PROVERBS 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Last Saturday my Mom and I drove to the North Georgia Mountains to attend a funeral of a dear friend's Mom. We arrived early to do a little leaf looking at my Mom’s request and we took a drive up Black Rock Mountain in Clayton, GA. I’ve been visiting the North Georgia Mountains most of my life, but I’ve never been in the driver’s seat up a mountain to sight see! I didn’t give it too much though because ya mind ya Mama! Mama wanted to go up the mountain to see the leaves so I took her!
As we made our way up the mountain the twist and turns were not too challenging but the more we kept driving the more those twist and turns became intense, winding around, back and forth making road more narrow.
I need to interject that I’m afraid of heights and once we got past the first head of trees and all those beautiful leaves on display I got a good look of God’s splendor and glory of the valley, straight down, just a few feet away from our car which caused my heart to race and I began to panic!
All I wanted to do was go back! I wanted off that mountain!
I recall saying to my Mama, “why in the world did I let you talk me into coming up this mountain!” Back talking your Mama ain't ever a good idea y'all! I wanted to turn around but there wasn’t anywhere to turn around on a mountain road like that! I felt trapped, hopeless, terrified, no way out … but up! I drowned out the noise by turning the radio OFF! As if that was gonna go any thing good. ha! I sat up in my seat resting my chest on the steering wheel gripping it so tightly as if it were my only saving grace. Anxiety was eating me alive! Then I said, “Lord, help me!” I’m pretty sure I said that all the way up that mountain.
Physically, I was fine, mentally I was a mess but isn’t this where so many of us live because of COVID-19 and other storms we face. We can become anxiety ridden, full of fear. We want to go back to normal but we can't, our world has changed, we have to keep moving forward. The mountain I was facing on Saturday I knew I had to make a choice. I could keep freaking out or use the tools of my faith.
I choose faith over fear.
I choose the tools of prayer and trust. I began praying asking the Lord to calm my anxious heart and I kept trusting, I was not without hope. I kept my thoughts on the destination and my eyes off the side of the mountain where my fears kicked in. We can’t gaze on our problems, fear will win every time.
In the middle of a pandemic where there are uncertainties, where life as we know it has changed, or even in the storms life brings Satan wants fear to wash over emotions and fill us with anxiety. If we keep our eyes on our destination, keep moving forward, keep trusting, and keep praying, if we will rest in knowing that God hasn’t left us without hope, we will make it.
Our hope is in Jesus. I invite you to exercise your faith and let the living word calm your anxious heart, Jesus will carry you forward to higher ground, peace is the by product of trusting Jesus.
Scripture references for today:
1 Peter 5:7 Philippians 4:9 John 16:33
Sharon Ingram
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