Last week we saw that we have a choice to worry or not to worry. 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Cast means to give up or to unload. The cares we are to cast on God are our worries and anxieties. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
What we choose to think about will either produce feelings of anxiety, worry, and fear or diminish those feelings. God will not do this for us, we must choose to think differently; focusing on the love, grace and dependability of God – that He will never leave us. COVID has gripped our emotions for the past eighteen months, but worry and fear is on old disease that infects the imagination, a virus that slowly and subtly takes over one’s life.
Matthew 6:27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? The implied answer is NO! Worry and fear sucks the joy and energy out of life, causing us to see only the negative and does nothing to solve the problem.
What can we do? Do some reading about overcoming fear and worry such as: Overcoming Fear and Worry by:Dr. H. Norman Wright and Freeing Yourself From Anxiety, by: Tamar E. Chansky Ph.D.
Also be in prayer about what causes worry and fear and read God’s word, especially passages that address fear and worry. You can also set aside some time each day to do things that you would do if you weren’t worried or have anxious feelings.
Below is a method shared and used by Dr. H. N. Wright to overcome fear. If nothing else works, give it a try, he’s been sharing this exercise for more than fifty years with great success.
“Take a blank index card and on one side write the word STOP in large, bold letters. On the other side write the complete text of Philippians 4:6-9. Keep the card with you at all times. Whenever you’re alone and begin to worry, take the card out, hold the “stop” side in front of you, and say aloud “Stop!” Then turn the card over and read the Scripture passage aloud twice with emphasis.
Taking the card out interrupts your thought pattern of fear and worry occurring in your mind. Saying “Stop!” further breaks your automatic pattern of worry. Then reading the Word of God aloud becomes the positive substitute for worry. If you are in a group of people and begin to worry, follow the same procedure, only do it silently.”
Pr. Bob Snitzer
By the Way: Thursday 7, 10:00 quilting.
Sunday 10, 9:00 Morning worship. Sermon: Seek God and Live Amos 5:6-15
10:15 Sunday school for all ages.
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