Skip to main content

How about a little clear thinking here?

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.
(Leo Buscaglia)

That word is for someone today - not sure who - but you will know it when you hear it. Worry robs so many of us of today's joy - not because it has any power of its own, but because we give it the power to rob us. Worry is a state of mind, heart, will, and emotions. It diminishes our drive, deflects our focus, and demeans our hopes. If you are a 'worrier', it is time to remember we are called to be 'warriors', not worriers. 

Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don’t for a minute lose sight of them. They’ll keep your soul alive and well, they’ll keep you fit and attractive. You’ll travel safely, you’ll neither tire nor trip. You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound. (Proverbs 3:21-26)

Clear thinking and common sense often escape us when we allow worry to become the predominant theme of our lives. When worry worms its way into our minds, all our thoughts go to the worst and away from the best (our hopes). Our hearts are burdened down by the 'what ifs' instead of believing in the 'what's possible' in Christ Jesus. The will becomes swayed by the challenge instead of embracing the 'hardness' of the moment.

How is it we overcome worry - moving from being 'worriers' to the place we face life's challenges as 'warriors'? If we are to understand worry at its core, we need to clearly face the fact it is because we have misplaced our trust. We are placing all our trust in what we can do, or what another human might be able to accomplish. We forget the very Son of God is the one who saves us from the things set on destroying us! Eyes on self or others will surely end up in worries galore - eyes on Jesus and his ability will send worries scurrying.

Warriors don't pick up sword and shield to fight in their own power - they count on their Commander in Chief to direct their course of action. Why would we think we could face these things that cause us so much concern in our own strength and capabilities? It isn't until we lay them at the foot of the cross that we are finally able to take up our sword and shield effectively, my friends. Just sayin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant.  In that day and time, a very taboo thing.  We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God.  Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated.  We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar.  The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish.  Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,