Sunday, September 18, 2011

I AM

"Then Jesus returned to his wind-torn friends. 'Why were you scared?' he asked. 'Did you forget who I Am? Did you believe your fears, instead of me?'"
(from the Jesus Storybook Bible)

I love how well our Savior is captured in this quote. He is so gentle, so kind, to come and gently apply pressure to what has gone wrong. He knows just how to get to the heart of it. This morning, as I read this to the boys, I felt the gentle pressure applied to my heart. Am I believing my fears, instead of I AM?

Fears about my children: Will they ever be well again? Will the whooping cough that Noah has right now end up costing us Judah's life, like all the scary newspaper articles suggest? Are they getting enough of my attention? Is our deprivation of extracurricular activities going to hinder them?

Fears about my marriage: Am I doing enough? Is this crazy life that we have created really fulfilling for my husband? Is my "I've had five babies" body really enough to hold my husband's attention in this world where modesty is highly undervalued?

Fears about friendships: If I don't initiate something, will this friendship just fizzle out? Am I really a friend, or just a resource?

And to all of these fears, Jesus applies pressure gently and says, "I AM." Are you forgetting who I AM? Are you believing your fears, instead of me?
Because Jesus says that I just need to be faithful with what he asks of me as a mom, He will supply me with everything I need to do so, and that my children really belong to Him anyway.
Jesus says that I just need to be faithful with what He asks of me as a wife, He will supply all I need to do so, and that my husband really belongs to Him anyway.
Jesus says that I just need to be faithful with what He asks of me as a friend, He will supply all I need to do so, and that my friends really belong to Him anyway.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."
Psalm 34:8-10

3 comments:

Heather Travis said...

Hey girlfriend,
The sermon this morning was about fear and it's so great to hear it over and over. I AM is great and worthy of our trust. We were reminded to "feed" trust and not fear. So sorry to hear Noah has whooping cough. That must be terrible to listen to. Praying for you, and you won't lose my friendship :)
Heather Travis

hestermom said...

Hey Heather!!! Life is crazy, huh? I am so glad you and Scott found a church, and you seem to be acclimating to Colorado quite well!! We are homebound for a while, Noah is on antibiotics. He never made a whooping sound, but luckily we were able to catch it. All the kids are on antibiotics to be safe for Judah. We are laying low. Good to hear from you, my friend!!!

sarahgrace said...

It's very interesting how this keeps coming up in my life again and again- the story about how Jesus and the disciples are in the boat together, and the storm is raging, the disciples are scared, and Jesus is sleeping. The thing I think we forget or don't even realize, is that Jesus is IN the boat with us, always.