He is your Helper, He is your Shield

Two nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night worrying about something. Our Brazil mission team is about 6 weeks away from our departure date. And we have a lot more money to raise. From 4:30 to about 6 A.M., I went back and forth from fretting to praying. At times worrying...then at other moments asking the Lord to fight this battle for me.

I know Jesus tells us not to worry. And I know that He has been there for me, my family and for all three times that our teams from Highland Church have gone to Brazil for mission work. He always provides above and beyond what we could ask or imagine, as He promises in Eph. 3:20

And yet...I still worry and fret at times.

My dear friend Lou Seckler once told me of what the great preacher, Charles Stanley, once said. When we feel like we're in a bind and don't know what to do, rather than crying out to the Lord to bail us out, instead tell Him, "Father, You're in control. I'm going to trust You."

Not long after Lou shared that wisdom with me, I was at the L.A. International Airport. I was on a shuttle bus taking me from the car rental lot to the terminal. The bus driver dropped off several passengers at various airline terminals. When it was my turn to get off, I went to grab my luggage and realized it was gone. One of the other passengers had apparently inadvertenly taken my bags!

I immediately alerted the driver, who kindly took me around the circle of terminals to see if she could help me find my bags. As I sat down and began to worry about losing my luggage and missing my flight back to Texas, I went in a panic mode. Then I recalled what Charles Stanley advised. And so for one of the first times in my life, instead of sinking into a quicksand of worry, I said, "Lord, You're in control. I'm going to trust You." Within a minute or so, the driver stopped at one of the airlines' entryways, let me off, and as I walked down the sidewalk I saw my luggage. With no one in sight. Then I remembered that prayer, "Lord, You're in control."

And so, when fears and worries start to swallow me up, I'm going to declare to Jesus that He loves me, that He will never, ever forsake me and that He is in control.

All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord!
He is your helper; he is your shield. -- Ps. 115:11

Jim