Aug 11, 2020
The Great Exchange
Tamara Glasner
A few years ago, I found myself trying, once again, not to wake my husband by my tossing and turning. I had been gripped by fear for the millionth time over different things. This was another one of those nights, and on this night, I was panicked over the safety of one of my children. I had no peace! And sleep was the last thing on my mind.
After one hour turned into two hours, and two hours to three, I started to call out to the Lord. Interestingly, I wasn’t praying over my child. Rather, I was praying over myself. Fear had kept me awake so many nights… and on this particular night, something just snapped. I was done. I knew that my fear was not Godly. I needed deliverance. I needed a fresh dose of trust that God cared about my kids more than I did. I did not want to spend one more sleepless night controlled by fear and anxiety.
My prayer went something like this, “Lord, I cannot live like this anymore! I don’t want this fear to control my life! I need your touch! I need your healing in my life. Please Lord! Come and heal me!”
Truth be told, I don’t fully remember how the rest of that night went. I remember praying a lot. I remember trying to give the Lord my fear. And then, I’m sure I fell into an exhausted slumber and life went on.
But… a few months later, it hit me. I had not been awakened at two in the morning since that night! More than that, I had received a phone call that would have, in the past, sent me spiraling into fear. Instead, I had responded in total peace. The Lord had heard my cry. He had delivered me from fear. More than that, He began to show me how trustworthy He was with every situation that came my way.
There are many things you can do to help yourself avoid needless worry and anxiety. But, at the end of the day, there is only one place you can go to receive perfect peace. Jesus has the ability and the desire to calm the storms in your life.
The next time you find yourself awake, heartbeat fluttering away, palms sweaty, and your thoughts racing, let me encourage you to go to the One who has the power to speak to the waves and move mountains. What’s more, He has the power to deliver you from fear. But, you have to give it to Him first.
That is the Great Exchange. You give Him fear, He gives you confidence. You give him anxiety, He gives you peace. You give Him ashes, He gives you beauty.
The Great Exchange gives God permission to go to places in your life that need new direction and correction. It gives God permission to heal you and set you free. The Great Exchange has the power to change the course of your life and your family.
Give God whatever it is you need to give Him in order to receive His peace, His abundant, unending, faithful peace. No matter what trouble you may be in, He is there with you. He is always there. He is always faithful. He is always trustworthy.
If you aren’t sure what you are holding on to that may be keeping you from receiving His peace, ask Him. He’ll tell you! Some of the most basic “things” keeping us from receiving peace include:
- Focusing on everything going wrong in the world
- Fearing you will not be able to manage hardship
- Spending free time escaping into media that is filled with lifeless messages.
- Getting stuck thinking there is no hope for the future
- Not being able to believe that God is truly faithful
- Not doing basic constructive things to build yourself up in courage and faith, like praying and worshiping and declaring out loud that God is good, especially when life is hard
- Not taking time to meditate on Scripture and the presence of God
One of my favorite scriptures is found in Joshua 1: 9 “THIS IS MY COMMAND-BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISCOURAGED. FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.”
Remember, God gave us Scripture to remind us of who He is and how He works. We can quickly forget how trustworthy and loving He is if we do not immerse ourselves in His word daily.
There are tons of scriptures in the Bible to remind us of God’s faithful love to us if we will call on His name. He promises us He will be with us in this life to give us his spirit and to guide us in the ways we should go. And even though He never promised it would be EASY, he did promise us His peace and presence, always!
Let me encourage you again to go after The Great Exchange every day of your life. You will forever be changed! I certainly have been.
May the Lord bless you today with his peace. Call on His name and He will be with you!
Many blessings from me to you,
Mama T
(Tamara Glasner)
Reprinted with permission from GlasnerHouse.co
