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Daily Encounter ~ Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Know God: http://www.Got-God.net/know_god1.htm
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By Richard (*****) Innes. Published and (c)
by ACTS International http://www.actsweb.org
To Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Change address see No.16.
1. Winning Over Worry Part I
"A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life" (Proverbs
14:30, TLB).
It's Monday morning. The weekend is over. The alarm
clock blares out its hideous jangle and suddenly you
are snapped into the world of reality. First comes the
struggle to get out of bed, then the rush to get to
school or work on time, and then comes the stress of
trying to juggle all of one's seemingly endless
responsibilities throughout the day.
Is this how your week starts? And aren't these
pressures mild compared to the ones you face as the
day and week wear on?
We live in a world of ever-increasing stress and worry
with school, work, family, financial and social
pressures. Not many people are free from worry of some
kind. However, an overload of worry and anxiety are a
major problem of contemporary society. In excessive
amounts they can take years off your life.
Some people like to think that things don't bother
them. "No problem," they say as they put on a brave
front and reach for the aspirin or alcohol bottle to
medicate the pain of their inner anxieties.
But it isn't possible to deaden inner anxiety. It will
reveal itself in many ways. For instance, George
withdraws when he is upset, hurt, or uptight. Susan
talks endlessly to cover her anxiety. Bill chain
smokes to avoid facing his. Harry attacks when he
feels threatened. Jack dominates and Joy
procrastinates. Dennis is a constant complainer. Joan
is a compulsive eater, Fred a compulsive drinker, Tom
a compulsive worker, and Frank a compulsive
gambler--all because of inner unresolved worry and
anxiety.
Anxiety may also express itself in a physical way.
Stuttering, abdominal pains, high blood pressure, a
twitch, allergies, ulcers, nervous stomach, tension
headaches--all have been named by doctors as symptoms
of anxiety and worry.
Yes, sooner or later unresolved worry and anxiety will
win out. When one fails to talk out his worries in
healthy ways, he will act them out in unhealthy ways
in one form or another.
To be continued ...
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, if and when I am worried
or afraid, please help me not to deny it or escape
into over-busyness, procrastination, or any addictive
or compulsive behavior, but face it square on, see the
cause and lead me to the help I need to overcome and
win over my worry. Thank you for hearing and answering
my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
<:))))<><
1. Winning Over Worry Par II
Jesus said, "Don't worry about things--food, drink and
clothes.... Don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will
take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a
time" (Matthew 6:25, 34, TLB).
The discovery of how worry and anxiety affect physical
and emotional health was not made by our generation. It
was three thousand years ago that the Bible pointed out
that "a relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life."1 It
was two thousand years ago when the Apostle Paul
wrote, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray
about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget
to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will
experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful
than the human mind can understand. His peace will
keep your thoughts and hearts quiet and at rest as you
trust in Christ Jesus."2
However, it's one thing to know about God's peace and
another thing to experience it. It begins with being
able to see and admit our real fears, by facing and
resolving them, and by learning to give them over to
God--and not take them back.
The causes behind worry and anxiety can be many and
varied. The following are some of the major ones with
some helpful tips for winning over them.
First, if anxiety is situational--that is, caused by
adverse circumstances or too much work, I find it
helps to list all my responsibilities on paper. This
is half the battle. I then eliminate the least
important matters, work on the things I can do
something about, and am learning to accept the things
I cannot change and to stop worrying about them.
Second. If the problem is repressed, pent-up feelings
such as resentment, hurt or anger, those feelings need
to be expressed in healthy ways. If you're nursing a
grudge, you will need to put things right with the
other person concerned and forgive him or her.3
Negative feelings can be talked out with a trusted
friend or counselor. Or, if it helps, go for a drive
in your car with the windows closed and shout your
feelings out, go to the bedroom and cry them out, or
write them out as David often did in the Psalms.
One night when I was worried and couldn't sleep, I got
up and typed a letter to God sharing all my feelings
with him. Within a half-hour I had released my pent-up
feelings. I then read them back to God, tore up the
page, went back to bed, and fell asleep immediately.
Good, hard physical exercise is also helpful when
you're feeling worried or anxious.
Third, if your worry is caused by unmet emotional or
spiritual needs, you can remedy this by growing in
your relationship to God and other people--both of
which are keys to vital, worry-free living. A
spiritual growth group or a good twelve-step recovery
program can be a big help for this. As you open up to
other safe people and to God and feel their love and
acceptance, you can slowly change feelings of fear,
guilt, anger, inadequacy, anxiety, and worry for
feelings of hope, confidence, peace, and love.
To be concluded...
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, when I am worried and
anxious, if there are hidden causes behind these,
please help me to see them and lead me to the help I
need to resolve these issues at their root so I can
fully trust in you and not be worried, anxious or
afraid. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Winning Over Worry Part III
"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can
man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6, NIV).
"Perfect love drives out fear,"4 wrote the Apostle
John in the Bible. It is also true that unresolved
fears have a way of blocking out love. So we need to
ask God to help us overcome our fears so we can be
filled with love. The more we love and trust God, the
less we fear man and circumstances. Every day,
visualize yourself opening up to God and being filled
with his love, joy and forgiveness.
In 1929, business tycoon J.C. Penny was in the
hospital because of his severe anxiety. One night he
was sure he was going to die so he wrote farewell
letters to his wife and son.
But he survived the night, and hearing singing the
next morning in the chapel, felt drawn to go in. A
group was singing, "God will take care of you," after
which followed Bible reading and prayer.
Penny said, "Suddenly something happened. I can't
explain it. It was a miracle. I felt as if I had been
instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into
warm brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been
transported from hell to paradise. I felt the power of
God as I had never felt it before.
"I realized then that I alone was responsible for all
my troubles. I knew that God with his love was there
to help me. From that day to this, my life has been
free from worry. The most dramatic and glorious
minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel
that morning."5
The cause or causes of our anxiety and worry almost
always lie within our self. At best they are triggered
by outside circumstances. Only when we see and resolve
these causes, are we free to fully surrender our
worries and anxieties to God and experience his peace.
Whether this peace comes instantly or over a period of
time doesn't matter. The important truth to remember is
that God is always there. His love and power are
constant and available to all. As we reach out to him
through the fog of our worry and damaged emotions, we
discover that he is waiting to help us if only we will
respond to his love and give him the chance. (For help
see No. 2 below.)
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I commit and trust my
life and way to you and choose to trust you in all
circumstances. Grant that my emotions will catch up
with my choice to trust you. Help me to resolve all my
fears that cause me to worry so I can be filled with
your love, joy, and peace. Thank you for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name,
amen."
<:))))<><
19. Daily Encounter is published at no charge by
ACTS International, a non-profit organization,
and made possible through the donations of
interested friends. Donations can be sent from:
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Copyright (c) 2005 by Acts International.
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