Where Does My Help Come From?

I have found in life that it is one thing to know that something is true, and it is another thing entirely to experience it for yourself. For example, I have known for quite some time that money does not grow on trees. However, it wasn't until college that I experienced this in a much more tangible way...can I get an amen?

How many times have you heard this verse before?-

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.


What about this one?-

1 John 4:4
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Well, I've heard these verses numerous times before, but yesterday I actually experienced them for myself.

Yesterday morning, I woke up with an incredible amount of anxiety. For some reason, that just happens from time to time. I hadn't slept much the night before because my mind was racing from one problem to the next, and I just laid there- wide awake and imagining the worst outcome in every situation in my life...great sleepy-time stuff. I tried to pray, but nothing seemed to slow down my mind. But, I suppose even mental marathons have a finish line, and eventually I drifted off to sleep. As I mentioned, the next morning came with no relief- I was incredibly anxious AND grumpy due to my lack of sleep.

I had about an hour drive to the graduate school I was visiting, so I tried to calm down on the way there. No such luck. I was just as anxious as ever when I arrived at my destination. Luckily I was early, so I spent some time in the car doing my morning devotional from Jesus Calling. Coincidentally (haha, right...not a coincidence), my devotional was about trusting in God instead of living in fear. James 4:7 was one of the verses. I started to think about that concept of resisting the devil- actually speaking God's name and promises OUT LOUD and refusing to engage in the fear Satan was trying to use to bind me.

Side note: I do not come from a background where we are very comfortable talking about God's healing and the reality of spiritual warfare and such. But there I was in my car, speaking God's name and promises out loud and telling Satan that he had to leave me alone now.

And unbelievable peace began to take over. I had this incredible sense of serenity and trust in the Lord, and it carried me through several stressful moments that day and the next day. The best part is that I knew it wasn't me. There is no way that in my own power, I could've calmed myself down. I know it was Jesus calming the storm in my heart and mind and allowing me the opportunity to see just a slice of His power clearly displayed in my life.

Pretty cool for a back-row Baptist.

Over the next day, God has spoken so much peace to my life in many different ways- through sweet friends and conversations, through His word, and through that persistent peace that has been so foreign to me in the past.

God's ability to fight for us is unlimited, but I wonder how many times we miss out on it and try to fight for ourselves. He will not force Himself on us, but He is there and willing to step in on our behalf if we will only speak His name- the name that spoke the entire universe into existence and that will one day command it to bow and confess that Jesus is the Lord of all.