The Bible Promise Book for the Anxious Heart By Janice Thompson
The Bible Promise Book for the Anxious Heart is an excellent tool to remember the promises of God and apply them to your daily life. Thompson begins each topic with a heart felt prayer to help you understand you are not alone in situations and feelings you may be facing. I recommend this book to anyone who may be facing anxiety, trials, or anyone who needs a reminder of God’s sovereignty. In the introduction Janice speaks on not letting this book replace your quiet time with God. I applaud her for the transparency, wisdom, and boldness to speak on this. The only con I have is that I wish I had it in paperback rather than an e-book. I give this book a 5 out of 5. The Bible Promise Book for the Anxious Heart By Janice Thompson is a book that is applicable for everyday life, truly timekess, leaving your heart no longer anxious but with God’s peace after you declare the promises given to you!
Thank you Baurbor Publishing and Janice Thompson for allowing !e to review this spectacular tool for every day Christian life. Another big thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book which has brought me peace and victory through the word of God!
Is it your closest? Bathroom? A nature trail? Did you have one once and now it has been taken over?
We all NEED a quiet place. EVEN JESUS DID!
Our quiet place is essential. It is where we can speak to God aloud and have him speak to us WITHOUT interruptions. Where you can hear him clearly and you can speak to him about the most inner parts of your heart and mind. Your quiet place should be somewhere where he has your full attention. A place where we can renew our mind in the word and spend time worshiping our creator, Abba, Alpha and Omega, our lifeline.
Many of us have a lot of commitments that keep us busy and we claim we don’t have time or we can’t find a quiet place.
If you are schedule is too busy, have you thought of waking up earlier or canceling the 2 hour Netflix binge? Or if your job is taking up the time you are spending with God, do you think it is time to pray for a new job opportunity? I know for a fact that when work was on the throne of my heart instead of God and I felt like I had nowhere to turn but took a leap of faith, God provided for me 2 new jobs that I fell in love with. He is faithful. I can assure you that you are TOO busy if you are TOO busy to spend time with God. There are ways around it, just ask him.
When it comes to an actually quiet place, being married to a man who is in the military and having 2 dogs that are 6 months old can be really challenging. I am sure this is challenging for many of us who have families. The reading nook/war room I used to have where I would go to now has becomes the jungle gym for my puppies. But after not having the quality time with God that I wanted and so desperately needed I cried out upon God for help. WHERE is this place for me now? It became the bathroom for a while, then the trails, and now it has been not feeling guilty for putting my puppies in their cages for a while when I spend time with God.
What I really was depriving was not only myself, but my family. When I wasn’t able to spend the time with God that I needed (because I didn’t know where), I became moody and my thoughts began to become worldly.
If you are being challenged by busyness or don’t know where to go to spend time with God, simply ask him what can change. I know that I didn’t know what to do. I felt stuck. But that was just the enemy slipping in and trying to take away the time I need with God. Nothing is more important than your relationship with God. You can say it all day long, but until you put it into action is when the real fruit bearing begins.
I began to toss and turn at 3:30am, trying to make myself calm down enough so there was a chance I may get some rest before I left for Houston in the morning for a marriage retreat. I knew I needed rest. Not only was my body completely and utterly drained, but my mind was racing. Racing in a way it hadn’t raced in 2 years since I have been healed of mental illness. I knew this worry wasn’t from God.
Yes, I had 4 chapters to read, 3 assignments to complete, a 3 hour drive to Houston, and a marriage retreat to complete. Right then at that very moment, I had a restless mind thinking about the things I had to do later on in the week. *Breathe Tanja, breathe*
I casted all my worries of not being able to finish my homework by the deadlines and was STILL tossing and turning. I looked at my phone, now 4:30am.
Alright…
I need to de-stress myself. My best way of doing this is a candle-lit hot bath accompanied by a lavender bath bomb. I laid in the tub…at 4:30 in the morning and just closed my eyes, completely vulnerable in the midst of Abba’s presence and spoke, “Okay God, I know that I either need to pray for someone or I need to listen.”
“Listen…”
*I intently listened to what God had to say*
God: You need to do this more often…take care of yourself. You know that this anxiety and stress you have been feeling isn’t from me. You keep trying to rest in your own way. But the rest that your body and soul needs is found in me. Only me.
Me: But how am I supposed to get through right now? Am I supposed to stop doing all these things? I thought you called me to do them?
God: You know the saying you always say, “You can’t pour from an empty cup?”
Me: *sighs* Yes…
God: I would rather you take one class and give more to the women and youth you are leading. I will give you the strength till next semester. But rest in me, find your strength in me, and know that I am so proud of you.
All my anxiety seemed to dissipate into the heavenly realm as I soaked in God’s presence. I sat in the candle-lit bath surrounded with peace and plans to prosper.
God spoke a couple things to me:
Stop trying to do thing in my own strength
He can make even anxiety at 3:30am turn into something beautiful. (Literally Soaking in his presence)
I need to have more of an ear to listen
Take one class next semester
I can only find true rest, in him
He will give me strength to get through these next couple weeks
He is proud of the seeds I’ve been planting
Trust in him and his plan
I have not dealt with anxiety like that in 2 years. It was not from God, but he did turn it out for the good and used it for intimate time in his presence. We need to lay everything at his feet and trust in him and his plan. Even if it doesn’t line up with our “graduation date”, his plan is perfect. We can sleep 12 hours and still not be restored because the rest we need is found in him. During quiet time, sometimes we actually need to be quiet. God wants to speak into us. Even if we are struggling to get by, if we ask God for strength, he will give it to us. Last but not least, let us not grow weary in doing good. We will reap what we sow.
Even though I did not get much sleep before the marriage retreat, I wouldn’t of traded that time with God for sleep. I literally soaked in his presence & a supernatural peace came over me as I listened to what he had to say. I casted my cares upon him through prayer and he heard me and spoke.
Is there something you need to lay at his feet today? Or maybe you just need to listen and find rest in him. Either way, he is waiting to hear from you.
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”-Galatians 6:9 NLT
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”-1 Peter 5:7 NLT
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; Â Â Â Â do not depend on your own understanding. Â Seek his will in all you do, Â Â Â Â and he will show you which path to take.”-Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Here is the latest pages of my 2018 BuJo. I absolutely love them.
Holy Spirit has really laid it on my heart that not only is it important to be healthy spiritually (reading, studying, mediating on the word, prayer, fasting) but also to be healthy physically. Our bodies are temporary vessel’s however they are a temple. I am not trying to lost weight, but be healthy. I may lose weight in the process but that isn’t my goal. Hence the tape over the weigh in of 2018! This means less sweets, more water, and a whole lot more exercise.
As I read the book about Spiritual Disciplines I have been reminded how important it is to meditate on The Word Of God. I sometimes read scripture at a pace that is just allowing me to read, not study and meditate.
What tools do you use to help your spiritual and physical health?
