Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking at our local MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers). The topic I was given was “worry”. I remember being a young mom and all the opportunities to worry that comes with it. The word worry comes from an old English word which means to strangle or choke. I began to picture someone walking around with their windpipe partially strangled (not a pretty picture!). I thought about how worry robs us of our strength, clouds our thinking and is a waste of time. But still it happens. Spiritual energy, emotional energy and even physical energy is lost trying to figure out many times things that are beyond our control.
This years theme for MOPS is Freedom. Something that worry certainly robs us from. We can become a slave to fear and its accompanying thoughts. I took the time to think about how my worry thoughts can sound, and I believe the Holy Spirit showed me they are like the cawing of a crow. Not very pleasant are they? CAW, CAW you can’t do that, CAW CAW you are a terrible mom, CAW CAW you are going to get a terrible disease–etc. What came to my mind is that we need to learn to shoot crow! We shoot crow by knowing what the Bible says about us, our family and our future. When we know who we are in Christ those caw cawing tormenting thoughts diminish. We can silence them with the Word of God. So many times we put up with what we consider the “small worries”, but they take their toll as well. They are some of the little foxes that spoil the vine that is spoken about in the Song of Solomon.
The beneficial blessing of shooting the crows in our lives it is allows the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself to us. This peaceful dove coo coos us with His calm down, I’ve got this. Or words of encouragement, faith and direction on how to deal with life’s problems. Just this week my washing machine wouldn’t turn on. Immediately the Lord showed me when the problem occurred, who to call and within about 1/2 hour it was fixed. A portion of my fence blew down during our recent wind storm. I felt the Lord tell me I needed to check for damage and I did look out all the windows, but there is one portion of my fence that I can’t see. My neighbor called and said, “Did you know your fence is down?” I knew the reason she cared is that her dog can’t go out and play with my fence down! I called my son-in-law Tim and within a 1/2 hour he was here with the wisdom to do a quick repair. I had the nails and boards. This morning my little kindle keyboard just stopped working in the middle of writing a sentence. Not the battery, not anything I can see to fix. But thank you Lord, I have my trusty PC to finish this blog.
These are all small issues in the scheme of life. Reading through Matthew 6: 25-34.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
There is plenty to worry about if we give in to it. How to shoot the crows in your life? Ask the Lord to show you when you are worrying. It can become such a habit that we are unaware of its work in our lives. If you are struggling with a lack of peace, dealing with much fear or turmoil then you need to learn to shoot some crow. Does your mind take you to the worse case scenario in every situation? Do you stay there? Then you need to learn to shoot some crow.
Stop yourself. Take a deep breath. Call on the Lord and ask for His help. Like in any health issues, preventative care is preferable! Build your home on the solid rock of His foundation and when the storms of life come, you will be able to stand in peace. It is a learning process. We can do it. The reason my fence fell down is it rotted from the bottom. That part we did not address yesterday, but it is inevitable. Dig deep in His Word, dig deep with your trust in who our God is and get rid of all the crows that are trying to rob you of your joy, grace and peace. Jesus paid the price for those things!
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Faith Encounters 