Mrs Claudia Heppen
Pastor's Wife
Frankfort Baptist Church
Frankfort, IN
Don't FREAK out REST in His hands!!!
I received a text message last month asking if I would write a devotion for this month. As soon as I read the message, I began to freak out and so many thoughts started running through my mind. Lord, there is no way I can do this, Why me?, I’ve only ever written one devotion in my life…. It took me a whole day and a half before I responded and said yes ma’am, I will.
Why did I let myself get so freaked out. One, I took my eyes off of Jesus and let fear set in. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” These are some of my favorite verses and yet in the midst of my freak out mode, I neglected to rest in His hands and keep my eyes on Him. Just like Peter did when he came down out of the ship and walked on the water to go to Jesus. As soon as he saw the wind violently blowing, he was in freak out mode and started to sink.
Mrs Claudia Heppen Pastor’s Wife Frankfort Baptist Church Frankfort, Indiana
Don’t FREAK out REST in His hands / Mrs Claudia Heppen
Circumstances can be frightening sometimes. When you just spent 20 years as a submariner wife and then the Lord calls your husband to pastor a small church, when you are a new pastor’s wife and you hope your doing things right, when both of your children are at college and empty nest sets in. All these things can put you in freak out mode and cause you not to rest in His hands. When fear takes over, faith is driven away. But when faith reigns, freaking out has no place.
I’ve been praying the Lord would give me what He wanted me to say and to be a blessing to at least on lady. I don’t know what Gods plan is for you my dear sister in Christ but I do know that He allows things to happen for a reason that we can’t see in the times of our hardships or freak out modes. He allows the things to happen so we can grow and be an encouragement to someone who may be going through something similar. To be a Light for Him. Being in the ministry is hard. Harder than I thought it was going to be but God is preparing YOU and me. Preparing us how to not and how to handle certain situations. Trials stink but we must never forget that Jesus was in the boat during the storm and calmed the seas when He was ready. Just like in our trials or freak out modes, Jesus is right here, sitting next to us, in the same boat! When He is ready, He will calm those storms or freak out modes when He is ready.
In closing, the Lord laid on my heart this song. O soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Why did I let myself get so freaked out. One, I took my eyes off of Jesus and let fear set in. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” These are some of my favorite verses and yet in the midst of my freak out mode, I neglected to rest in His hands and keep my eyes on Him. Just like Peter did when he came down out of the ship and walked on the water to go to Jesus. As soon as he saw the wind violently blowing, he was in freak out mode and started to sink.
Mrs Claudia Heppen Pastor’s Wife Frankfort Baptist Church Frankfort, Indiana
Don’t FREAK out REST in His hands / Mrs Claudia Heppen
Circumstances can be frightening sometimes. When you just spent 20 years as a submariner wife and then the Lord calls your husband to pastor a small church, when you are a new pastor’s wife and you hope your doing things right, when both of your children are at college and empty nest sets in. All these things can put you in freak out mode and cause you not to rest in His hands. When fear takes over, faith is driven away. But when faith reigns, freaking out has no place.
I’ve been praying the Lord would give me what He wanted me to say and to be a blessing to at least on lady. I don’t know what Gods plan is for you my dear sister in Christ but I do know that He allows things to happen for a reason that we can’t see in the times of our hardships or freak out modes. He allows the things to happen so we can grow and be an encouragement to someone who may be going through something similar. To be a Light for Him. Being in the ministry is hard. Harder than I thought it was going to be but God is preparing YOU and me. Preparing us how to not and how to handle certain situations. Trials stink but we must never forget that Jesus was in the boat during the storm and calmed the seas when He was ready. Just like in our trials or freak out modes, Jesus is right here, sitting next to us, in the same boat! When He is ready, He will calm those storms or freak out modes when He is ready.
In closing, the Lord laid on my heart this song. O soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
amen....ty so much,so easy to know so hard to apply...lol
ReplyDelete. One of my fav quotes is " Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain"