By Belle Thomas
We're thrilled today to have an article by Belle Thomas, the author at An Old Fashioned Girl!
Her blog is a beautiful place, and she talks of many topics ranging
from literature, writing, life updates, and fun seasonal bucket list
ideas. We have a post coming out on her blog tomorrow, which will then
be linked here.
We hope her article is a great encouragement to you!
I'm not the most organized person in the world. I often hide messes in my closet and ignore the disarray in my desk drawers. My time often isn’t used productively and I forget about commitments. Try as I may, organization is really hard for me.
The place where it’s hardest is in the confines of my mind. Worry, anxiety, doubt, and fear create a mess in my head. My thoughts fly all over the place in a disorganized, stressful mess.
I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. You probably feel this way some days too, don’t you?
Even though Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34) we worry endlessly about the future.
Despite being encouraged that no matter how we try to organize our lives God’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 16:1), we still try to put our schedules in place, thinking that having a plan will clear up our fears for the future.
My friend, I want to encourage you not to worry, and not to hold so tightly to your plans.
God is a God of organization.
He organized the world, and the heavens and the earth obey him.
In Genesis, we read the perfect account of creation, how God, amid darkness and nothingness created all that we see in seven days. We can find hope through creation. You see, every creature God created is so detailed, that they are equipped with everything they need. And so are we.
In Matthew 6:28-30 (NLT), Jesus says “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the fields and how they grow. They don’t work to make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown in the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?”
God provides flowers with beauty and clothing, he also gave them a way to feed themselves through photosynthesis, and he provided bees to pollinate them. If God organized so much in the world to help flowers grow, why don’t we believe that he organizes our lives for us?
You might feel weak my friend, you may be overwhelmed by the stressful things that happen in your world. You may be overwhelmed thinking about deadlines or what your future should look like. You may be dealing with a mental health illness that fills your mind with pain.
The inside of you feels disorganized even though you appear put together on the outside.
Friend, give it to God. Lean on him, trust that he has a plan, that there is organization even in the midst of this chaos.
He cares for you, he has plans for you and they are good, even if they don’t feel that way right now. Everything that is happening in your life is part of God’s plan, and believe it or not, it is organized. Everything happens for a reason, and right now, when you don’t see the reason, use your trials as a reason to trust God and to trust that ultimately he has a plan.
I hear you, you’re wondering how I know this. Well my friend, in the middle of disorganized sin, into a world of chaos, God sent his son Jesus. We often forget that part of the fall of man was disorganization, worry and pain are byproducts of sin and therefore byproducts of the fall. So when Jesus died and rose again, he brought forgiveness for our sins, rest for our weary hearts, and organization to the chaos that is all around us.
God is a God of organization. He wants to help you have peace and he wants to organize your life. So will you allow him to take your burdens, and will you trust him to organize everything for you?
Belle Thomas is the writer behind the blog An Old Fashioned Girl where she rambles about faith, books, and finding beauty in the insignificant things in life. When not blogging, she can be found reading Louisa May Alcott, writing novels, laughing at dumb jokes, and drinking way too much Earl Grey tea.
We hope this article has greatly encouraged you! We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to check out her blog, right here!
So glad we got to collaborate!!! Excited for your post to come out tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it! :)
DeleteThank you, Belle!
ReplyDelete