Chapter 5 of the Book Winning the War on Worry by Louie Giglio

 "Do you believe God loves you?"

Pastor Louie Giglio asks this questions on page 68 in chapter 5 of his book on Winning the War on Worry. This chapter talks about how the power of God's perfect love for us is the key to winning this war. The problem is...do we believe God loves us?

Is there a person in your life you truly love? Not just because of what they do for you...not just when they behave well or perform to your satisfaction...a person you truly love despite all of that. The closest to this kind of love I have experienced is the love I feel for my sons. They can't do much for me. They don't always behave well. The rarely ever perform to my satisfaction (shhhhhh...don't tell them I said this. I'd deny, deny, deny!!). But it's true. They are great kids, but they are not perfect and they do disappoint me TONS...but I'd die for them. The depth of my love for them goes deeper than I ever knew it was possible. But I still want to punch them on the face often. Pastor Giglio tells us to ponder our very imperfect love that we feel for our beloved and realize that it is nothing compared to the love God has for us.

The only reason we know how to love in our imperfect ways is because He first loved us (John 4: 19). He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. What kind of a love is that? It is incomprehensibly perfect love. It goes beyond everything we can imagine. And that kind of love is the one He has for us. Therefore, we have nothing to worry about! If we who are weak and imperfect are able to keep our children safe for the most part...how much safer is God able to keep us? Like Pastor Giglio said on page 66: "If God already gave you His best, He has no reason to withhold the rest." If God has already given me Jesus and the Holy Spirit, why should I worry that He might not take care of me? It's absurd, when you look at it this way, isn't it?

The depth of God's love moved Him to send Himself in the person of Jesus to be our Savior and in the person of the Holy Spirit to live inside of us until He calls us home. Why should I be afraid? If He has already done all these, why would He deny us to help us overcome fear and worry? Yes, we still live in a broken world and the enemy is still prowling like a hungry lion seeking to devour us. Therefore, we must still stay on guard, but we are covered by the most perfect love that ever existed, so, regardless of the reality of the struggles we face, we have already won! So why worry?! And the greatest news is: nothing can ever separate us from His love! (Romans 8: 31-39)

No matter what we do or don't do, He "absolutely and unequivocally" loves us no matter what! And if we believe this truth in our hearts and minds, we have the greatest and only weapon we will ever need to put a dagger through the heart of worry. (68)

So, let's make sure we meditate on this essential truth: God does love us with an everlasting love. Once we get that tattooed into our brains, the enemy would have no power over us.

May we respond with humility and awe to the great power of God's love. He has done what we could never do, so we worship Him. He is the Only One worthy of all our worship and praise and affection. Reveal Your perfect love to us as we move away from worry and break our chains of fear, Lord. In the Precious Name of Jesus, the One Who Breaks every chain, even mine! Amen!

Chapter 4 of the Book Winning the War on Worry by Louie Giglio

 I love disaster movies. I just enjoy watching them because they usually contain great examples of human ingenuity and resourcefulness. God's marvelous design comes in full display when we are pressed from every side as our brain goes on full alert mode and fires up options to consider when in mortal danger...well...some people's brain, at least. My brain goes straight to panic. So I'm afraid if you are stuck with me in a dangerous situation, you're going to have to be the one with the impressive display of brain power, because me...I'm going to be hysterically and blindly screaming my lungs out, paralyzed in fear, curled into a ball. 

Anyway, that's another reason I like watching disaster movies, because I'm hoping to learn something useful. Like, for example, I love to watch and re-watch the movie San Andreas, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Yes, I also enjoy watching that movie because of The Rock, I know, you got me. BUT, my favorite part is when the earth starts shaking again, and The Rock moves all the people to lean against the side wall of the stadium. Once the earthquake stops, everyone is safe even though there was much collapsing of structures, then the one person asks him, how did he know what to do. The Rock's character, who is an emergency helicopter pilot replied something like, "you find something sturdy to lean against and brace yourself." 

