It Is Well With My Soul

I get depressed. I get discouraged, and like almost every other woman in america, I look in the mirror on  occasion and hate the way that I look. I worry. I lay in bed sometimes and my imagination wanders until it scares me with make believe dangerous senarios that make me jump at every night time noise. My worries give me nightmares. Sometimes I get so stressed out that I just scream. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing any good and if there's any point to life at all.

Now before you go calling 911 for me or pull me aside to counsel me, note that this is not an everyday occurrence. I'm just throwing all of my occasional troubles into a single paragraph.

 I am not spiritually or emotionally broken. I don't need Dr. Phil to analyze me and intervene. I am just human. I am a Christian and I don't have it all figured out. I wouldn't label myself with a psychological disorder and visit a psychiatrist (although there is an appropriate time to do this). Occasionally, I just run into a pothole. It's just a bump though, not a rut I live in. Some potholes are deeper than others and some take longer to get out of than others do. Most of the time, I run into the same pothole more than once, but no matter what bump I hit, my God is the one who keeps me going. He picks me up, brushes me off and puts me back on solid ground.

I have a really great God, and I'm proud to be one of his soldiers, but the mind is a battlefield and our enemy is really crafty. He's got a bag full of tricks and he knows how to use them. Were we without a general, we couldn't stand up against him. If we didn't know the voice of our leader, we wouldn't be able to pick Him out of all the racket that the enemy makes. When I get distracted my the noise and get depressed, worried or scared, or just down on myself, I remember these verses. They are a message straight from my leader, and they make it well with my soul.

"'I know the plans I have for you,' 
 says the Lord,

 'plans to prosper you and 
to give you a bright future.'" 

Jeremiah 29:11

"All things work together 
for good for those 

who love God and are called 
according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

These verses remind me that there really is a bigger picture. I may not be able to see it, but my God does. The same God that is God in the good times is the God that is God in the bad times. He is not so weak that he cannot take the bad things and work them out for my good and His glory. My God is the God of ALL THINGS, and my troubles and trials are an "all thing"  too. 

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, 
and of a sound mind."

1 Timothy 1:7

Sometimes, my mind gets all filled up with fright, and it just steals my joy. I get lost in my panic, and I don't know what to do. It's such a desperate feeling, trapped in fear and worry. It's hard to see anything else. But, when I'm here, my God sweetly reminds me that he wants me to be strong, to love and be loved, and to have peace in my spirit. Knowing that the scary thoughts and feelings aren't from my God gives me hope and courage to stand up and fight them. I know that God has got my back. So, I can tell them with confidence to be quiet and go back to where they came from.

Because of God, no matter the pothole, no matter the trial or trouble, I can say with confidence:

It is well with my soul.