Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Multitude of Anxieties

When I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:18-19
I am doing a topical study in my Sunday School class and my girls chose anxiety as our first subject. Our times of late have caused a multitude of thoughts in most of us, and many of them are not positive. Even the most optimistic are becoming depressed. When I read Charles H. Spurgeon's devotion on the verses above to a special sister going through a hard time she said, "How did Mr. Spurgeon know what is going on in my life?" This led me to share this excellent devotion with all of you. I pray you are blessed and choose to present all of your burdens to God in prayer and leave them there (Philippians 4:4-7). Soak in these words of wisdom from a giant of the faith.
Some of you are perplexed with a multitude of anxieties about your life. You do not know what to do. One plan was suggested, and for a time it seemed the best action. But now you have doubts. You are bewildered and you cannot see Providence's clue. You are lost in a maze. Indeed, at this moment, you are depressed.
You have tried various ways and methods to escape your present difficulty. But you have been disappointed and distracted. Your thoughts have no order; they drag you in opposite directions. The currents meet and twist as if you were in a whirlpool.
My perplexed friend, remember the children of Israel at the Red Sea. The sea was before them, rocks were on either side, and the cruel Egyptians roared in the rear. Imitate Israel's actions. "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today" (Exodus 14:13). You reply, "I cannot be quiet. I am agitated, perturbed, perplexed, tossed, and distracted. What shall I do?"
"In the multitude of my anxieties with me, Your comforts delight my soul" (Psalm 94:19). Turn your eyes to the deep things of God. Cease from anxious consideration of seen things, which are temporary, and gaze by faith on things that are eternal.
Remember, your way is ordered by a higher power than your will and choice. The eternal God has fixed your every step. All things are fixed by the Father's hand. He who loved us from before the foundations of the world has immutably determined every step of our pilgrimage.
It is a blessed thing, after you have been muddling and meddling with your anxieties, to throw your burdens on the Lord and leave them there.
Always listen!!

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