Well, chapter 4 of the book Winning the War on Worry by Pastor Louie Giglio talks about how it is key to invite God into our worry. To illustrate this, Pastor Giglio quotes Philippians 4:6, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. This is a command, but beyond that, it is a guide to handling worry. I know, hearing the first part is like, "sure...do not be anxious...do not worry...yeah...that'll happen." But if we keep reading, it tells us what to do instead or when we feel the sting of fear and worry on the back of our spine: PRAY! And what is prayer? It is our invitation to God to be a part of our lives, good and bad and ugly. 

The best part is the result of this invitation: PEACE! 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 7

What a blessing! Countering worry with prayer results in a peace so amazing that it is incomprehensible. And this peace is promised if we abide/dwell in Our Great God. If we disconnect from our distractions and remain close to the vine that is Jesus, turning our attention to Him in prayer, worry turns into peace like water turned into wine by the sole presence of Our Lord in the room. 

A practical and effective way that Pastor Giglio offers in his book to staying connected to Jesus especially in our times of worry and fear, is a simple breathing exercise. He tells us to exhale/breathe out a lie caused by worry, whatever it is, and inhale/breathe in an affirmation or a promise of God. For example, he says, we can exhale, "I am alone." And then, we can inhale, "God is with me always." We can customize this to fit our situation and try it whenever the cold shivers of fear start creeping up and down our soul. It is a good way to refocus our attention on the One Who Calms the Storm as supposed to keeping it on the waves and the winds. It is a way to remember that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46: 1). It is how we find our "sturdy" place when the earth begins to move.

As I walk through valleys filled with the darkness of worry and fear, I will try to remember the triangle of life, Our Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the sturdiest place ever available for us to lean against in our times of earthquakes and storms. 

Thank you, Lord for reminding us that You are bigger than anything that afflicts us in this world. You have overcome, and so shall we by Your grace, presence and strength. In The Precious Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

Chapter 3 of the Book Winning the War on Worry

 I cannot believe that it has been almost 3 months since the last time I posted anything. It has been an eventful summer, both good and not-so-good. I've enjoyed many blessings but I have also been immersed in deep worry. And today, as I was, once again, falling into the trap that fear sets in front of me every time, I remembered...All things are possible with God! (Matthew 19: 26) ... even winning the war on worry.

So let me pick up where I left off: the beginning of chapter 3.

Author and Pastor, Louie Giglio reminds us in this chapter how control and fear are at the root of worry. I think, the fear of losing control is significant here as well. If you think about it, we just like life to go the way we plan it. And when it doesn't, or when it seems like it won't...we begin to worry because we fear the unknown. Unknown means out of our control...therefore, we worry.

I am not a big planner. I know it is hard to believe, but I do not spend countless hours scheduling the minutia or even the big things of life. I'm too lazy for that. I do plan, don't get me wrong, but I have seen what real, hard-core planners are like...and I am NOT one of them. Dylan is. He is obsessed with detailed planning. For example, when we go on vacation, he plans every single outfit he will wear every single day. One time I had to yell at him for using all my gallon-size Ziplock bags to organize his daily get ups. I was sooooo mad when I went to look for ONE and there were NONE left in a box I had recently purchased. Me on the other hand, I throw in my suitcase a bunch of pieces that I know go together and hope when I'm there, I can concoct a few basic outfits that look presentable and comfortable (while making sure there is a washing/dryer combo at the place where we're staying at, 'cause I tend to under pack).

Anyway...Dylan gets terribly upset when plans change. Back to traveling, he makes me repeat over and over and over again what we have planned to do at the place we're visiting, until he memorizes it. I even have to tell him when we have planned, nothing...so he can mark it as "free time" in his mental calendar. The year we took him to Guatemala, we were not in control of the itinerary so a couple of months in advance I had to start the conversations with him about the need for him to grasp the concept of "going with the flow." I thought it was super ironic that I was the one promoting the idea of "going with the flow" when I am notoriously the least "flowy" person anyone around me has ever met (I am just filled with contradictions).

