I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Awake With You
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Dear Friends, Ever been unable to turn your mind off? The what ifs, the anxieties, the worry? It’s like a record left spinning long after the party’s over. It’s a merry-go-round that doesn’t seem to slow for long enough to step off. Anxiety can be truly disruptive. Let’s talk about it. But first, here are some lyrics I’m singing to Jesus today: You never sleep nor slumber Sometimes, when the day is over and the cacophony of work and schedules and kids quiet down, the hum of anxiety can amplify. What was a background presence becomes a siren that can no longer be ignored, and certainly not slept through. Night can be the worst. But there’s an attribute of God that convinces me He’s just what we need in these moments. Isaiah 40 tells us “The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, never faints nor is weary”. Psalm 121 tells us, “He will never slumber nor sleep”. Now, telling someone who is anxious not to be anxious is probably one of the least helpful things you can do. So I won’t. But what I will say is this: When you find yourself awake, staring into the dark, feeling worry swell in your mind, you are not alone: He is awake with you in the night. Yes, He does lift the weight. Sometimes He does it miraculously in a moment, it’s gone, and you’re sleeping like a baby. Sometimes it’s a process and takes time. But even right in this moment, before anything improves, He is with you. The God who thinks more thoughts of you than there are grains of sand on the earth (Psalm 139:18) is awake with you, present with you. He’s a generous Father who loves when we come to Him. He’s a gentle shepherd who won’t abandon His sheep. He’s a night watchman over your life, your future, your family, who won’t close His eyes for a moment. Take comfort. –Anna |
Anna Blanc
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, Welcome to week 2 of our Advent series for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. We left off last week with the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. At the end of his message, the angel seems to leave Mary with a subliminal hint: he mentions Elizabeth. And then he is gone. What does Mary do when she’s had the kind of spiritual encounter that turns her whole life upside down? Without skipping a beat, she runs straight to her friend. The Bible says she hastens to her. Yes, Mary travels to the...
Hi Friends, Welcome to week one of the Advent Series! I wrote this devotional series specifically for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. (You can read more on that here if you missed it.) There is healing for us in this Advent story, and it starts at the very beginning. In Luke 1:26-38, we see Mary visited by the Angel Gabriel and given a most shocking message. That she, a virgin, would bear the Son of God. She is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and it begins: Jesus spends His first 9...
Hi Friends, For years, I’ve taken the weeks leading up to Christmas to stare into the passages of Scripture about Christ coming as a baby. The birth of Christ is a storyline that’s rich in wonder. We could spend all 365 days of the year focusing on it and not exhaust all there is to see. Last year, I did something different. I wrote an Advent email series specifically for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. Spiritual anxiety? What the heck is that? This is a phrase I’ve been using to describe...