Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Ezra had read the book of the Law to the people of Israel and they understood all that they had done against God. They were so upset they were all weeping and distraught so Nehemiah told them to rejoice that day because the day was holy.

There are times when we allow the things we are worried or upset about to consume us so much that it becomes our entire focus! My sister and I were talking yesterday about how easy it is when we are waiting on God for answers to be consumed with the wait versus trusting Him to come through with His answer in His time and therefore that is all we think about. If you are consumed with it, you probably aren’t fully trusting Him. Sometimes, believe me I understand, the reason we get consumed is that the problem is in our face day after day while we wait, but how much do we miss out on by not just giving it all to God? Believe me, I am the chief offender in this area at times; if something bothers me or upsets me it is difficult for me to not allow it to consume my thoughts 24 hours a day. It can easily become all you talk about until even you are sick of hearing it!

“When I asked her about her joy, she brought me her pain.” We all need to get things off our chests so there’s nothing wrong with talking about it, the problem comes in when that is all we are consumed with to the point we can do nothing else. You don’t want to miss out on all that God has for you because you are overwhelmed with your wait. We also need to be careful during our wait for answers that we aren’t so consumed that we are worrying about things that we have conjured up in our minds. Have you ever worried about something that may not even happen? Often it seems as though the things we worry about most are the things that are only in our imagination! How silly is it to worry about something that you don’t even know will happen ~ why borrow trouble from the future when today has all you need. God doesn’t give you the grace to deal with the “maybes” of tomorrow, He gives you the grace for today!

Whatever you may be waiting on or facing today, please allow me to encourage you to trust God! Know that He knows everything that has happened, will happen and He will help you through and give you the answers you need at the perfect time and in the perfect way! Move forward in your day and don’t be consumed and overwhelmed, do what you need to do today and focus on Him! Hold on to the joy He will fill you with and let that be your strength to face whatever comes your way. You may find that that thing you are worried about could be a blessing in disguise!

Quote:
“The bridges you cross before you come to them are over rivers that aren’t there.” Gene Brown