YO-YO FAITH

 YUCK! Fish breath! How could such a cute, cuddly companion smell soooo bad? One look at his back teeth answered that question. And I discovered yo-yo faith!

 

I had been handling the viral pandemic with a minimum of stress, hunkered in my 'bunker' and rarely going out except when necessary. Several months ago I cancelled my dog's vet appointment to have his teeth cleaned, figuring this would soon be over and life would be back to normal. But my canine's canines demanded attention unless I wanted to clothespin my nose whenever I picked him up.

That's when the irrational fear kicked in. At 9 years of age, BJ is considered a senior citizen in the doggy world. Did that mean he might not survive the anesthesia? Had I waited too long? I couldn't bear the thought of losing him just because of smelly teeth. Fear gripped me like a vise despite all my prayers. "You should know better than to give in to anxiety," I scolded myself. "You wrote a book on prayer for Pete's sake!" But my scolding landed on deaf ears.

For several weeks my faith rose and fell, up and down, like a yo-yo. So did my emotions. My faith rose when I focused on Scripture and plummeted when my unsolved problem leapt into my line of vision. 

Have you ever felt that way? A problem suddenly appears seemingly out of nowhere and you wonder: Where's God in all this? Why is this happening to me? What do I do now? Will this ever end?

Yo-Yo faith causes stress, tension, anxiety, discouragement, maybe even restless sleep. Maybe you or a loved one lost a job or are afraid you might. Perhaps a family member suddenly spikes a fever. Is it THE virus? It's normal to react with apprehension. We're human after all. 

But how do we recover our faith? How do we walk it out day by day without losing sleep? Or being paralyzed by anxiety?

We need to replace yo-yo faith with anchor faith. By fastening our thoughts to God's Word we can ride out the storm until we hit calm seas again.

I have a couple of verses that I cling to like lifesavers when I am stressed out.

Ephesians 1:11 is a favorite for calming my frazzled nerves. God "works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will" (Amp). Am I trusting that He's got it all figured out? He does!

When I need wisdom, this verse from Proverbs 16:3 really helps: "Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed" (Amp). 

Have I committed my problem to the Lord?  Emotions always follow our thoughts, so have I anchored my thoughts to the truth in His Word? Anchoring those thoughts (and therefore my feelings) requires meditating on those verses. I can read a verse and agree with it, but if I don't take the time to let it soak deeply into my heart it won't change my emotions. It won't alleviate my worries or fears. It's a process. It's intentional, and it does take time. It's not a quick fix. 

The Lord promises us His peace when our minds are focused on Him, not on our problems; when we trust in Him and lean confidently on His truths (Isaiah 26:3). He promises to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). And lastly, He promises:

     "I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down..." (Amp).

I traded my yo-yo faith for God's anchor of truth and made BJ's appointment (and I finally have peace about it!).

How about you? What verses help you ride out your storms?