Monday Morning Encouragement - When Anxious Thoughts Multiply

If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul. 

Psalm 94:17-19

Hello Cottage Friends,

I recall reading these words and writing them in my journal many years ago: 

"There may come a time in the life of a Christian when his soul feels adrift. It's not that she has left God, nor has He left her (for the Lord has said He will never leave nor forsake us). But there's a dryness, a thinness of spirit, that takes hold and threatens to lay God's loved one low."

I've been there and maybe you have, too. Or maybe . . .just maybe. . .you're in that place today. If so, I want to encourage you to stop and let God be your help. It's so easy to allow ourselves to feel estranged from our Lord at such times. We must make a conscious decision to let Him console us. Meditate on the Lord's words, such as these, and let them delight your soul:

The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." -- Jeremiah 31:3

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." -- Matthew 11:28-29

"Do not fear, for I am with you; 

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, 

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." -- Isaiah 41:10

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah (pause and reflect). -- Psalm 32:7

From my distress I called upon the LORD; 

The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. 

The LORD is for me; I will not fear; 

What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:5-6

The Lord loves you with an everlasting love. He's drawing you to Him with lovingkindness. The Lord beckons you to come to Him in your weariness and give Him your burdens. He will give you rest; rest for your soul. Don't fear. He's with you. Don't be anxious, He is your God. He will strengthen you and help you. He will hold you up with His righteous right hand. The Lord is your hiding place. He will preserve you from whatever is troubling you. He surrounds you and will deliver you. Call upon the Lord in your distress. He will answer you and place your feet in safety. God is for you. Don't allow fear to persuade you otherwise. There is nothing that man can do to you that God cannot overcome. God loves you, dear one.

I leave you, for now, with the song He Will Hold Me Fast by the Gettys. Let it calm your anxious heart, as it has mine.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Hugs,