For the past few months, we have been experiencing major storms, including tornadoes causing tremendous damage throughout the city.
On May 7th, 2024, the winds from a tornado brought down another set of trees in our back yard. The thing is, we did not even know this had happened until the following morning when my husband went outside to feed the birds.
Going out to see the damage for myself, it only looked like a branch had broken, but that was not the case. Apparently, one tree was uprooted and fell on the tree near it, resulting in both trees leaning but not quite touching the ground.
When I looked at it, the first thing that came to mind was, "How neat, it looks like a tree rainbow." ... then I followed it back to the roots! The only thing that appeared to be holding these trees up was the huge trumpet vines that were growing around the base of the trees and along the fence.
As we walked around the area something more amazing caught our attention. The tree limbs did not crush anything when it fell and they totally missed all the power lines. As a matter of fact, all the branches "surrounded" our picnic table area where I potted up plants, and they wrapped around the closed umbrella but never touched it in any way! How was that even possible? I can tell you how, God kept His promise of protection over us, the house and property.
(Not a branch on the table, just the neighbor's cat!)
How many times have you been in danger and somehow you were spared? I can remember so many times where angels had to have intervened in a situation or it would have been a disaster.
There were other incidents where simple things like something falling from above just missed me by a hair! Who can count the number of times when those things happened, not me!
Then I got to thinking, how many other times was I in danger and never knew it? Times where accidents happened and I had been in that intersection or area minutes before it took place. Or times when people tried to cause harm but they could not ... that's when God surrounded us like a shield with His favor, protection and mercy.
"For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield." (Psalm 5:12)
As I was typing this, it was almost ready for posting when the electric went out three times due to a storm that rose suddenly. Thank God everything was fine and we regained power. Friend, this is another prime example of the Lord's faithfulness to His Word.
The enemy does not want God's children to know that the promise of God's shield of favor is always present, and he will try to stop the message of faith from going forth. It was no coincidence that I was teaching on Psalm 91 when we lost power, but God's hand of protection prevented the devil from stopping the message of hope from being spread abroad! This powerful tool, the promise of protection with God's favor shield, is mightier than anything the devil tries to throw your way, so use it by speaking it daily into and over your life.
It is easy to give in to fear over what could or might be, but when you know God is literally watching over your life, you can live in confidence instead of fear. The Lord's shield of favor is surrounding you in every situation, so quit worrying and begin living the life God has planned for you.
God's faithful promises are your armor and protection, speaking these over your life should be a vital part of every believer's morning and evening routine.
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High (God) will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him." (taken from Psalm 91:1-2 NLT)
Make this declaration a part of your daily confession like we do in our family.
"Thank You Lord that I abide in the shadow of the Almighty, and that You continually surround me (my family, my business, etc.) like a shield with favor, mercy and protection."
Until next time, Favored Blessings
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease, He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." (Psalm 91:1-3 NLT)
Scriptures of promises to declare God's Daily Favor:
Psalm 91, Psalm 5:12
*For
those who trust in Jesus Christ, God gives the promise of life here but also
the gift of eternal life (in Heaven; a Kingdom that cannot be
shaken) as an inheritance of being His child. If you would like to
have this gift also, click here to learn more.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as
treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this
kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell
Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming
a child of the Savior.
Content
and Image Copyright from Fay Ann Daniels/Favored1. Do not copy.
Disclaimer
Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Unless
noted, scripture reference in series was taken from the New King James Bible
Version provided by Bible Gateway. Image Creative Common
License if not specified.
That's right, I’ve got the secret ... it's easy, make the world go away and there will be peace. Really? Not buying it, me neither.
Do you remember the old song “Make the World Go Away”
that was made popular by several recording artists?
The opening of the song is a description of how the
lyricist must have felt at the time.I
think it sums up what a lot of us have experienced:
“Make the world go away, and get it off my shoulders. Say the things
you used to say, and make the world go
away.”
When it comes to the worries of the world,
that’s exactly how I feel ... get them off my shoulders.I want to
celebrate all the wonderful things that are happening around me, and then
someone feels it necessary to hand me the cares of the world in one explosive conversation.
