It comes in at odd times. Some mornings it slinks into my waking thoughts, whispering in my heart's ear. Some nights it trumpets me awake with crashing and crushing thoughts. When there are unexpected late returns or illness, it teases my imagination into fearful possibilities.
But I have a choice. Like my grandmother used to say, "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair." Those fleeting thoughts of worry, of doubt, the temptation to mistrust my Heavenly Father will come - but I do not have to invite them in for a cup of tea. I can, and I must, turn to my Father and put my hand in His and put my trust in His unfailing love.
I must rehearse again and again all the ways He has met our needs, and so often our desires, with faithfulness and abundance. And I must go beyond my own experiences too, to His unchanging promises. So I have to remind myself of what He has said.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me." John 14:1
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:25-26
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31
"Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:5-6
For He is good. And He does not change.
