All tagged worry
Yesterday we considered the effect that worry had on our bodies, minds, and souls, so today let’s delve deeper into the peace of God and the effect that prayer has on worry and stress. I am contemplating two of these thoughts this morning as I read Philippians 4 once again and read further into what Pastor E. M. Bounds has to say on this subject.
My devotional reading this morning began with an incredibly insightful statement. Pastor E. M. Bounds began by writing "Worry is the epidemic evil of mankind. Everybody is influenced by worry.", and as I thought about this observation, I came to the conclusion that He was so right. We do worry about many things in our lives... even everyday things. It made me think of my mother who was the consummate worrier. I would often tease her by saying that if she didn’t have something of her own to worry about, she would borrow someone else’s troubles and worry about those. I am making worry sound trivial, but it isn’t. Let’s visit this subject today.
What kind of trouble is bothering us? Today let’s acknowledge that we suffer from all types of trouble, but the 900 pound gorilla in the room is WORRY! In my devotional reading this morning the author categorized troubles for us like this:
"Some troubles only exist in the mind. Some are anticipated troubles that never come. Others are past troubles, and it is foolish to worry over them. Present troubles are the only ones requiring attention and demand prayer. Some troubles are self-originated; we are their authors. Some of these originate involuntarily; some arise from our ignorance; some come from our carelessness." – E.M. Bounds
Bounds has given us a very good description of the troubles that we either perceive or experience in our lives, but of all of these, the only ones that we should actively deal with and bring before the Lord are the real and present troubles. The rest aren't troubles at all but are baseless WORRIES! Which of these have we fallen victim to in our lives today?
In today’s modern world we are confronted by change on every side, and the pace of that change can seem overwhelming at times, yet the real challenge isn’t recognizing the individual changes, or reacting quickly to today’s problems, the greatest difficulty for us is in coping with the anxiety and worry that comes along with them. We know that scripture tells us not to worry, and to find peace in Christ, and yet despite this promise, we often can’t seem to escape these feelings. The tightness in our chest remains, the hopelessness courses through us, and the fear causes us to feel massive releases of adrenaline; all of which work together over an extended time to harm us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So how do we overcome these difficulties, and find the promised calm and peace again?