At any rate, Pastor Giglio says that we are called to be good stewards, which in turn means, we are supposed to plan. Good stewardship/planning, however, does not need to include a microscopic analysis of every "what if" scenario that could possibly happen in the future. We consider some of them, perhaps the most obvious, and we let the rest go to God's hands, where ultimately every plan must reside. He mentions how getting stuck on the "what ifs" will actually paralyze us with fear because we realize how ill-equipped we are to deal with all of them...therefore, we get "stuck on a stream of worry." (35)

Giglio says:

It's not wrong to admit that the occasional "what if" can be helpful...every so often when you're building a plan, you need to look ahead. But you can't live there. You can't fixate so much on the ideas of tomorrow that you cease living in the realities of today. Not only is detrimental to your spiritual health, but psychology and sociology have proven that it's actually a large waste of time and effort...because most of the "what ifs" that we project and dwell on don't ever happen." (35) Later he continues, "planning well and steering clear from worry means that we embrace the mentality of I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." (37) He adds, "planning focuses on the present and on what is in your hands, while occasionally looking ahead to factor in what is to come. Worry fixates on the future, while occasionally circling back to work on what is currently in front of you." (34)

And that's why worry gets me, not because I am a frantic planner who needs to schedule even her visits to the "el baño," but because the toxicity of worry gets to me due to the fact that I keep looking at the future, crossing bridges ahead of time, fixating on the fact that I won't be able to handle the eventualities and the realized "what ifs" because I'm not strong enough (or even because I haven't planned accordingly). I believe the lie that says we are alone in the storm...so when it hits...I KNOW I'm going to perish for sure because I know I am not strong enough.

The truth is, we ARE NOT ALONE. 

We do not have to face the storm all on our own.

We don't have to rely only on our puny strength.

God, the Lord Almighty is with us always. (Isaiah 41: 10) and so is Jesus (Matthew 28: 20). Not only He controls the storm (Mark 4: 39) but He speaks to us out of it (Job 38: 1)...and even though with man things are not all possible, NOTHING is impossible with God, (Matthew 19: 26). And He also doesn't give us more than we can handle. Pastor Giglio points out beautifully how this is present in the parable of the talents, when in Matthew 25: 15 Jesus says, "to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability." How did I miss that last part? I can't believe I never truly saw that last phrase, "to each according to his own ability." I just love the Word of God and how it becomes new every day.

He also sends His angels to guard us (Psalm 91: 11-12)...and I don't just mean the celestial beings...I mean, God puts people in our lives to do His work in us as well. He sends His every-day-angels to minister to us and to walk with us and to lift us up...

Pastor Giglio's closing words in this chapter are most powerful:

"God puts things into your hands according to your ability and His power to work in and through you. If He's entrusted it to you, you can carry it. If He's calling you to it, He will be faithful and help you through it." (38) Even if we mess up and believe we are failing...He who began a good work in us will see it to completion. (Philippians 1: 6)

God is Good and Merciful...so I know that whether we want to plan every detail to make sure we have fashionable outfits for every occasion, or just want to make every day an adventure, He's got us covered and His patience is limitless. All we have to do is remember to place all our plans, tight or loose, at the feet of the Cross and trust He takes care of us.

PRAYER:

Father, I bring to You the things I am concerned about. Help me make wise choices to bring about the best outcomes in every situation. Give me the grace to place what I cannot control into Your hands with confidence and peace. In the Precious Name of Jesus! Amen!

Continuing the Reflections on the Book Winning the War on Worry by Louie Giglio

 What's at the heart of worry?

I never considered this question. I never really "worried" about what's behind "worry." I just do it. I worry. However, reading through this little book by Louie Giglio, Winning the War on Worry I got to page 20 and there was a statement that made me hit the brakes: "at the heart of worry is our need to be in control."

Pastor Giglio takes the readers back to Adam and Eve and how that one decision to disobey God was all about control. They believed the lie of the enemy that told them, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3: 5).  The key phrase in this lie is:  "you will be like God..." That was it. Eve and then Adam wanted to be like God. The funny thing is, they already were!

