January 14, 2018

"But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" Matthew 10: 19

The most frequent command in the Bible is, "do not be afraid".  This passage is just another reminder not to worry, not to be afraid, but trust that the Father will come through, no matter how frightening a situation might be.  "Do not worry about what to say or how to say it". "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6).

I am currently pregnant and very close to my due date. Having no experience with small kids, no family around, I decided to do all I can, to educate myself about birthing a child and the postpartum period. Luckily there are a tone of books, so many podcasts and plenty of classes available at the local hospitals. I started to dedicate a lot of time, reading and listening to people's stories about what it means to be with a newborn. Interestingly, the more time, I invested in the matter, the more anxious and afraid I felt. It took me a few days to realize that, I was trying to control the situation and I am simply not wired for that.

Without realizing I was trying to compose my own speech, and therefore not allow the Holy Spirit to speak. I once read that so many times we acknowledge the Holy Spirit, the way that guests in a restaurant might acknowledge a waiter. When we feel like we need something, we would summon him briefly, but for the most part we rely on methods and plans of our own devising. I believe our Father created us to trust Him and to honor him, not to take matters into our own hands. While there is nothing wrong with preparing, we cannot forget who the true Captain of our lifeboat is. He is also the One who can calm the storm, who can clear the rough waters and keep us safe.

Lord help us to trust you and to allow you to speak first into our lives! You, be the writer of our stories, and all of our speeches!