Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Cast Your Anxieties {No Matter What Monday}

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For the last two weeks, we’ve been talking about how Jesus humbled Himself to dwell among us and suffer for our salvation. Today we’re looking at one way we can respond to His humility—to humble ourselves by trusting Him with our worries.

You may have read or even memorized I Peter 5:7 before: “ . . . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” I memorized this verse at Bible Study Fellowship as a young child, and it’s still one of my favorites. But I Peter 5:7 is a sentence fragment. It’s grammatically and ideologically connected to the previous verse:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all of your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:6-7).

As we’re humbling ourselves, we’re casting all our anxieties on Him. We hurl our worries from our weak hands into His mighty hand, acknowledging that He is God, and we are not.

Throw your financial uncertainties on Him. He is your provider.

Throw your family worries on Him. He loves your loved ones even more than you do.

Throw your fears for the future on Him. His purposes cannot be thwarted, and He will be faithful to you.

Throw your failures on Him. He saves you by His grace and mercy.

As you let go of your worries and cast them on the Lord, you can have confidence that He will receive them. As verse 7 promises, He cares for you. Your worries do not fall on deaf ears or a hard heart. Your cares are cared for by your Heavenly Father.

No matter what you face this week, cast your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

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The Lord Knows Those Who Take Refuge in Him {No Matter What Monday}

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It was the moment every performer dreads. My daughter sat at the grand piano in front of a hushed crowd, staring at her hands on the keys. There was no music in front of her, and her brain refused to bail out her stymied fingers. She was stuck, halfway through her piece. After a long pause and a couple of false starts, she finished the piece and took her bow. But in her mind, it was a disaster. A catastrophe. The Most Embarrassing Moment Ever in her short 7 years of life.

Can you guess what she did next? She ran to me. She climbed into my lap, buried her face in my chest, and cried. She didn’t run to her brothers, who were seated in the front row with the other performers. She didn’t run to the strangers in the audience seated right behind them. She didn’t even run to her piano teacher, whom she adores.

She ran to the one who knows her best.

Where do you run for comfort or refuge when life hurts? If I’m honest, I often run to a friend, to Facebook, or to a bag of popcorn. I forget the One who knows me in a way no one else does. My Heavenly Father knows my troubles and invites me to find refuge in Him.

Nahum 1:7: The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

This verse gives us three reasons to run to the Lord with our troubles. 1) The Lord is good. It’s simple, but profound. He is unfailingly good. He will not disappoint us. 2) The Lord is a stronghold. He is a sure and steadfast anchor we can cling to in our struggles. 3) The Lord knows us. He knows our struggles. He knows our needs. He knows our past, present, and future. He knows.

No matter what we face this week, the Lord knows those who take refuge in Him.

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God Will Supply Every Need {No Matter What Monday}

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I’m wearing my Geek Badge proudly as I confess to you: I love packing my kids’ backpacks for the first day of school. The shiny folders. The unmarred notebooks. The textbooks just begging to be cracked open. And the spotless pencil box, filled with perfectly sharpened pencils, a clean glue stick, and every single one of the 24 crayons boxed in perfect order.

It doesn’t take long the backpack scene to descend into chaos, but on that first day, I am confident that my children have everything they need.

I love this new-pencil feeling because it feels good to have what you need. To have the confidence that no matter what you face, you are prepared.

If only I had this confidence every day. Instead, I look at my to-do list or my calendar, and I wonder, Do I have what it takes? Do I have what I need to get through this?

Maybe you’re wondering, too. What are you facing this week? What do you need? Strength? Hope? Courage? Peace? Wisdom? Someone to help you?

Philippians 4:19 promises we have what we need: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Our Heavenly Father gives us strength. He is the source of our hope. His eternal victory gives us courage. Because we have peace with Him, we can have peace with others and in tough circumstances. He promises wisdom when we ask for it. The Maker of Heaven and Earth is our helper. We can trust Him to give us everything we need.

