Corona Devo 403

It's a hard-knock life...to hear some people tell it.

Sure, we all have our bad days, but some people bend your ear with their complaints and critiques until the weight of them begins to hold us underwater too.  And they aren't even our issues!

I realized this the other day, as my mood and temperament were getting sucked into the waves of someones billows (via text, no less!).   I found myself getting upset and even slightly worked up about trivial-grievances that had nothing to do with me.  

It was not even 7 A.M., and my mood had gone from ready-for-the-day to ticked-at-the-world, because I was checking in with my phone and my friends before checking in with God and His Word.

I realized the negative chatter was pulling me down and also that it had absolutely nothing to do with me.  And I also remembered that we have choices and that I was allowing distractions (phone and a negative person) to disrupt my day before it had even really started.  

I put the phone down and picked the Bible up.  I knew that I needed to separate from the yuck and connect with Yahweh (a Hebrew name for the Lord). That much I knew, but God reminded me of why: He is our safe refuge.

1 O God, listen to my cry!  Hear my prayer!

2 From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed.  ~Psalm 61:1-2

Yep, this was me. Coming to God with a plea. The world and it's people can suck us in and weigh us down. What can we do?

We can come to God, and cry out to Him: O God, listen to my cry!  Hear my prayer! (Psalm 61:1).

And the Lord knows why we are coming: I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed (Psalm 61:2). Overwhelmed with our troubles sometimes but also swayed by the woes of others too. Today I was being washed out to sea and it wasn't even about me. My heart was overwhelmed, but when we plug-in to Jesus, it doesn't need to stay that way.

Lead me to the towering rock of safety, (3) for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.  ~Psalm 61:2-3

I felt a sense of peace...it felt like God's Word was pouring over me like a coating. Sealing me. Separating me from things that did not need to affect me. Sealing and filling me with things that did need to affect me. ...for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. 

The Lord will do that for us. He becomes and is a safe refuge, a fortress for us. The world is relentless. People and their opinions, complaints, and kibitzing can bombard us and steal our joy and sanity, or at the very least, our good mood. But God reminds us that He is a safehaven for us. His Word creates a shield over our hearts and minds, and when we tune-in to God, we tune-in to a safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

I felt refreshed. I felt renewed. I had been filled up with God's good and I had let the world's negativity drain from my spirit like an untied water balloon. I was in a new place emotionally and spiritually, and I wanted to stay here!

4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 

5 For you have heard my vows, O God.  You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name. ~Psalm 61:4-5

Having the buffer/coating/shield of God's word and truth around our hearts and minds is like being in a sanctuary. It feels safe and pleasant, like a bird beneath the shelter of (a mother's) wing. That's the rock of safety...safe refuge...fortress (Psalm 61:2-3) that The Lord and His word are to our lives.

It's not a physical sanctuary, instead it is a spiritual sanctuary. An emotional sanctuary. A sanctuary of Truth, instead of worldly criticism, entitlement and negativity.

And the best part is: God's peace amidst the chaos is our inheritance. The life-changing/mood-altering sanctuary that God provides for us, and around us, and within us is our inheritance because we are His children.

I claimed it as I read Psalm 61. You claim it too.

The world/other people/the-early-morning-texts-of-a-friend should not dictate our lives or our moods. The Lord Jesus Christ lays claim to that honor, and the coating that His Word brings over my thoughts and my day provide a rock of safety...safe refuge...fortress for me to live and let-live in.

Today, before the world and others seep into our psyche: Let's put our phones (and the influence of others) down and claim our inheritance.

Feel it pouring over you like a coating. Sealing you. Separating you from things that did not need to affect you and sealing/filling you with things that do need to affect you. ...for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com 

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