Anna praises God

"[Anna] never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God." Luke 2:37, 38

The Bible tells us Anna was a widow and a prophet who lived to the age of eighty-four. She enjoyed a close relationship with God because of her time in fasting and prayer. As an older woman, Anna met the child Jesus. Her immediate reaction was praise! Then, "She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). May we react with such enthusiasm and immediate need to share the miracle of Jesus with others.

Dear God, help us speak boldly to the ones who need rescue. Give us the words to share Jesus. May we also enjoy a close relationship with you through prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Who do you know that needs rescue today? What words is God giving you to share Jesus with them?

Shaping your prayers

Worry has a powerful impact on our lives, doesn't it? It invades our thoughts. It tends to shape our actions and interactions with others. Sometimes the shaping is beneficial, but worry often causes increased - and unnecessary - stress.

I'll admit it: I'm a worrier. From something as trivial as what I'm wearing to more weighty issues as how my Christian testimony affects others, I spend time and energy fretting. Is this shirt appropriate and does it look okay? Did I upset my friend with that comment I meant to be funny? Are my kids healthy and getting enough sunshine, exercise, variety of foods? Am I being a faithful witness, turning others to Christ or turning them away? On and on it goes.

Yes, I'm a worrier. But I'm not supposed to be. Worry takes the focus off God, and His power in my life is diminished when I worry. It says I don't trust God to be Himself - good, loving, kind, generous, to name only a few of His attributes.

I love how The Message translates Philippians 4: "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Wonderful indeed. Praying in faith takes the worry from my life and shapes it into a petition, a praise of God's goodness. Praying in faith takes the power out of my hands, out of everyone's control, and puts it back on God where it belongs. It allows God to reveal Himself and His nature to me, which allows me to reveal it to others.

What are your worries, dear readers? How can you shape them into a petition or a praise? Spend time today simply asking God to fix that situation burdening your heart, then thank Him for doing it. Thank Him for His faithfulness. He loves you!

Praying many blessings on you today,
Shelley

Heavenly Father, please take these burdens from us. Help us to give them to you. Help us live according to your word, which says to praise you instead of worry. We thank you for your faithfulness to us, for your love and your power and your personal touch in our lives. As we pray, may we focus on you and on the sacrifice made for us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Depression, Addiction, Brokenness, Loneliness... And yet.

It has been brought to my attention repeatedly over the last few weeks that so many people are suffering seemingly unbearable circumstances. I say 'seemingly' because our hardships and heartaches rise up and threaten to choke us. The weight of our battles press us down until we have no strength. We buckle under the oppression. Ruined finances. Persisting unemployment. Desperate loneliness. Severe depression. Broken relationships. Unshakable addictions.

In the midst of it, something nags at me. I have to think, "And yet..."

I've fallen prey to many of these disasters, and most of them just in the last 36 months. Depression that threatens my life. Finances that look so impossible we'll never know freedom again. Months of unemployment that I thought I'd never experience. Loneliness that takes my breath away. Disappointment on a mammoth scale.

And yet...

There is a light if I look for it. There is hope if I can silence the confusing babble of the destroyer. If I can just utter the words that take me back to my Savior, 'and yet' has significant meaning.

It means that there are those who refuse to buckle. As many of the Chilean miners did upon their rescue from the underground this week, there are people who raise fists high in the air and proclaim victory. Perhaps more than anyone, these people know the truth of Psalm 30:3. "O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."

These strong souls encourage me, bless me with their determination to defeat the enemy. They tell me not to buckle. They remind me that I'm not alone and God knows each breath I take. He knows the ones taken from me, too. He is good and faithful and full of mercy. Whatever happens in this life, He is worthy to be praised.

Have you praised Him in spite of your circumstances lately? Tell us about it. What defeats the enemy more than a group of Jesus lovers uniting and shouting their praises?

And when another disaster seems imminent, remember: "For You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall" (2 Samuel 22:30). Let's start leaping, dear readers.

Lord, I love you. How much more is my love because you hear my voice and my supplications. Because you incline your ear to me, I will call upon you as long as I live. Even when death surrounds me and the enemy seems to close in, when trouble and sorrow call my name, I will call upon the name of my God. Deliver my soul, Lord! For you are gracious and righteous and merciful. Amen.

(A prayer from Psalm 116:1-5)

Many blessings to you,
Shelley