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1: 27

We already are made in the image of God. That's what Adam and Eve forgot. They allowed the lies of the enemy to enter their minds, clouding the truth. So they gave up paradise for the twisted promise of knowledge. This reminds me of when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. I mean, what is it about food that makes us forget and causes us to fall in the traps of manipulators? Whether delicious cake or a magnificent fountain of chocolate fondue or fruit or lentil stew, food is one of those double-edged swords that nourishes us on one side and on the other entices us to err.  It is no wonder food is used as a control item. Oftentimes, people who worry because they feel like their lives are out of control use food as a tool to control what little they can. They would either eat in excess or not eat at all as a way to say to others and to themselves, even if subconsciously, "I can control this." So...could Pastor Giglio be onto something here?

In my own experience, if I'm honest, I will probably get to the same conclusion: at the heart of worry is my need to be in control. I don't think I do it consciously...but it is there. One of my greatest worries in life is the fear that I will get sick and die too young and leave my family on their own. Therefore, every time I am facing medical testing and health issues, my worry level goes on red alert. Why do I worry? Because illness usually means I am not in control and my life is not going to unfold the way I had planned it. Health issues usually have a habit of altering everything. So the plans and goals we had so carefully designed go out the door very quickly. And I. DO. NOT. LIKE. THAT!

I tend to believe that my life goes better when it flows according to my plans. I even tell my kids more often I'd like to admit: "If you'd just do what I say, your lives would be SO much better!!!"

I know...I do say that quite often.

The thing is, that's a lie! What they have to do is what God says in His Word! So de enemy makes me doubt that God's promises are not really true or at least not for me AND that life could be perfect if I get to direct my path and the paths of my loved ones. But like Pastor Giglio reminds us, God's promises and His love are 100% true! He became flesh to die for us so we would not face eternal separation from God but eternal life with Him! What more proof we need of His love and care? And as for the "life would be perfect if it all went according to MY design," well...look how it turned out for Adam and Eve...we are still reaping the consequences of them deciding they wanted absolute control. I don't really have to go that far to realize I am doomed when I try to take full control of my destiny...just ask those around me. They'll be able to tell you what happens when hurricane Gisela passes by...

So what to do? Relent. Let Go. Submit. Surrender.

"Jesus' resurrection puts the brakes on our need for control because we can fully trust that the One who overcame death, hell, and the grave loves us and gives His victorious life to us through Jesus Christ. He promises to care for us. Guide us. Protect us." (page 24) And all His promises are true!

We can trust Him because,

...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53: 5

What a marvelous truth, spoken to us 700 years before the birth of Christ! And it came to pass and we are living proof of it.

"Jesus can carry what is worrying you because He has already carried what was meant to kill you. He has already carried your sorrows and buried them in His grave." (page 24)

And for that we praise You, worship You and thank You, Lord. We have no words to express our gratitude for what You have done and for Who You are and for the gift of Christ in Me. To You all the Glory, My Lord and My God...My King of Glory! Amen! 

Facing the Enemy

 Do you have a 911-prayer partner group? You know what I mean, don't you? The people you reach out to and contact when you are in need of emergency/urgent prayers? If you don't, I invite you to start praying that the Holy Spirit leads you to a small group of godly women that can become your prayer warriors at a moment's notice. Before I continue, I just want to clarify that by "godly" women I don't mean perfect. By NO means. No way, no how. The perfect prayer partner does not exist. By definition, the only requirement of a prayer partner is that the person prays. That's it. So, if someone reaches out to you for prayer, for the love of anything worthwhile in the world, just pray. Don't think about it, just pray.

Anyway, I just felt like I had to say that...but I digress...

When King Jehoshaphat of Judah heard that their enemies were on route to attack him and his kingdom, guess what he did? He prayed! But besides praying, he reach out to his people...and I mean ALL of his people. He proclaimed a nation-wide fast for all the people of Judah, which means that he basically called them to prayer because that's what fasting meant...that you were replacing food with prayer. An guess what the people of Judah did? Yes, they  "...came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him." (2 Chronicles 20: 4) Can you believe it? a whole nation coming together, unified, in prayer, seeking the Lord.  Boy, wouldn't that be nice to see today?

