Concerned or Consumed

CONCERNED or CONSUMED? By Janet Condusta 2-21-21 One of the verses I chose for today comes from Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV). Hear these words … “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed - for his mercies and compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself; the Lord is my portion therefore I will wait for Him.” I find this passage to be moving, warming, and comforting. I like to envision while reading this the Lord’s arms gently wrapping around me each morning. A reminder when I need it that His presence will be with me wherever I go and whatever I do that day in the pleasant and not so pleasant times as well. Let’s go back in time. About a year ago (Feb.-March 2020), aahhh was the word -- A little less crazy? Certainly seemed to be! Think back now. Where were you when you first heard about the “shortage?” The What? Remember? THIS (take out toilet paper…) POTTY PAPER! I first encountered this at TOPS market in Wysox along with cart shortages; long lines; worried faces; carts piled high with canned goods, cereal, pasta, etc., and CHARMIN, SCOTT, ANGEL SOFT tissue! You name it! YES! Seemingly overnight Americans became consumed with worry over toilet paper of all things. I even saw “double-cart” couples. Men who looked as if they had been dragged off the couch and into the store. Now pushing a cart of his own. His and Hers - so to speak; hers with paper products and canned goods and his? Well, ha ha … his was piled high (not kidding here) with ice cream! No room for Charmin in his cart I mused! We all have different views on what we consider a “necessity.” The weeks that followed increased worry and anxiety due to hand sanitizer, Clorox and mask shortages. An unrelenting virus wreaking havoc on the world - consuming all areas of our lives and then some. Add to the mix months of 24/7 election coverage and we were really stressed out. We became so consumed with our “opinions” we missed the “division.” As America came apart at the seams, we continued to argue, belittle and disrespect each other. We were too “consumed” to be “concerned” for one another anymore. Does this happen to you? To me? SURE IT DOES. So consumed with trying to fix all of our issues by ourselves that we forget who we are. All we end up with is MORE worry, fear and anxiety. 2 The devil will have us believe we can fix everything ourselves- that we need nobody - most definitely not God! He knows the more distracted and consumed we become the less attentive we are to other things. Like God! The Bible says the devil prowls around like a lion looking to devour us. YIKES! Talk about consuming! I think we all at some point have experienced consuming behavior - relationships, health, money, careers, families. The list is endless! I, like you, have wasted hours worrying and trying to fix things myself. Today’s title is not new to me. I have been working on worrying less. Also, I am asked many times how I handle the stress and worry associated with having two police officers so close to my heart. I tell people my officers have enough to deal with without my added fears. Of course I’m concerned about them. However, I’m not consumed. It has taken me quite some time to “Let go and let God.” It doesn't happen overnight. It starts with giving Him the little things - not just the heavy burdens. Involve Him in all decisions. Just talking it out with Him helps. Nothing elaborate. Small simple prayers (my favorite prayer is simply “Help, Lord!” ) Read His word. We don’t need to worry about reading the Bible in a month - Spoon feed, small bites here and there. This is what helped me and now it’s second nature. I give my concerns to Him on a daily (sometimes hourly!) basis and trust He will work it out for the good. This does not always mean I get what I want when I want. We are given free will and God’s expectation is that we make good responsible choices. It is not a free pass to live recklessly or irresponsibly. Proverbs 16:1-9 reminds us “the human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. The Bible is full of verses telling us to … “Cast our cares upon Him” “Do not let our hearts be troubled” “Trust in Him” “Do not fear” “Do not worry” and many, many more. God never intended for us to live a life of fear, anxiety, and worry. Let Him help. He wants to be involved in every small, boring, mundane aspect of your life. Natalie Grant has a beautiful song titled “King of the World.” She sings about trying to pull God to her level to see “eye to eye” to conform Him to what SHE wants when SHE wants, place Him in a box and force Him to stay only pulling Him out as a “Plan B” when she can’t fix things herself. She reminds