The summer months were a particularly bad time not because I was going through difficult times but because I was remembering them. Work is particularly difficult and I found that the thought of going back was much worse than actually going back - there were a lot of tears that week! Working as a primary teacher there is a lot of pressure and doing 60+ hours of work a week is still not enough. Thinking about it I don’t know how I cope really and I suppose the truth is I don’t cope very well! I have at least three headaches a week and don’t sleep more than five hours a night but I do cope.
It’s taken me a while to realise that when you allow negative thoughts to enter your mind and stay there, they do quite a bit of damage so concentrating on God’s words really helps. Knowing Bible verses to combat negative words is really the only way to get rid of them, not allowing yourself to think in a negative way. No matter how busy my day, I need to always make time with God to restore my soul.
The title of this post is the title of a song by Hillsong I discovered at New Wine during the summer that has really helped me to picture what knowing God might look like. What does it mean to have God ‘forever reign’? For me it means not letting negative thoughts course through my mind, not letting others’ opinions of me affect my identity but know and concentrate on what God thinks of me. It means securing my identity in Him and knowing that He loves me, has a purpose for me and forgives me. It means loving others without worrying who’s loving me.
“Oh, I'm running to your arms
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign”
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign”
Songwriters: Jason Ingram; Reuben Morgan
© shout publishing
© shout publishing
