Overwhelming Freedom
Author: Hope at Joy In The Mourning Ministries
I have recently been going through the New Testament and one thing that has stood out to me is how Jesus was completely alone during His trail leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. His disciples and family betrayed Him, yet He still knew this was the ultimate plan of Salvation. Jesus did this so that we could live free from sin. He was alone so that we would never be alone, He mad a way for us.
I have battled with fear over a decent span of time in my life so far and have been able to find encouragement from growing in my knowledge of Jesus. With that knowledge, another miracle that made that me think Jesus is strong enough to heal my battle with fear is the story of the Roman guard that had a sick son. He believed that Jesus could heal His son. He was a Roman soldier completely unclean to the Jewish faith, yet his faith remained. I was recently reminded of this example as II was watching The Chosen and this came up in the story line. (not to give spoilers away :) The soldier had to recoginze he was not worthy, but knew Jesus could heal his son. I found this encouraging because he simply had faith Jesus could heal.
Sometimes circumstances do not result in the healing we think is going to happen. In those moments it can be difficult to trust God when they do not go like we think they might or should. In my life, many occurrences like that have happened. I look back on it years later and can see God working. We may not realize what God is doing now in our lives and it may feel like everything is falling out of place and in total chaos, but we know that God is still on that throne and later maybe we can realize and see how God is working in each of our lives.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I do not know why I struggle with so much fear sometimes, but I do know that God is still on the throne and He is there to guide me and help me. A verse I am trying to memorize that a friend recommended to help combat fear is Isaiah 41:10 which says, “fear not for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I find this verse very comforting when I feel the panic attacks coming as I say it over and over again. I doubted this would help for a while because nothing I was doing was helping. Repetition of saying the verse over and over again helped my thoughts get in a better place. I am still not over the anxiety yet, but this can be a tool to help when the thoughts come or feel to overwhelming.
So, no matter your current battle, whether it is fear, like me, anxiety, grief, or any other circumstance, let us find joy together in knowing we are not alone. Our perfect God sees us and cares for us. Instead of being overwhelmed by our surroundings, let us be overwhelmed by the freedom we have in Christ to take our time healing in Him and trusting His perfect plan, although it is probably very different than what we can imagine.