Right about then I’m thinking, Lord make
them go away, get them off my shoulders with their poisonous words … but I don’t
let on, and before I know it I’m smack in the middle of their world.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Aruba;
Belgium; China; Dominican Republic; Macedonia; Columbia; Switzerland; Thailand;
Papua New Guinea; Penzance, England, United Kingdom; Durban, KwaZulu-Natal,
South Africa; Lyngdal, Vest-Agder, Norway; Afghanistan; Zambia.
USA – Dora, MO; Haddon Heights, NJ; Chestnut Hill
& Springfield, MA; Jamestown, NY; New Castle, PA; Portland, OR; Orange, TX;
Charleston, SC.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor.(DFB - Daily
Favor Blog) Living my life
before God and man, by sharing experiences as I walk out my faith.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below.All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life.Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
In preparing for this post I thought that getting out of
the house would give me a chance to ask a few questions to some innocent
bystanders. My husband and I went out for about an hour in pursuit of people (that’s
what I had in mind).That turned out to
be a bust. I never got the answers I needed, so my thoughts began to change
concerning what I was to share this week.
After we returned home and ate lunch, for some reason both of us grew really tired.I suggested that we put our heads back on the
couch while the computer booted up … in our case that would take about thirty
minutes.
Upon exiting the relaxing world of sleep I woke to hear
my hubby talking to one of the cats:
“Do you
see Sealy Posturepedic® written on my chest?Do I step on
you while you’re sleeping?”
Now that I was really tired from the “nap” I got to work
and looked at some notes that I wrote a few months back (which was not for
that time). I knew what I was supposed to share with you.
The World Is Really Heavy
Gia had a lot going on in her life at the time; every
situation around her seemed to weigh her down with fear, concern and worry.Several family members were experiencing
physical problems, one was out of a job and another had marital difficulties.
Her church split, the best friend was in the hospital and
she was worried about my husband’s health. If that weren’t enough, Gia had more to worry
about in her world.
The prices going up,
the weather, politics, pets, home and about anything else you can think of was
continually on her mind.My heavy laden
friend never gave herself a break from the events of the world, nor did she let
those she socialized with rest from them either.
You see, my friend is one of those people who will take
on all the cares of others, only this time it caught up with her. Gia will
admit to you that she has allowed these problems to enter her thoughts to the
point she cannot function in the peace of God. With so much to “pray” about she
developed stomach pains and colitis.
Needing to Worry
If someone asked you to drink straight poison, would you
do it? Of course not, that would be crazy.I agree, but have we ever stopped to think about the stuff our mind
“drinks in” each day?When you actually
take into consideration all that we absorb in our mind on a daily basis it is
quite staggering, and most of it is literally poisoning us out of a blessed
life from the Lord.
When I talked to Gia about all her concerns, she admitted
that they “weren’t all her problems” as she put it.Bringing every matter before the Lord was the
right thing to do, however, she felt compelled to do something besides praying.
It is as if worrying was another option, and trusting God to do His job
required a little help.
Our times together made her laugh, my friend shared with
me, but she couldn’t help giving in to her thoughts and listening to the worldly
bad news even though she knew it caused her to worry.
Gia loves God and believes He will answer prayer, but in
the mean time she has to worry.Somehow
it makes her feel she’s doing something I think.If you think I’m squealing on my friend, don’t.
She is the one who inspired this writing and knows all about it.
Poisoned Minds
I have been guilty of the same thing as Gia, especially
when it comes to my family or friends. Sometimes we drink other people’s
poison, meaning we take the problems of everyone else until it poisons our
system.We become angry, frustrated and
stressed, which is the total opposite of what walking by faith should represent.
Refusing to listen to all the woes of the world doesn’t
mean we’re not supposed to care about others, because we are. What we aren’t
supposed to do is get caught up in
the drama becoming non-effective Christians. If we are falling prey to every
situation, how can we be a source of Light, salt and hope to a dying world?
All day long we soak in the poison of media, the news,
negativity and hopeless emotions thinking it won’t destroy our faith.Our mind becomes a doom and gloom venomous cocktail
as we swallow the devil’s world.If we
follow that path our mind also becomes poisoned, and we stop seeing the
goodness and favor of God.
Give the World Back
Understanding that wanting to take on God’s job as a
“world care giver” is something out of our league, then how do we stop doing
it?This is something that even King
David dealt with when he shared the emotions he was experiencing in Psalm 55.
