I watched my four year old granddaughter, Aubrey, flop backwards over the chair she had been sitting on, right at this moment, unhappy with the specific directions I had just given her. She decided she would demonstrate how unhappy she was with me and wasn’t about to change her floppy position.
Recently, I also have had a really bad case of the ‘floppies.’ You know the attitude, feeling stressed and overwhelmed; believing you are responsible for having everything put together, making sure everyone is happily content, combined with a kind of loneliness that hovers over you saying: “Nobody-likes-me-everybody-hates- me-and-I have-to-do-it-all attitude.” Well, you know how it goes, and today this is the ‘floppy’ position I find myself in.
Isaiah 61:10 really stood out for me as I attempted to lift my ‘floppy’ mood: “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
For some reason we freeze up at “I delight greatly,” believing we just don’t have anything to delight in with all the unsettledness going on in the world around us, so why try. Sadly when this ‘floppy attitude happens, we’ve missed the most important part of this verse in Isaiah and the only reason we even have the choice to delight and rejoice. God isn’t asking us to rejoice and be full of joy about our situation. He’s asking us to be ‘joyful, mirthful, pleased, excited, blissful, elated’ about our salvation! We have been saved by grace! “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8 & 9) We are clothed with garments of salvation and arrayed in a robe of His righteousness; dressed as a bride and groom on their wedding day, in sheer elegance and beauty.
In Psalm 18:19 the psalmist wrote, “He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because he delighted in me.”
Do you see what I’m seeing? When we come to our lowest place; that ‘floppy’ position we feel strangles and we’re unable to catch our breath, God rescues us! He will never leave us stuck in a ‘floppy’ position. Why? Because He delights in us, never out of obligation to us, or because we are in the right form of attitude. He’s asking us to rejoice in our salvation, no matter the storm or tough circumstances we may find ourselves in. He’s simply asking us to trust His delight in us. He rescues me because He delights in me, in spite of a lack of my delighting and rejoicing in Him.
Just so you know, Aubrey didn’t stay in her ‘floppy’ position for long. Within minutes she was out of her chair ready to be onto the next thing. So I guess today with the ‘floppies’ attitude I have going on, God isn’t necessarily attempting to talk me out of the way I’m feeling or even asking me to change it, but I do know I can be out of the ‘floppy’ position because I delight and rejoice in Him and most importantly, because He first delighted in me.
Thank you Sheryl! I so needed to read that today!
It reinforces what I read in a devotional today. “…His grace is sufficient. He is sufficient. Christ is more than enough. Christ is stronger than any storm that you may face. Choose Christ.”
Usually when I read my devotions God will put a song in my ❤️. When I’m finished during my devotional time I’ll look up the song on YouTube. Today He put three songs into my ♥️!
“God’s Not Done With You” by Tauren Wells
“Tell Your Heart To Beat Again” by Danny Gokey
“Even If” With Testimony by Mercy Me
I talked with family a few short days ago, my Mom’s health is rapidly degrading. Being so far from her, I have to trust her care to God and the family.
Brad and I agree that everything that we have been through in our lives, separately and together, has made us stronger in the Lord. I personally have been through many storms since early in life. We truly believe He has prepared us for our current and future storms.
God never said anything would be easy. Only that He would be with us always!
In Christ’s Love, Ava
Oh Ava, my heart goes out to you! So glad His Word is alive for you and will bring you some peace in the middle of the storms you’re in! Love how songs so often speak! The one that came to my mind was “In the Eye of the Storm” by Ryan Stevenson. We will keep praying for you all!
O Sheryl, thank you for putting words to my at-times-malaise , the having time do it all myself, again. We delight in our grandchildren, even when their attitude is questionable. God sees us even better than we see our grands! Like a bride! When I feel like a floppy mop, He delights in me? When I argue with my husband, He adores me? Really NOTHING can separate me from His love? As my mama said, His love is “ample sufficiency; anything more would be superfluity”. She was a wise woman. The older I get, the wiser she becomes to me. And the humbler I am.
His grace is giving us salvation plus so much more! Friends to walk with us, forests to walk in, His Word to sustain us on our walk.
Thanks for helping to lift my floppy self up off the chair and into the forest of delights in Him!
“Superfluity:an unnecessarily or excessively large amount or number of something” Living with His love in superfluity? Oh, yes, please!!!!
“He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because he delighted in me.”
Thanks Sheryl for your thoughts. At times it’s so hard to believe that God delights in me but if I believe other parts of his word I must believe this as well! I know that He delights in your heart to wrestle the Word to understanding and share what you’ve learned. Miss you muchly!!!
Love to you, Susan! Miss you just as ‘muchly!’
Sheryl, Thank you & yes, we are all going through this “whatever” situation together. I’m not much liking it, it has been a tough year prior to this, and was just getting back to normal, when this hit. We shall get through this with the grace of God. Its a lovely reminder to turn it over, as it truly does help ease the stress we are enduring. Thank you for the reminder.
Hi Val! Thank you for commenting and sharing a bit of your past year story. It IS about the grace of God!
Thank you for this. This is exactly what I needed to read/ hear today. My case of the floppies is in full force. The feeling of stress, anxiety and the feeling of being overwhelmed but there is no need! Thank you for the gentle reminder. ❤️
So blessed to have you visit my blog, but so thankful God’s Word spoke to you from it. Sure love you, Tamera!