Jesus Never Takes The Day Off

“But Jesus replied, ‘My Father is always working, and so am I.” John 5:17

My eyes are as wide as an owl. I can’t shut off my mind. Looking for the solution to the problem, the situation that I find myself. There must be an answer.

Of course there is and as I struggle to discover it, I remind myself, you can sleep, God’s still awake.

I like to help God. Don’t you? Planning is in my genes. It just seems logical that I just may have the perfect idea to solve this situation and if I clue God in on it, we will have a solution. Just call me junior god.

God knew our struggle over fear, anxiety and control would weigh us down. He understood we would toss and turn, chew our nails, and try to fix everything. Psalm 121 is a mere eight verses, but those eight verses are powerful affirmations of God’s provision and protection, “Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.”¹

When we grasp this beautiful concept, it makes laying our head on our pillow each night a welcomed blessing. A time we look forward to as an opportunity for renewal.

When we forget He is alert, present and always working, we lose sleep and that is the very thing God created for us that equips us for the day ahead.

My mom in her wisdom has told me many times, “If you can get a good night’s sleep, you can face almost anything.” And, as usual, mom is right.

Here are a couple of questions I ask myself when I am struggling with anxiety over an issue:

1. Is there anything I can do? If there is nothing I can do to change the situation, then well, there’s nothing I can do. It is either in someone else’s hands or the only hands that can change it will be God’s.
2. Have I looked for the truth in the situation or am I fretting over scenarios that have not happened and may never happen? This is big for me because I am notorious for crossing bridges before I get to them. Sometimes I think I should be a fiction writer. I can dream up some stuff, but most often my plots don’t seem to have a happy ending.

Our challenge is really about trust. Can we believe Him when He says He is always working and never asleep? Can we believe Him when He assures us His plan is for good and not disaster?²

 The remedy for the ailment of anxiety is trust.

The next time you find yourself in a tizzy or tossing and turning instead of sleeping, take a deep breath, ask yourself these couple of questions and pray for God to transform your anxiety into peace.

I have found praying God’s Word is powerful. Let’s use this verse for one you can hold on to tonight, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” Psalm 4:8 Change those pronouns to your name and it’s gets to be a personal slice of The Bread of Life.

Can you picture the transformation that believing God and taking Him at His word can make in your life? Imagine how making the choice to grab hold of these nuggets of gold from God can change the quality of the life you are living today.

We need peace. We need to know that when we have no clue, God is working. To believe this we must have faith; we must trust; we must make a choice. “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.”³

Gather with me under Jesus’ umbrella.

This post also appears over at my friend Ellen Chauvin‘s site. I am blessed to be a part of her Blogging Anniversary.

Ellen is giving away a wonderful Sarah Young –  Jesus Calling Devotional this week. Hop over HERE and leave a comment on her blog and you will be entered to win. I love Sarah’s writing. She speaks to my heart so often. This weeks winner will truly be blessed. Winner to be announced next week.

¹Psalm 121:4, NLT
²Jeremiah 29:11, NLT
³Psalm 121:5, NLT