Bold as a Lion

A key theme that seems to be apart of everyone’s life is waiting. We’re either waiting to find out results from a test, waiting to see who the Lord has picked to be our life partner, waiting for better weather, waiting for a promotion, waiting for an important phone call, waiting at the doctor’s office, etc. So much of our life is spent waiting.

Out of all the things we wait for, most times I find myself waiting for full and complete peace. I struggle with anxiety at times and longing for a peaceful feeling comes and goes as I try and battle off anxious feelings that can come out of nowhere.  Sometimes I am battling off these feelings by convincing myself if I am more productive, if the house is in order and clean, I’ll feel better. Many times I think I’ll gain a settled feeling by doing anything to distract myself from my anxiety.

I am a strong believer in Christ and I know real and true peace can only come from Him, so why do I still go about trying to gain it in other ways? Galations 5:17 says,

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

And Romans 7:14-18 says,

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out…”

The desires of my flesh tell me to keep doing other “earthly” things, if you will, to gain a settled feeling if even for a moment. My heart tells me I didn’t do enough good this week to even ask for, let alone deserve a peace from God Himself. Even though I shouldn’t, I believe these lies often, and according to the verses above, we find what feels like a never-ending war within ourselves because the flesh and the spirit are always working against each other. This “war” can stop abruptly, and eventually does for me every single time with a little bit of fighting. By “fighting” I mean I finish getting the house in order to feel a sense of fulfillment and peace about my day, only to know and feel deep down it is not what I needed to do to rid my anxious feelings or thoughts. It can help, but it is not the cure. I know every single time in my heart what I need to do, which is to take a spiritual time-out. I know I need to read something in the Bible, pray in a quiet place and surrender my troubles to God. However, half the time I do not do it. It almost seems like more effort and heartfelt energy to do that than to clean the house or distract myself with a TV show. And ya know what? It can most definitely take a lot out of you if there is a lot on your mind and you just “don’t have the time or energy” to think about or deal with it all. Proverbs 28:1 says,

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

When we face our troubles the spiritual way, the way God desires us to, it means we have been as bold as a lion to do so and sometimes the thought of being as bold as a lion can really just sound exhausting. A lot of times we find excuses for not taking the time-out we need because there is so much more to get done. But, guess what? That to-do list you have will never actually get completed because there are SO many things we could find to distract us from taking a spiritual time-out. I could name a hundred things right off the bat!

Paul proceeds to remind us in Romans that although we do the things we don’t want to do, how can we be delivered? Verses 24 & 25 say,

“…Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Jesus can and will deliver us every time because He is a God of peace. It is because of who He is, not who we are or what we do, that He will provide us that peace and deliver us from ourselves. He has already won the battle for us. 

Will we continue doing the things we know aren’t right or the things we shouldn’t while knowing, believing, and hearing these truths? Yes. Because that is how we’re wired as humans. But God is there to reel us back in every single time and we can always have the comfort of knowing He will catch us when we’ve fallen…over and over again. Here are a few verses that help me when I feel I don’t have the energy to bring all my problems to the table with Christ. Just knowing or memorizing these verses can really help:

John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

During such trying times such as these with so much quarantining, fear, and uncertainty, a lot of us have been forced to take time-out’s. How are you spending your time-out? I encourage you to read the bible or just pray as much as you can. Just do it! Be bold as a lion.

If you do not follow this blog already, I encourage you to do so! My sister shares such eye-opening revelations while bringing such a sense of comfort to the day through her writing.

Thanks for reading and thank you to my sister for allowing me to share with you all!

~Anna