Something Different

…You have seen with your own eyes all that the LORD your God has done…The LORD will do the same…where you are going. Do not be afraid…the LORD your God himself will fight for you. ~ Deuteronomy 3:21-22 NIV

Change: something different.

Growing up, things were constantly changing. I felt like nothing could be trusted. For a non-military family, we were moving all the time. When I grew up and moved out, all I wanted was stability, consistency.

We’re currently in a season of change. This season has had “immeasurably more” blessings (Ephesians 3:20-21), but also mountains of crushing stress. Unfortunately, my response has been to try to hold everything together. The other day, the stress was so overwhelming that I felt tightness in my chest. The following morning it was still there. But I climbed into my God-chair and put on worship music. And in natural response to my God, I lifted my arms to worship Him. It was with my arms lifted that I could take a deep breath and all the tightness was alleviated. That’s when I remembered what He had said to me during our fast at the beginning of the year, “When you’re choking, you lift your arms to open up your airways and receive oxygen, which is needed for life. When you’ve choked out life by trying to hold it so desperately in your own hands, open your hands and lift them up to the Lord in surrender. For only then can you open yourself up to receive His life.”

Life taught me to try to hold it all together. But Holy Spirit has taught me to surrender it to Him. If you’ve been holding on to something so tightly that everything within you is bound up, lift your hands in surrender. Draw in God’s sweet breath and exhale, allowing everything within you to release. Releasing everything to Him is safe, for He is trustworthy.

©Heather Potts 2017