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Thought bombs are a nefarious tool used constantly by Satan. Thought bombs lead to sin because they sit there in our mind just waiting for us to light the fuse. We either embrace the thought, light the fuse, and let it permeate our being leading us down temptations path, or we sweep it out the door giving it to God to dispose of. Christians are human and are prone to do the former, so it takes practice to do the latter.

Thought bombs cause anxious thinking, and anxious thinking permeates our world today because we are flying around trying to get a thousand things done in 30.5 seconds. Knowing it is impossible, we worry how it will all be done. Most of it is our own fault because we simply overextend ourselves similar to piling mountains on our plate because we are terribly hungry, but knowing we can't possibly eat everything on it.

Other times our anxiety stems from the unknown mountains or valleys with dark corners. How is it that we do not seem to hold onto the complete peace God has given us through the Fruit of the Spirit? This is one of Satan's delights about human nature. All he has to do is throw a thought bomb at us, and we spiral down into anxious thinking and worry. Worry is a sin, you know. It's one that the Christian seems to be most prone to without recognizing it's clogging, smothering results.
When we are anxious, it affects our thinking. It clouds our thought processes and we are consumed about what might happen – then it never does, or rarely does.

So how do we deal with worry? I love what Dale Carnegie said, "Figure out what's the worst thing that could happen, then make a plan if that thing happens and set the whole thing aside." We worry about things that 90% of the time do not happen. Why is that?

Philemon 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

We are to pray about those things that make us anxious. Lately, I've been praying (groaning with tears and face in the pillow) over selling our rental house that, financially, we really need to sell. I've also prayed about my eyesight. Macular degeneration will not make you black-dark-blind, but will impair your vision to a legal blindness state. If I lose my eyesight, Mom and I are in a lot of trouble, not just because I'll lose my income, but also because I couldn't drive. I also prayed that we'd get to a doctor's appointment on time even though we were fifteen minutes late starting out.

All three of these are examples. Of course there are many other things that I pray for like my grandbabies and church and pastor and a myriad of heart concerns. But these examples give you and idea of the magnitude of concerns. From financial, to physical, to space and time (would that be metaphysical?).

I prayed out loud that God would help us fly to the appointment zip, zip, zip and get there with plenty of time left over. Generally, it takes thirty minutes to get there. We got there in ten minutes – five minutes to spare. My son-in-law was astounded we got from one end of New Orleans to the other in ten minutes. I think he learned something with that prayer that he hadn't in his last thirty-something years as a Christian.

It isn't bad to want to see results of prayer and confirmation of God's working in our lives. Sometimes that is how He comforts us when He instantly says yes to a small thing, so that we will understand that He is definitely working on the BIG things we've been praying about incessantly.

We just cannot know or understand God's ways. We ask, and we receive. Then we ask, and then we receive. It seems to be a results motivated prayer life.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. " Why isn't that enough?

We are told in many different ways, but most clearly through Paul to, "worry over nothing, to pray about everything" as I mentioned above.

So the mature Christian should be able to leave everything in God's hands and be comfortable with how He answers our prayers. It is rather difficult to just let go and let God. God showed me in no uncertain terms that His will is done for those who love Him. And sometimes, sometimes He is waiting on us to conform to His desires and to let go of our desires.

It all boils down to trust. When we know our God has plans not to harm us, but for our good, then there is no way we can go wrong. It's just those trials and painful tribulations, and that dark valley of death that we know we must walk through that gets us all twisted into knots.

Has He ever failed me? Never.

Will He ever fail me? Never.

That must be enough.

Oh! And about those other two prayers, God has not sold that rental property yet. I know He will in His good and perfect timing. My eyesight has progressed in my right eye from 20/80 to 20/23 in two years with shots in my eyes. I never lost the 20/20 vision in my left eye. The shots are not a cure, but they will help me keep my vision. Yes, they are painful. Yes, they are expensive. God has provided for that, too.

God is great and God is good let us thank Him for our blessings.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD rejoices over you. He will quiet you with His love.

Or as The Message puts it,
Your GOD is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

Vital Spiritual Lessons from The Feast of Tabernacles