herself He is the King of the world and shame on us for thinking He can’t 3 possibly help. Turning to him only when all else fails. Assuming He can’t possibly understand things that “consume” us. The Bible is full of people that became so “consumed” with ideas, beliefs, behavior, and even themselves that they nearly missed God’s plan for their lives. Luke tells us of sisters Martha and Mary (see insert). Jesus was visiting Martha’s home and she became so consumed with cooking and cleaning that she nearly missed out on Jesus’ visit. She became irritated with everyone. Jesus reminded her to be more like her sister Mary sitting at his feet and soaking up His every word. While walking with Jesus the disciples became consumed with arguing about which of them was considered the greatest. I envision Jesus rolling His eyes and shaking His head in disbelief. What about Jesus? We know he showed great concern for others. Did he ever feel consumed by anything? Perhaps. Could it be that while in the Garden contemplating his fate to be that he was consumed? Even for a few moments? Could His emotions have gotten a hold of Him and overwhelmed Him? I think so. The Bible says He was “anguished” and his sweat was that of “great drops of blood;” divine in spirit and sent here as a man; flesh and blood - just like us! During his ministry he endured many things. The Bible references pain, weeping, anguish, loneliness, anger, and weariness. Sound familiar? Like you and me? In His short 33 years Jesus was shunned and shamed, mocked, spit upon, questioned, pushed, shoved, beaten and betrayed. Stripped of his clothes and dignity He went to the cross. A blameless, sinless lamb - He wasn’t led. He went willingly. This was the only way and He knew it. Flesh tearing apart from the nails, blood dripping on his face and in his eyes from the crown of thorns. Nobody could wipe it away for Him. Not even His mother as she watched. He cried out to God asking why He had been forsaken, forgotten. It was so raw and painful to watch that God in His holiness was forced to look away. Aside from being consumed with pain, our Savior was consumed with a feeling of abandonment. The worst feeling of all. Who are we to say our Lord doesn’t understand what we go through. Something else happened. During all of this Jesus in his agony showed love and compassion to one of the thieves hanging on another cross. Jesus promised to take him to Paradise with Him. Talk 4 about consuming - consuming love. As we journey this Lenten Season with Christ, He asks one thing of us - to cast our cares and anxieties, our baggage and burdens at the foot of the cross and to leave them there. Remember what He did and why He did. Receiving communion we are asked to take the “broken body of Christ” and “the blood shed for us” being symbolic of the consuming love God has for us through His son Jesus. I have to tell you I struggled with this for a long time. Once after church Pastor Ben and Cindy were in the back and Cindy asked to talk to me. She asked why I always had tears when I took communion. I explained that I never felt worthy enough. That my sins were maybe too many to be just forgiven and forgotten. She assured me that God knows the hurt, guilt, and grief that our sins inflict on us. She also reminded me that God doesn’t want us to carry them around and that He sent His Son for atonement. Also, He knows our true heart when we confess to Him. From there we are to move on. I will always be grateful to her for this conversation. You see I was so consumed with guilt that I was missing the gift. Draw closer to Him than ever before. When He left us, we were given the Holy Spirit, the Great Comforter. We have help. Call upon Him. Fall in love with God’s word again. It will draw us closer. Lent is the perfect time. It’s okay to start small. God doesn’t care how long it takes us to read the Bible. It’s quality time - not quantity. He cares that you are trying. He seeks perseverance and progress - never perfection. This I’ve left for last. Perhaps it consumes us more than anything else - our past, our mistakes, sins, guilt; the fear God can never forgive us for some of the things we have done. It needs to go. Confess in your heart your sorrow and ask for forgiveness. Truly it is that simple. God knows your heart. He will forgive when He knows you are sincere. He forgives and forgets.. Hebrews 8:12 and Isaiah 43:25. The cross is symbolic of so much - Lent and always. Don’t let it be for nothing. Through Christ our ticket is stamped, our ransom paid, our penalty lifted, paid in full. Forgive and Live. I would like to close with a reading of Philippians 4:6-7 as our prayer. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”