by Pastor Mark Moreno
God Has Got You!
One time when I was in Africa, I had the first and only panic attack of my life. I remember it pretty vividly: I was walking down a flight of stairs and my eyes were adjusting from walking out of a building. It was blazing hot and I could see the caked dirt below and hear the sound of my feet going down each step. I think I was light headed as well!
Then this feeling swept over me and I kept repeating the phrase, “I’ve got to get outta here” in my head. I felt a tightness in my chest and I remember thinking, “Just breathe”. The moment passed and I felt so much better. But even in the midst of that attack, it was all emotion, I remember thinking how irrational the whole thing was. But that didn’t matter. What mattered in that moment was the overwhelming feeling.
Have you had a moment like that? A moment where you felt like you just had to get out of the situation or place you were in? There is a Psalm about that! Psalm 46 begins:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
That Psalm seems to have been written on a pretty hard day. I almost wish I could encourage the writer by saying, “Just breathe!”. But even more importantly, the Psalm offers comfort of it’s own in later verses. It ends with, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress”.
We need a rock when we feel anxious and panicked about this world and life. I am so thankful that the text I went to in Africa was Psalm 46. It pointed me to the fact that I wasn’t alone: God had people in that spot with me and He was THERE.
While I have only had one panic attack (at least as far as I know), I have had SEVERAL moments in life where I felt a bit overwhelmed and need to remember (or be reminded!) that God is my rock and sure salvation, even in a bad or challenging moment.
I encourage you to remember that those moments will pass, and that God Himself is with you and is your fortress!
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
