Saturday, December 8, 2012

Wait, Don't Panic!

In this Season of Great Joy there can also be times of Great Panic!

How do you balance extremely busy schedules with the desire to stay sane and get enough sleep?

How do you deal with loneliness and grief among shiny happy faces and Santa's ringing bells at the mall?

How do you find Peace in these days celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace when inside, underneath your festive mask, you are dealing with real hurts, worries, and anxiety?

How do you keep from panicking???


Hit the pause button.

Take a moment to just stop.
Pause for a bit.


Then, Pray.

Ask God, your loving Father, to show you what your priorities should be.
Ask Him to help you feel what you need to feel so that you can face your hurts honestly instead of pushing them down.
Ask Him to heal you of those hurts and give Him the worries and anxieties that are weighing you down.
Tell Him that you love Him, and honor Him.
Tell Him that you surrender everything to Him!

Our Awesome and Amazing Father God will wrap you in His loving arms and shelter you from the rushing time table of the season while He leads you gently in each step that you should take.

After you have paused and prayed, sit quietly in His presence and listen.
Allow Him to tug at your spirit and quicken to you your next move.

He will give you the healing you need.
He will bring up His joy that has been lying dormant in the depths of your soul.
He will strengthen you.


Finally, after you have Paused and Prayed, Pursue His plans for you.

These plans may differ from your own preset plans and responsibilities.
That is okay!
Trust Him and go with it!

Instead of letting your calendar or your emotions dictate what you will be doing between now and Christmas, allow God, who knows what is best for us all, to gently lead and guide you.

"All things work together for good to those who love the Lord." 
Romans 8:28

Remember that the purpose of this blessed time of year is not to stress over gifts, or parties, or relationships, or outfits, or money, or anything else.

The Purpose of Christmas is to Remember, and Celebrate; to Thank our Heavenly Father for Loving Us So Much that He would send His Son Jesus here to Earth to live and to die and to resurrect from the grave for us!

He Gave Us Salvation not just from our sins but from ALL the cares of this world!

So, don't let those cares weigh you down.

Give yourself a break today to stop and seek God about what things He would have you do to enjoy this beautiful Christmas time.

Then, allow yourself the flexibility to change your plans accordingly.

By surrendering everything to God, especially your time, you will find that you have more quality time to actually enjoy the many events you take in.

You never know how many people you may help just by being in line with God's plan for you this Holiday Season.

Remember, there is no need to panic!

Just pause, pray, and pursue.

As Always, Remember:

God Loves You!
God Created You!
God Accepts You!

Until next time,

SavedByGrace