“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:5-8 ESV
The word hustled is not used very often in terms of our spiritual life, but it is the way we live in this new Century.
Synonyms for hustled could range from rushed, toiled, struggled, grind (popular now), or my favorite, tumult.
Do any of these words resonate with you and your daily life? They most certainly do with me! Lately, I have felt like I am on a roller coaster ride like the Mind Bender at Six Flags.
I have lived exhausted because of all the health problems my husband has endured. In the last three weeks, we have been in three different hospitals waiting for answers on why he spiked a fever of over 104 degrees on the second day of a beach vacation. This is just the most recent of a two-and-a-half-year journey with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which means the tumor originates in the bile ducts inside the liver, leaving him with a drain tube coming from his abdomen. This is the reason for all the infection within his body.
Choosing to be held by God means trading exhausting self-reliance for a peaceful life rooted in God’s grace.
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HUSTLE -THE TRAP |
HELD – THE PEACE |
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How to practice “being held” instead of “hustled.”
1. Redefine your Pace – hustle tells you to rush and do everything you can to make it happen. Held tells you to trust Him, slow down, pay attention to the present moment, and pray for God to direct your next step.
2. Work from acceptance and not for it. You do not have to prove to God that you are worthy of His favor. You belong to Him and are never alone.
3. Surrender the outcome – Do the work, pray, believe, trust, and obey, and then hand over the results to God.
During these last couple of years, God has taught me some powerful truths. We are told in Scripture many times that we are held by God. There is a peace that comes when we are reminded. I am in God’s Hands.
He is wise, and He is loving, and He is always perfectly on time.
He is not indifferent to our anxieties; He cares about the number of hairs on our head. He is for you and not against you. His grace is sufficient.
God’s grace is the overflow of His sufficiency. We cannot have grace if we do not have an utterly, infinitely, gloriously, all-sufficient God who does not need us to accomplish His plan. He wants us to come humbly in all our weakness and lay our burdens and cares at His feet, trusting Him to be strong for us.
A life held by God is a powerful shift in perspective. Moving from a mindset of constant hustle to a life held by God changes everything about how we experience daily stress. It takes the pressure off your shoulders and places our future into His victorious hands.
Be encouraged wherever you find yourself today. You are in His hands, being “Held”. He will be giving and giving and giving to all eternity as we receive and receive and receive from His inexhaustible supply.
Rebekah Marsh
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#rebekahmarshblogs