We all know it's not that simple.
I think of unholy, unkind, worrying thoughts as "salesmen in the foyer." They generally enter unbidden, although I often do invite them (even if unintentionally) by what I read, listen to, view. They trail in on the coattails of family members; they hitchhike in magazine pages; their voices thread through memories I entertain. They stand in the foyer, opening their catalogs of old regrets and new fears and future dreads.
Recently there was a convention in my foyer. I didn't recognize "the salesmen" at first, and by the time I realized who they were and what was happening, I was already quite mired down. I had forgotten there was a grille between us, and I'd focused my eyes right between the grille-bars so I could plainly see the wares being offered. And then I remembered my grille. I will admit to finding it hard, at first, to step back and take a look THROUGH it... after all, the catalogs of worries laid out before me were remarkably compelling. Part of me wanted to continue my unobstructed view. But then I picked up my Bible and opened it to a "bar of my grillwork....."
"Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies." (Psalm 18:4)
I cannot describe the sense of relief that flooded me as I not only read these words, but began to put them into practice. I wasn't feeling physically up to par, I'd been bombarded by worries and stresses..... but still, I could praise the Lord! Nothing should be able to prevent that! Every salesman on earth might be standing in my "foyer," but I could make the decision to praise God. Each time a worry trickled in, I could actually let it serve as a reminder to give thanks and praise to God.
"Praised be the Lord, I exclaim"... and so I do.
...and I am safe from my enemies." And so I am.
