And sometimes we can be overcome with overwhelm,
With a lack of confidence,
With discouragement,
With this idea that everyone else is doing so much better than we are.
Why can't we do better?
And I know that these feelings can really,
Like fishhooks,
Just grab onto all that yucky negativity and really weigh heavily on your spirit and your ability to move on and actually serve and really become who you are meant to be.
And I,
Too,
Become overwhelmed as well.
I think,
Why isn't this working?
Why am I just running into all these obstacles and barriers?
And for times like those,
I turn to the different scriptures that have fed me through the years.
And one of those is Psalm 18.
So let's use a passage from Psalm 18 to really ground us and guide us and give us that courage.
So hopefully,
By now,
You've gotten comfortable and settled your spirit.
If not,
Just notice your breath right now.
Maybe focus your breath really deep in your belly so that your diaphragm pushes organs out to make room for new energy to come in.
And each exhale is a new opportunity to begin again,
To begin fresh.
Maybe notice your posture,
Open your shoulders,
Because sometimes those feelings of overwhelm can manifest in your body.
Your shoulders become hunched and you can't breathe.
So maybe feel your sternum,
Your collarbones opening up.
Expand your chest.
And with each breath,
Just notice that expansion and lifting from the crown of your head.
And just with each breath,
You're also feeling taller as those vertebrae expand,
Make room for something new,
Something great than you have ever imagined.
So let's hear the confidence of David.
For you will light my lamp.
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by you,
I can run against a troop.
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
That's pretty confident.
In spite of so many enemies that want to pull him down,
He was sure that God would help.
With God,
All things are possible.
So let's hear this again and see how this can really apply to you.
Let it really like a fresh rain sink into the soil of your being.
For you will light my lamp.
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by you,
I can run against a troop.
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
And feel the energy of that passage as you take a deep breath,
Feeling the grounding in your sit bones,
Anchoring you,
But also lifting you from the crown of your head.
Feeling that proud,
Feeling that confidence.
God lights your lamp.
God enlightens your darkness.
He gives you the endurance to run against a troop.
He gives you the strength to leap over a wall.
So let's take another breath,
Deep,
Grounding your sit bones,
Feeling the extension through the crown of your head.
And as you exhale,
Say,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
So repeat that.
So take a deep breath in,
Expand open,
And exhale,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
Just continue repeating that over and over again,
A deep inhale,
Exhale,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall,
Feeling the energy and confidence of those words.
Deep breath in,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
And let's take one more deep breath in,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
So as we close,
You use that passage over and over again by repeating that in your sacred space of meditation.
You are letting that plant a seed deep within you.
And by returning to it throughout the day,
It becomes more embedded in you.
And that confidence continues to grow even if you're not conscious of it.
It continues to repeat over and over again with practice and with time.
So in this regard,
You are praying without ceasing.
You are showing that confidence,
I can do this because by not my strength,
But with God's strength,
I can leap over any barriers or obstacles that get in my way.
And even during times when you feel unsure,
Repeat those words to yourself.
Maybe pause,
Step away from the circumstance and read Psalm 18.
But that short passage,
By my God,
I can leap over a wall.
You have the power,
You have the endurance,
You have that deep seated strength to leap and to serve the purpose that was planted deep within you.
Take care of yourself.
