Can I just say I love going on a run through the sheep fields! There's something just so breathtaking about running in the wind with sheep on one side and the river flowing on the other side. God thank You so much for the beauty of nature and thank You that we can enjoy it. It's in those moments I think that our hearts get a small bite-size taste of the way You intended life to be from the beginning.
Anyway back to the subject at hand... I had woken up in a bit of a funk. You know the kind you can't pin point or explain so you know it's from the enemy. Yeah well I was in one of those moods. I was feeling heavy and burdened. So I got my running gear on and resisted my habit of reading and praying first thing in the morning. I just couldn't bring myself to do it and that's how I know it was the enemy because he'll always make you feel like you can't or don't want to go to God. I wish I had resisted the devil and just sat done and read. So I started running and singing the worships songs I was listening to and all of a sudden I started to feel lighter and happier. The cool fresh breeze felt amazing and the scenary was breath taking. As I got to the sheep fields, a mother sheep noticed me and I noticed her. She had hurt her leg somehow and she was limping and you could tell she was in pain. She wouldn't go very far; only a couple of steps at a time. But as I came closer, it was as though the pain had left her momentarily because she ran to protect the lambs from me. And she stood there and looked at me as if to stay, "don't even think about it!" I was so fascinated by this incident and as I continued to run down the path the Lord ministered to my heart through it...
Anyway back to the subject at hand... I had woken up in a bit of a funk. You know the kind you can't pin point or explain so you know it's from the enemy. Yeah well I was in one of those moods. I was feeling heavy and burdened. So I got my running gear on and resisted my habit of reading and praying first thing in the morning. I just couldn't bring myself to do it and that's how I know it was the enemy because he'll always make you feel like you can't or don't want to go to God. I wish I had resisted the devil and just sat done and read. So I started running and singing the worships songs I was listening to and all of a sudden I started to feel lighter and happier. The cool fresh breeze felt amazing and the scenary was breath taking. As I got to the sheep fields, a mother sheep noticed me and I noticed her. She had hurt her leg somehow and she was limping and you could tell she was in pain. She wouldn't go very far; only a couple of steps at a time. But as I came closer, it was as though the pain had left her momentarily because she ran to protect the lambs from me. And she stood there and looked at me as if to stay, "don't even think about it!" I was so fascinated by this incident and as I continued to run down the path the Lord ministered to my heart through it...
Last night I got into a funk because I was jealous. I wanted to be able to do something and the realisation that I could never be like that made me feel like a complete failure and got me really frustrated. When I was getting ready for bed I asked the Lord to help me get out of the funk. When I woke up this morning I didn't care about anyone else but me. I was in a bad mood and I was going to dwell on it. I was self consumed. I was mad at the world. I couldn't be bothered. And then I had to help someone with something. I did it anyway but my heart was not in the right place. I didn't care for them because at that point I didn't care about anything and I was hurting and feeling weighed down by so much. So I went on my run. And this is what God showed me while I ran...
The mother sheep (from the incident above) still cared even when she was hurting. She forgot about her hurt and pain and still gave of herself to protect the lambs. She was totally self-less, cared for the little lambs and went out of her way to help them. What a contrast to how I was feeling, huh.
"A friend loves at all times..." that means I am to love even when it hurts actually...especially when it hurts. It means I am to love when they're not lovable, when they're mean, when they embarass me, when they forget about me, when they don't acknowledge me... a friend loves at all times... all means ALL.
And then I got back I was listening to a teaching on Proverbs 12:25 "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression..." another translation says, "Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs him down..." And that's so true! Anxiety weighs us down, it makes us feel heavy and burdened. In essence, anxiety is "us wanting to be in control, realising we're not or ever could be and freaking out." And I realised that the anxiety I was feeling about a bunch of different things was not right. I don't need to be in control. God is in control and His control is a gazillion times better than my control. So I talked to God about it all and laid it all at His feet. Then I told a friend. And now, I feel loads better! God is so good!
When God speaks to your heart... listen :)
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