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. (2 Chronicles 20: 13)

The King reached out to the people and they responded in mass. And guess what? Something just marvelously miraculous happened: the Lord spoke to them through those He empowered to receive and communicate His message by the Holy Spirit. He answered their prayers in a most amazing way.  He said to the people of Judah who were all gathering together in and outside the Temple:

‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’” 2 Chronicles 20: 15-17

What an incredibly reassuring reply! God knew what the people and their earthly King needed to hear after seeking Him and honoring Him...and He said exactly that:

1. He told them not to be afraid or discouraged.  Of course, that's the first thing we need to hear when entering a battle of any kind. But when God says that to us, He means it! He backs it up with action for He is Faithful and He means what He says. Then...

2. He confirmed that the battle was actually not theirs. It was His. Therefore, He would fight it. And you know what happens when we let God fight the battles, right? Well, of course, He wins! He delivers us.

However, that's not all. There is one more thing:

3. He reminded them that even though they would not have to fight this battle, they still had to be ready, march, take up their positions and stand firm to see their deliverance. They still needed to "go out and face them tomorrow." God did not magically stopped the approach of the enemy or their attack. The people of Judah still had to go and face the enemy with courage and confidence...because He was going to be there with them.  He didn't promise to dissolve the advances of the enemy. He promised to be there to face it and to defeat it for His honor and glory and for the benefit of His people.

There are some good applications for our lives, here don't you think?

When problems, trials, struggles, difficulties, battles are seen in the horizon, with vast strength and no intention of stopping any time soon:

1. Go to the Lord.

2. Send a 911 to your prayer warriors so they can lift you up in prayer and stand with you.

3. Listen to the Voice of Truth. Take time to "be still and know that He is God" and to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Quiet your heart and let Him speak to you through Scriptures, through the words of your prayer partners, through a magnificent sunset, through the cold rain, through the roar of the ocean, through the caress of a soft breeze.

4. And trust Him. Even when fear threatens to take over, recall His promises, especially the promise that He will be with you. Recall His faithfulness and all the times He has been there for you and how His promises are true and how He is the same today, yesterday and forever so we can count on Him now again.

5. Then, get ready to march on and face the enemy, to watch him be defeated.

6. Praise Him through it all! Worship for He is Worthy, like Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah did,

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20: 18

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow

Praise Him, all creatures here below

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen!

Thank you for Your Faithfulness, Lord. Thank You for Your saving grace. Thank You for Your deliverance. In the Precious Name of Jesus, our Redeemer who lives! Amen.

 

I'm In The Lord's Army!

Remember that fun song we probably all know from Summer Bible School and/or Sunday School? "I'm in the Lord's Army!" Just thinking about it makes me want to stand up and salute as I say: "Yes, Sir!" I remember my kids marching to its tune and doing the best they could to pretend to be soldiers...

O boy...the truth is, I honestly don't know anything about being a soldier. Nobody in my family has ever served in the military. In Dan's family, only a couple of uncles served, but it was such a long time ago and we see them so very rarely, that it is not a topic of conversation that ever comes up. Neither it is something that comes up in casual conversations with our friends who have served. So, I really don't have a clue what it is like to be a soldier. I have no clue what it really feels like. I'm so removed from that entire reality of life that my only knowledge comes from the occasional rom-com movie here and there which might portray a person in uniform.

At any rate...why am I pondering these things, you may ask...well...yesterday at church and all around me lately, really, thoughts of putting on the full Armor of God in reference to Ephesians 6: 10-18 have been surrounding me. And that got me thinking how I really don't know the first thing of how to go about it...and that got me thinking it is probably because my frame of reference is so limited. Then, this morning, I read 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and something began to click.  

In this portion of scriptures, King Jehoshaphat of Judah defeats Moab and Ammon.  King Jehoshaphat is one of the Kings in the long succession of rulers after David, whose throne was in Jerusalem, but who faced a divided Israel and the constant sin and idolatry of God's people which often caused their defeat and state of separation from the One True King, the Almighty God. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat gets word that his enemies are coming to wage war against him with vast armies, and are getting nearer. Then, to my surprise, instead of approaching the problem filled with false pride and overconfidence, or instead of calling all his allies to muster a potentially bigger and more powerful army, or instead of trying to appease the the enemy, or instead of consulting the hundreds of false prophets of Baal and other idols, Jehoshaphat, in his distress and concern actually resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. (2 Chronicles 20: 3-4)

WOW! Mind-blowing!

