Praise- Day 17

Praise Him for His perfect peace.

Last night I woke at 4am to hear a loud bang and then all our power went out. I quickly jumped to my feet to check if it was just us or the whole neighbourhood. Everything lay in darkness.
As someone who deals with anxiety I could immediately feel my throat tighten- this was a difficult time enough as it was without this added pressure. , I was immediately thrown into sea of fear and worry.
“What if I have to go the whole day or the week without power?”
No screens, no mindless scrolling through social media, no listening to music. Oh no- the fridges and the freezer- all the food!!!! And we’re in isolation- how will that work?
What if the hospital is out of power? What if I can’t get help when I need it!
I could feel my anxiety heighten at each thought that bombarded my mind.
I checked my phone to see how much of the city was affected.
It seemed that only our area was affected.
I lay down again- but couldn’t sleep. I rolled over to put on a show to take my mind off the stress and then my screen reminded me- there’s no internet.
The dark seemed darker than usual. And I could feel the panic rising.
I squeezed my eyes tight trying to “Will” myself to be okay but it didn’t work.
And I scolded myself “oh! Stop being so silly- stop being so scared” but that did t stop my fear.

I suddenly remembered my 30 day daily challenge I had set for myself. 30 Days of Praise
Day 16 and I was getting over it. Mostly just trying to “fit it in” when my day was already so busy seemed so hard to do- I started to tell myself how  “unwise” it was to try and keep it up when I had so much on my plate already.

Now here in darkness- facing my own humanness- I began to try something new.
I started listing off things I could praise Him for- I had 16 days of practice for this moment. But I couldn’t remember them all so I started to think about the real tangible things around me I could praise Him for.
I praise you that I have a warm bed
I praise you that my kids are sleeping through
I praise you that we have this cozy house
I praise you that I live in such an amazing country

Once or twice my mind wondered back to my panicky situation - but I kept diligently pressing in to praise. The next thing I knew I was being woken by my family. It had worked! Praising God had removed my anxiety enough for me to fall asleep peacefully until morning.

His perfect peace came when I turned my heart in praise to Him.

I like Philippians 4:6-7 that says
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Click here to listen to
Peace by Hillsong United