept well without fear, even if an army of 10,000 hunted him down. He trusted God that much. Wow.

How 'bout us? Can we say the same?

The worries in life can cause our minds to be on the run, and we can feel like a hunted animal, trying to hide in this cave or under that bush. And yet the worries stalk us like an army of 10,000 men. Who can rest, who can sleep when we can't turn off the worry?

David said, "The Lord watches over me." He understood God's ability to reign supreme and watch over the earth, and God's love and care for him personally. And he trusted God. He believed that God would take care of him, period. And so he could lay down, close his eyes, and let go of trying to control his universe. He slept, because God never does.

Oh, to take lessons from David...

A friend said so wisely yesterday, "Control is an illusion. We may have influence, but we don't have control." How true that is -- God is in control! We sing it, we say it, but do we believe it?

There are very likely things in your life that are hounding you right now. It could be finances, family strife, pressures on the job, or health concerns. You might lay awake at night replaying negative film footage of the past, and create new horror scenes yet to be filmed...and your heart and mind race back and forth between wanting to trust God and feeling the need to try to control the situations. I pray that you can let go with both hands the things you're hanging onto. Give God the honor He is due by trusting Him to be who He is -- the Maker and Provider of everything you see and don't see.

God is God, and we are not. Can we rest in that fact? I know He's up to the challenge, so give it a whirl -- trust Him! Don't try to predict the outcome and don't let circumstances discourage you -- keep believing God is good and loving and capable of being Himself.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
~ Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

Rest well, my friends, as you trust the Lord for all the enemies you face.

Love,
Joelene