The first...the very first thing King Jehoshaphat did as soon as he heard about the imminent threat was to turn his eyes to the One True God...to inquire, to fast and to pray! And he didn't do it alone. He urged his entire Kingdom to do the same and they followed his example! How marvelous! Finally a King that knows what to do!!

Listen to his prayer:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20: 6-12)

There is so much in this prayer that it would take days to unpack...and maybe we should and will...but today, what hits me hard is the King's humility in recognizing that they are powerless without the Almighty. He cries out in the middle of the distress of all of his kingdom, and trusts that the Lord will deliver them. I particularly love verse 12 when he admits that they have "no power to face this vast army that is attacking us." And they "do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." 

Isn't that the key, here? We don't know what to do...BUT...our eyes are on You, Lord, because the only thing we do know is that You are the ONLY ONE who can deliver us from whatever enemy is attacking us.  Our eyes are on You! That is the ONLY WAY to win. I don't know anything about going into battle.  I don't know the first thing about putting on my uniform or handling weapons. I have no clue how to go on the defense or offense. All I know is that I must keep my eyes on the One Who Knows. The instant I take my eyes off Him...I've already lost.

So, regardless of how impressive the enemy may seem...or how inadequate we may feel about our ability to fight it, or how poor our chances seem to be...or of how little we know about going into battle, we know what to do: pray. Go to the Lord in prayer and fix your sight on Him. Paul tells us that too, and I never really noticed it until today. In Ephesians 6: 18 right after he gets done giving us what I always thought was the last instruction on putting on the Armor of God, Paul tells us the one thing that will assure our victory in this world and the next: pray. 

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6: 18

I'm in the Lord's Army! Yes, Sir!

And before I get deployed into a battlefield for which I am not prepared, I'm going to make sure I get ready by letting my knees hit the ground as my eyes search the Heavens. In the Precious Name of Jesus, the One Who Goes Before Us...it is His battle, and we trust His Mighty Hand. Amen!

Reflections on the Book Winning the War on Worry

Do you work out? Well, congratulations! I admire you! Because I do not. I try to walk. I've been pretty good at keeping up with my daily walks, but, often, the weekend comes or something disrupts my routine so a few days go by without walking, and when I try to get back on the treadmill, it  feels as if I have to start all over again from zero. I mean, really? Why is that? I guess the name of the game when it comes to staying active is consistency. I have a hard time staying consistent with anything. I'm lazy and I quickly go back to my default: inactivity. 

I notice this tendency not only in my "workout" routine or lack of thereof, but also in other areas of my life. For instance, finishing a book on helping me get my worry under control. I have left the book behind instead of finishing it, and instead of being consistently applying the principles in the book...I have forgotten and gone back to what I always do: worry.

Today, for instance, has been a day of worry.  I'm worrying about medical test results. I'm worrying about my sons. I'm worrying about work. I'm worrying about the future. Worry, worry, worry...I worry I'm forgetting the lessons of this book and how I spent a good amount of time reflecting on the 4 lies of the enemy which fuel our worry...and that I'm falling back into my default: worry.

Well, I decided to take the book and read a few more pages, and this quote called my attention: "fighting back against worry is like any other training regime or discipline." There is the problem! Like with any other training regime, I lack consistency and I forget. My lazy nature gets me back to what I'm used to, so when I attempt to get back on the treadmill of training to fight worry, I feel like I have to start from the beginning again...and it is exhausting. But I have to do it. I don't want to spend my entire life worrying about what could happen. I want to feel reassured that no matter what happens, God IS GOOD! I want to rest in the knowledge that God takes care of me in every situation, and that Heaven is the goal...eternity with Jesus is my victory!

"God is Loving, Kind, Mighty in Power, Holy, Healer.  He is, and because of that truth, I can have assurance no matter what comes against me." (page 12)

So tonight, I drop my worries at the foot of the cross and I pray for consistently trusting that God is who He says He is! And that I am His Child...His Daughter...and that He is going to deliver me from worry and carry me to a place of peace, where I can consistently trust Him and put my Hope in Him who is HOPE! In Christ Name I pray.  Amen!