054 - Spring Fever: Navigating Spiritual Restlessness

Sometimes we feel a little restless, and if we call it what it really is, a little anxious in the Spring... But what can we do when we feel that kind of restlessness about our Spiritual Walk? Join us as we talk about trusting in God in our moments of anxiety and restlessnessness.

Episode Transcript

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This is a production of the Jesus Name Network.

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Spring is in the air.
The birds are back in town and calling.
Plants are coming back.
Birds are waking from their long winter slumbers.
And just like the rest of the world, we start to wake up in the spring as well.
There often is a restlessness, an extra burst of energy, and a desire to just get out and
go at this time of year.

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I've heard it called spring fever, and it's thought to actually have some basis in biology,
and it's considered a real thing.
You see, winter has ended, and with it, the sun is now out again, and everyone is getting
more vitamin D, and whether they officially suffer from seasonal affective disorder or
they just get down in the winter, that has now ended.

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And it's also been documented that symptoms of things such as bipolar disorders, they're
more likely to be seen in the spring.
But whatever the reason for this phenomenon is, we all tend to feel the need to do something
at this time of year.
And oftentimes in our spiritual lives, we face seasons in much the same way.

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We face seasons that are like winter, where we don't feel the warmth of light often.
We feel alone and isolated, and we hunker down in our homes or in our emotions, in our
minds, and we are just on our own.
We hibernate and we shut down.
And in all of these seasons, whether they are like a winter or spring or a summer, we

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need to learn to trust that God is the source of providence.
He is our guiding light.
He is the one we look to.
But sometimes in spring, we look around and we just feel life all around us, but we don't
quite see it yet.
And those times can be the hardest to really trust and wait, because we're feeling restless.

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We're feeling all of these emotions.
We really want to go, but yet it's not quite time.
Winter isn't quite done with us yet.
But we so want to just get out and live.
But we need to trust, because God might have another way.
And we might not be able to see it, but he is still guiding life into the blooming, beautiful

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scene that is coming.
But what is this restlessness that we feel at this time of year?
Like, what is that restlessness really all about?
Well, the dictionary defines restlessness as the inability to rest or relax as a result
of anxiety or boredom.

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And what better way to describe those lonely, dark places in our spiritual walks, the low
points where we have to learn to rely on God and God alone?
We don't get the highs of big things.
We don't get crowds.
We don't see fruit growing immediately in front of us.
We aren't seeing a lot of movement, and we just feel alone with us and God and our own

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thoughts.
And that's not always an easy place to be.
And Jesus, he spoke on anxiety, and he spoke on worrying about tomorrow, and he spoke on
trusting in God.
Let's take a look at what he said in Matthew chapter 6 verses 25 through 34.

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He said,
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds

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them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you being anxious can add a single hour to his life span?
And why are you anxious about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
They neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

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But if God so closed the grafts of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat or what shall we drink or what
shall we wear?

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For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be
added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

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Now whether the source of our anxiety is actually concerned for our future or just boredom in
our situation, and not knowing what to do with ourselves, we still experience it, and
we can know no matter what that God will provide.
It's our own vision of the things around us not growing, not changing enough, not moving

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fast enough, not there yet.
It doesn't mean that things aren't growing.
It doesn't mean that things aren't changing.
It doesn't mean that things aren't coming.
It doesn't mean that roots aren't deepening.
And the thing is, is I'm not telling you that you can't trust what you see, because what
we see is true.

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However, we need to understand that our vision isn't capable of seeing the whole situation.
We can't see everything everywhere from every angle.
But we know one who can, and we need to trust Him.

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God tells us in the Bible that He closed the flowers of the field, He feeds the birds of
the air, and they don't do anything to take care of any of that, to prepare for any of
that.
So how much more will He care for us with everything that we do, and yet we still feel
anxiety, we still feel worry.
We still concern ourselves with all of these things, because that's what we do.

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And we need to stop ourselves from doing these things.
We have to actually put in effort to stop.
We have to trust in God's timing for everything we have.
And when we are in those anxious places, we need to turn to Him.
We have to pray our anxieties and our burdens and our cares to Him.

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The Bible says to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us.
And He does.
He loves us.
He's listening.
So tell Him.
You know, you might feel a little whiny.
You might feel like you're just complaining to God, but at the same time, who better?
He already knows all of your complaints.
He already knows all your frustrations.

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He already knows how you feel.
So if you're going to tell anybody about how you feel, it might as well be Him.
And we need to also listen for His answer.
We have to read His Word and we have to seek His voice there.
But we also need to allow Him to speak to us through our daily lives.

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We need to listen to His voice, for His voice.
And we need to allow Him to speak to us through our mentors, spiritual authorities in our
life, through the people that He's put in our life.
And so let us now turn to Him, trust in Him with our anxieties, with our concerns, with

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our restlessness.
Allow Him to guide us and keep us and provide for us in His wisdom, with His riches and
by His power.
Thank you for listening to that Pentecostal podcast.
Catch us every Monday.
And if you like this content, we go a little bit deeper over at the GSM News Podcast.

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So check us out there everywhere you get your podcast.
Again, thank you for listening.
And we'll see you next time.
B Britain.