There is no need you have that God cannot meet. He has all the supplies needed for your salvation and for every day of your life.

Whatever you face this week, you can have confidence that God will supply everything you need.

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My Broken Brain for God’s Glory

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My Broken Brain for God's Glory

 

My brain is broken.

 

It’s been five years since I had chemo, but I still wrestle with neurological side effects of chemobrain. My struggles cause frustration and anxiety about making a fool of myself. The extra effort required to remember and recall information exhausts me. I even wonder if my weakness will hinder me from fulfilling what God has called me to do for Him.

 

I’ve experienced Pregnancy Brain and Mommy Brain, but chemobrain is even worse. I read about a study that proved the long-term effects of chemotherapy on the brains of some survivors. I have been dealing with these effects for years, so it’s comforting to know it’s not just in my head! (Sorry-not-sorry for the pun!)

 

One of the difficulties I have is that my brain has a hard time switching gears. My recall is slow, and if I ask my brain to switch from one department to another, it slams on the brakes. Last year, a dear friend of mine from church was diagnosed with cancer. I was sending emails and texts to our circle of friends to set up a meal calendar. One day, at a school function, a friend asked me, “How’s Ashley doing?” I stared at her. I had NO CLUE who she was talking about! A few minutes later, I remembered my school friend was also a church friend. She was asking about the very friend whose recent cancer diagnosis was consuming my thoughts, just not at that moment.

 

I’m tempted to view these mental struggles as a disqualification for certain tasks. I recently shared my cancer story in a podcast interview. It was a great opportunity to bring God glory by talking about what He’s done in my life. But thinking on the fly while being interviewed terrifies me.

 

When I write, if I can’t think of the word I need, I can use a thesaurus or come back to it later. If I’m asked to speak, I can write out the talk and practice it over and over. But getting words right spontaneously, especially if I’m nervous – that’s just not my strength right now.

 

Before the interview, my stomach was a ball of knots as I wondered if I’d be able to speak eloquently or if my brain would go on strike. I asked several friends to pray for me. I laid the interview in the Lord’s hands and asked Him to glorify Himself through me.

 

As I reflect on the interview, 2 Corinthians 12 comes to mind. Paul writes that God gave him a thorn in his flesh to keep him from becoming conceited about the revelations he received. He pleaded with the Lord to remove it, and the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9a). Paul continues, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (verse 9b).

 

Chemobrain is one of the thorns in my flesh. I feel weak and disqualified from certain aspects of God’s calling in my life. However, my struggles force me to rely on the Lord’s wisdom and strength. If I was confident in my ability to speak spontaneously, I wouldn’t have asked friends to pray. I would have stolen God’s glory for myself when the interview went smoothly. Because of this thorn, I know it was God at work through my words and not my own skill.

 

God is teaching me to boast in my weakness and glorify His strength. If my identity is rooted in my attempts at perfection and my confidence is in my strength, then the thought of failing in front of others is terrifying. I will wear myself out trying to maintain a façade of having it all together. I’ll avoid tasks that might expose my weakness.

 

But when my identity is rooted in Christ’s perfection and my confidence is in God’s strength, I am free to say, “I have no clue what you’re talking about right now. Can you slow down and help my brain catch up?” Rather than becoming frustrated or embarrassed, I can use my broken brain to boast about the Lord’s power. I can boldly take risks and trust the Lord to use me for His glory, even if I fail.

 

I hate admitting weakness. But God is teaching me to boast all the more in my limitations instead of trying to hide them. He is using this thorn in my flesh to point me to the truth of who I am in Christ. My Heavenly Father can even use a broken brain for my good and His glory.

 

What deficiencies or shortcomings do you fear being exposed? How is fear holding you back from tasks or ministry God is calling you to? What would change if your confidence was in the Lord’s strength rather than your own?

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If you’d like to hear my podcast interview with Amy Bennett, you can listen on her website.

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