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This isn’t where I was planning on heading today, but the Lord directed me to it and I know for a good reason.
Women’s RX for anxiety meds increased by 40%
Who do you know, this July day of 2020, whose life hasn’t been affected in some unfamiliar way this year? I have to say there’s no adult who hasn’t faced many changes in, uninvited, unwanted and unshakable ways to some extent. As women, we’re crippling under the weight of anxiety. A recent report states anti-anxiety prescriptions went up by 40% in the past couple of months. If you’re struggling in this way, you’re not alone.
Randall Boggs?
In Disney’s 2001 movie, Monster’s Inc, Randall Boggs is the monster who is invisible at times and then appears, in any number of surprise ways/times, without announcing himself. Anxiety can be like that. You thought you were handling things just fine, and without warning, you’re in pieces.
*Sometimes medicine is part of a good and necessary plan to battle anxiety, nothing here is said to negate this.*
God’s Word in a Pandemic
If you feel like you have missed the scripture that denounces God’s Word for such a time as Covid-19 (and every affect thereof), you have not. There isn’t one. In fact, we can learn a lot from scripture and through so many lives we’re privy to throughout these 66 books. We can all think of Job when trials come, but don’t forget about young Mary. A young virgin showing up pregnant was a death-sentence. Just two quick examples of the absolute relevance of God’s Word to us right now. As always.
Where have the Good Days gone?
As Believers, we have the assurance of God though His Word. If you long for enjoy life again, and the good days, here’s the map to where they are.
I Peter 3:10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Are you Whoever?
Whoever would love life and see good days…raises hand! That’s me; I want to love life and see good days. Now, the tongue. I’ve talked about it numerous times here, as does the Word of God. It’s that little part of our body that reveals what’s in our hearts and is so very hard to control. But God. And here again, our instruction, the first prerequisite of enjoying the life God is showing us here in Peter is, keeping our tongue from evil and from deceitful speech.
A Lesson in Language
“Keep“. A verb; to stop, i.e. Restrain, quit, desist, come to an end.
That is a willful determination to do something in the opposite direction and with great power. Our tongues aren’t quietly waiting for the next kind thing we have to say, according to scripture. It’s more like a bucking rodeo bull needing all of our attention and strength, through the Spirt of God Himself, to calm it. Stop our tongue and whereby ugly words. There is a lot of ugly happening in the world today. We should pray for our country’s leaders, that’s biblical. We should tuck ourselves under the truth of God and His word-walk with the Lord as He has told us to:
Micah 6:8 says, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
The Verbs Have it
Not only are we to KEEP and STOP our tongues. Next, the Lord tells us in I Peter 3:11 we must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. Turn away from what is evil. Sin is evil.
Turn from evil (but don’t stop there….)
And DO good. (be kind, do kindness)
SEEK peace. Remember what it feels like to really seek something? Did you do that before you got married? Some of us were seeking our husband. Have you ever lost something you treasured–or has, like most, your child escaped your watchful eye while out in public? That’s seeking! Seek peace. (But don’t stop there….)
And PURSUE it. Once we find something worth keeping, we continue the pursuit thereof. God pursues us who He loves. We are told, then, to continue our pursuit of peace.
I love this commentary regarding seeking and pursing peace:
Seek peace, and ensue it.–“As much as in you lieth,” says St. Paul, “live peaceably with all men.” It is to be a matter of diligent search; and if it seems to flee away it is to be “ensued”–i.e., pursued. The active practical measures here prescribed confirm the surmise that “blessing” in 1Peter 3:8 covered more ground than benedictory prayers.
The order of God
This passage is chock full of truths so necessary for today and my nervous nellies, as I call anxieties that pop up. (And would you believe my son called while I’ve been writing here today to tell me of his co-worker testing positive for Covid-19 and in the hospital on a ventilator, the same guy he was rubbing shoulders with on the job 12 short days ago.)
Does it surprise you that the Lord opens these verses with the assertion to control our tongues? He’s talking about enjoying life, no matter the circumstances or trials, He’s getting us to the points that follow, but He first sets the foundation of our tongues. It’s no small thing, and it’s not just about what we say (let’s not overlook how our words affect not only us, but others!), no, it’s about our hearts.
It’s about our Hearts
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Matthew 12:34. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
There’s no peace to be found in a heart that is full of evil. God’s ways are right and make so much sense. Friends, this world is full of evil and we, if we’re not ever so careful, (and boy have I messed up here!) we will be spewing hateful things out of our mouths as we find ourselves confounded by the works of the world around us. God doesn’t need us to fight that battle for Him. Pray. We need to pray. And we need to seek Him, His word and obey.
And then we obey
All those verbs? They are our direction from the One, the only One, who can give us good days and joy. The only One who can shed His truth and wisdom and take our anxiety and replace it with peace. His peace. But, don’t miss the DO part. God is not a genie in a bottle. He doesn’t swoop in and hit our lips with magic dust that our words suddenly sing a new song. We have to turn away from evil and chase hard after all the good He has for us. It’s not a game of freeze-tag either. God isn’t playing games with us, but He desires our relationship with Him to grow and in so doing we become more like Christ in our choices and obedience towards Him, because we love Him.
Start with God
Stop your tongue, turn away from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue peace, that is another podcast/blog post altogether, but rest assured, all you need to do right now is start with God. Read through these verses. Talk to the Lord about your anxiety, your words, your heart and how you long for enjoying the life He has given you. Lean into Him and follow Scripture (checkout www.biblehub.com) and learn more about pursing God, doing good, seeking peace…and trading your own anxiety (nervous nellies) for God’s peace. A peace that isn’t afforded to the world, but to His own.
Psa 34:14Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Send me an email if you need prayer, or leave a comment here. Love in Christ, Tamara
