Letters Written on Our Hearts

Anxiety, Consolations and Christmas Cheer

Good morning Lord! 

I sure do need you on this Monday before December.  It seems like all the undone “things” from this past year are weighing me down, cluttering my mind and my inbox, threatening to steal the peace…the peace on earth we are supposed to celebrate this month…and always.

I must go back to my go-to verse when worry grips my heart.

Psalm 94:18-19-NASB1995

“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”.

What exactly does it mean by consolations?  Consolaltion is the attendant to mourning (Job 29:25; Jeremiah 16:7), due perhaps to the loss of a close relative (2 Samual 12:24).  Such comfort goes out to people who are distressed and alone (Pslam 77:2-3), who weep bitterly (Isiah 22:4), or who are extremely anxious (Psalm 94:19). 

Observations:

My foot has slipped. In this world of trials and grief and suffering, with pressure to make holidays perfect and tend to all the “to-dos”, I sometimes feel as if I am falling. Thank goodness (right before my face plant), the tender Spirit of God reminds me to stop what I am doing and sit with him.  As I do, Psalm 94:18-19 comes to mind.

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.  I breath in deeply and let this truth settle into my soul.  Lovingkindness is such a powerful word to meditate on.  Despite my feelings, I am not going to fall because Your lovingkindness is going to hold me up, hold me together…just hold me!

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me. Ok, stop right there. Anyone besides me have ruminating, anxious thoughts that steal your peace, your sleep, or your ability to concentrate? Think about the multiplication process when we let one thought, that well may be a lie planted by the Enemy, increase and multiply until our head aches, our shoulders tighten, and our gut reacts! 

But the Lord doesn’t leave me there. 

Enter Your consolations.  From anxiety to soul delight, from doubt to hope, from worry to comfort, from cares to joy, from upset to cheer…even Christmas cheer.  No matter what version you choose, the message is the same.  The Lord calms me and moves me towards Him and the blessings he has for my heart.  And then, just like a Christmas miracle, instead of anxious thoughts multiplying within me, God’s mercy, peace and love are multiplied within me (Jude vs. 2). 

Prayer:

I’m ready now Lord.  I’m ready to see this day through your lens, my mind set on things above.  Thank you, Lord, for meeting me and holding me up in my situation today. Hold my friends up too. Console them, strengthen them and remind them of your gentle lovingkindness. In Jesus name, Amen