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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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Trading Constant Concern for Quiet Relief

I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can grip so tightly to a thousand concerns.

Tears laced with fear mark my face as I concede once again to overthinking and angst—habits I’ve grown all too casual with.

Soon I’m believing the misguided notion that the clutching of my cares somehow secures the well-being of my world.

Long have I held my concerns close, because sometimes letting go feels like giving up, and often I confuse the restless management of life with perseverance.

Recently I spilled my heart before God, longing to know a life where I released my attempts to manage and maintain, and grasped instead the relief of trusting God.

As I searched for guidance, time and again the Lord returned me to this passage penned by the prophet Jeremiah: “Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.” (Jeremiah 17:7, NLT)

I pondered those familiar words: trust, hope, confidence…trying to remove them from my Sunday School vernacular; willing them to become foreign to my vocabulary so they might become alive again to my understanding.

In that moment, I realized how often I’ve relegated the powerful sentiments of hope and confident trust in God to a backup plan.

From youth the Lord has had my heart, yet I haven’t always lived like He’s my source. Everything I cling to apart from Him is misplaced confidence in myself rather than in my God.

Oh, friend, amidst the daily bustle of life, it can be easy to unintentionally place our hope in lesser things. Life is busy and full, and often our automatic response is to restlessly focus on our spheres of care, forgetting that our continual concern is powerless to provide hope to our circumstances.

Yet, Jeremiah goes on to reassure us that those who trust in the Lord are…“Like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:8, NLT)

Friend, when we place our trust in God, He doesn’t just tend to our cares, He tends to our spirits, as well. Even when the heat of our circumstances bears down; when it feels like months of drought separate our concerns from their solutions—we’re able to flourish, refreshed by the depths of the Lord’s supply.

Oh, the freedom of releasing the crumpled contents of our palms into the Lord’s safekeeping, for the God of our lives can be trusted with the cares of our lives.

Dear friend, your hands weren’t made to carry the absolute success, safety and stability of your world. Come to the wellspring of relief, the quiet ground of surrender. Meet God in the hushed pause of this moment; gently unfold your palms and release your cares to Him.

Rest in the quiet calm of a life of trust, for your every care is safely held in the mighty hand of God, who is able to do abundantly more than you can ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

What cares are you gripping today, friend?
When you sense yourself holding on, take a moment to lift open palms to heaven and surrender your concerns to the Lord’s safekeeping.
We’d love for you to join the conversation today
at Proverbs 31 Ministries, friend! ♥

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Comments

  1. Melanie Anderson says

    September 9, 2023 at 12:07 am

    Thank you so much for this today! I found you by way of your Proverbs 31 post. This very thing is what the Lord has been speaking to my heart in so many words. Thank you for encapsulating the struggle so well! I look forward to hearing your heart in the future…keep being real; it’s so beautiful!

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      September 9, 2023 at 10:04 am

      Lovely to meet you, Melanie. =) Thank you for sharing today; it warms my heart to hear how the Lord met you in the devotion. Will pray for you, friend. It’s an ongoing process,isn’t it?! Keep opening your palms and releasing your cares to the One who is forever able. Bless you, sister. 💗

      Reply

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Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, “Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” …

I hope you’ll join me on the Proverbs 31 Ministries, Encouragement For Today Podcast today for this short 5 minute encouragement.
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You can find the Encouragement For Today Podcast  in your podcast app, or at: encouragement-for-today-podcast.transistor.fm/
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How can I pray for you today as you wait in worship for the Lord’s victory in you life? 💕🙏🏻
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I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can grip so tightly to a thousand concerns.
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Long have I held my concerns close, because sometimes letting go feels like giving up, and often I confuse the restless management of life with perseverance.
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I ponder the familiar words of trust and hope and confidence…trying to remove them from my Sunday School vernacular; willing them to to become foreign to my vocabulary so they might become alive again to my understanding.
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…Oh, friend, if you have ever heard the familiar phrase, “Let go and let God,” and wondered…okay, but how?
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Me too.
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In today’s Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion, I share how the Lord met me in this struggle, and showed me how to trade constant concern for quiet relief.
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You can read the full devotion over at Proverbs31.org.
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How I pray that today dawns anew for you in this area, my friend, as you release the cares of your life to the God of your life.
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What cares are you gripping today? Praying for you, friend. 💕
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How did yesterday get so far away? . 35 years this How did yesterday get so far away?
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35 years this man and I have mini-golfed our way through Labor Day.
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We skipped “Selfie 101;” our photos are forever random. We’re fancy like that. 🙃
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I’d rather have a picture of a flower than a picture of my face every day of the week. 🌸
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Time, I don’t know how you do it. How you turn 1988 into 2023 with just a wink.
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But I do know that the best traditions are always the ones that choose you.
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Oh, for 35 more. 💕
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Oh, friend, if you’re in a season of “trying” that’s making you just plain tired…
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Grab a copy of Tired of Trying, by @ashley.morgan.jackson . In this book, Ashley vulnerably shares her story of holding on to God when she felt forgotten by the world amidst a long season of hardship.
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So much goodness in these pages for understanding how to release the frustration of feeling tired and stuck.
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Plus layers of wisdom nestled chapter upon chapter, offering insight into the blessing that comes with the wrestle, as we hold on to the One who forever holds on to us.
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If you decide to read, I’d love to hear your thoughts! May the Lord meet you in its pages, my friend. 💕
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