What's the Word?

Corona.  That word sends a shutter down each of our spines.  So many words flood our minds after the word “corona” is uttered.  Sickness.  Contagious.  Hospital.  Ventilator.  Death.  Unknown.  Isolation.  Quarantine.  Social Distancing.  Alright… that’s enough.  Words have power.  Read those words again.  What do you feel when you read them?  Tightness in your chest?  Teeth clenched.?  Shoulders rising?  Your breathing becoming shallow?  No- you don’t have Corona.  That’s anxiety.  I’ve spent the last year studying my anxiety and how it presents itself in my life.  I joked with a friend the other day that “anxiety has become my bestie. Bonnie and Clyde.  Burt and Ernie.  Thelma and Louise.”  Words have the power to allow my little bestie to inch closer and closer.  If I don’t keep an eye on it, its familiar hug becomes a noose around my neck.  (note: as soon as I typed that I winced and thought “that’s a little strong, meg.”  But again- the power of words.  You can create compelling imagery just stringing together words.)  How do we fight these words?  How do we strip them of their power?  Simple.  We fight words with Words.  


Last week I was having a day.  You know how that goes, right?  “A day”?  That’s the nice way of saying what you really want to say minus the choice words.  My anxiety was rising.  I felt my breathing get shallow, which is one of my first signs.  I was working at my desk which is a whole different level of stress when you have kids in the house that don’t understand that mommy is not there to entertain at all times.  I got up to grab something in another room and passed our piano.  Laying on top was a little notecard that caught my eye.  I immediately recognized it but was also puzzled by what it was doing there.  I hadn’t seen it in months, if not a year.
  

 A couple years ago I was given a precious gift.  This is a gift that I treasure both for its simplicity and its deep spiritual meaning.  Inside a little burlap bag is a set of about 25 notecards with scripture written on it.  But the cool part about this is that the giver of this gift inserted my name into each scripture.  2 timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”   What this is saying is each verse is a Word directly from God to us.  This gift of scripture cards takes this one step further, reminding me that God is for ME.  It’s a physical reminder of a personal connection.

Back to the piano- sitting on the piano was one of these cards.  The scripture written on it was Psalm 91:11-12 which reads,


                For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go, Meghan. 

                They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.


Obviously, that’s a pretty perfect message given the time we are living in right now.  But it just scratches the surface of chapter 91.  Here goes, starting at verse 1:


                Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

                This I declare about the Lord:

                He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.

                For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.

                He will cover you with His feathers.  He will shelter you with His wings. 

                His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

                Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.

                Do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

    Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils       will not touch you.

    Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 

    If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,

    no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.

    For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. 

   They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.

   You will trample on lions and cobras;

   You will crush fierce lions and serpents under your foot.

   The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. 

   I will protect those who trust in my name.

  When they call on me, I will answer;

   I will be with them in trouble.

   I will rescue and honor them. 

   I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Whoa.    Words.  THE Word.  What words does your little buddy anxiety pick out?  Plague.  Disease. Darkness.  Evil.  Terrors.  Take another look.  What is God whispering?  Shelter.  Refuge.  Safety.  Protect.  Faithful.  Rescue.  Answer.  Thems fightin’ words.  Fight words with the Word.


*Coronacation activity- make your own notecards. Make them personal.  Insert your name.  Next: have your kids or your spouse (whoever you are sheltering with) hide them for you all over the house.  It’s a fun way to get through the day.  It also opens up the conversation of the power of scripture with your kids.  I’ve had some great conversations about how scripture protects us with my 7 year old.