“Fear and
trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.
Oh, that I had
wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest.”
What we’re to gather from this is that he’s having an
anxiety attack.Although his fears were
valid (because he was being hunted down to be killed), David had a slew of
people that cared about him right there by his side.He was focusing on the wrong thing and forgot
that the peace of God was available to him.
“I leave
behind with you – peace; I (Jesus) give you My own peace
and My gift is
nothing like the peace of this world. You must not be
distressed and
you must not be daunted.”
(John 14:27 Phillips Bible version read to verse 31)
If we operate in a calm manner when the world is in
chaos, we demonstrate that the gift of peace Jesus gave us is working.Showing our trust in Jesus to care for us is
what others will see and it’s what will draw them to Him.
If we act on what we say we believe, what people see will
be God’s peace, not toxic minds in panic.After all what do we really want others to see – our state of unbelief
or Jesus?
The song I mentioned from the introduction goes on to ask
for forgiveness because the man strayed from the one he loved. I think we
could ask Jesus the same thing with us not following His instruction when
it comes to worry, fretting or casting our cares on Him.
Dump the Poisonous Thoughts
We all experience anxiety, stress and levels of
depression, but it’s how we respond when it tries to take effect in our lives that matters.
It’s one thing to have Christ in our heart, but has He
taken over our mind and thoughts? Here are four things to help redirect our
thinking when the mind wants to take on poisonous thoughts.
First - Love the Law of God
“Great peace
have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do
Your commandments.” (Psalm 119:165-166 NKJV)
We need to recognize
and obey the principles of God.His Word
isn’t given to bring us down, but to free us from stress, worry and fear.
When we disregard the Word of God He can’t help us, so no wonder we get
stressed trying to carry the world on our shoulders.
Often we go to people and spill our “guts” to them and
they give us the wrong advice, which adds to the stress.When we mess up we need to remember the grace
of God is ours.
“Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell yourneeds, 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 your hearts quiet and at rest
as you trust in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:6-7 TBL)
Stop worrying and start praying. If you are falling into
stress or worry bring it to the Lord and trust Him to give you what you
need.Thank the Lord in advance that you
will receive the answers, which will bring back that peace you’re missing.
There isn’t a time we won’t have problems.They’ll be various levels, but we’re never
going to be without them Jesus said.The
problems will be there, but how we handle them is the key.
Every situation comes with its own problems, but Jesus told
us in John 14:1, “Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me”
If we’re always worrying, then we’re not trusting, it’s
that basic.
Second – Trust God Will Provide
Don’t be afraid to ask God for what you need or
want.Maybe it has to do with
relationships, financial, job, home or whatever it is.In prayer ask and then thank God for
providing it.If we really believe that
God will answer our prayer then we trust He also has the solution.
“Trust in the
LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your
ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct (make
smooth or straight) your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)
By trusting in the way we “understand things”, we’ll
never get past the problem, stress or worry.We will keep asking questions like, “Why did this happen? … Why didn’t it
happen? … Why, when …”
Isaiah 26:3 says our mind has to be steadfast and that
it will stay in peace if we remain in trust.Take a look:
“You (God)
will keep him (us) in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.”(Isaiah 26:3
NKJV)
“God is our
refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.
Be still, and
know I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be
exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:1 & 10 NKJV)
Something my husband always says is: "If we are exalting the problem, then we aren’t exalting
God or trusting Him."
Third – Trust God’s Plans
Trust that God’s plans are the right ones and He is in
control.God acts on His word, He
doesn’t react to our emotions.We have
to believe He has our best interest in mind and it will come to pass when God
says.
He will always lead us into the best to help us complete
our journey.Even if it looks like the
worst things are going on in your life, there is another side that you haven’t
experienced yet.He will never abandon
your life or His plan for it.
Fourth – Trusting God Is the Secret to Inner Peace
In the worst time of Paul’s life (while in prison), he
began to write letters to the churches that followed his teaching about
Jesus.
“I know what
it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the
secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me
strength.”
(Philippians 4:12-13 NIV)
In other words, Paul learned that the secret wasn’t
making the world go away, but to live in the peace of God that was available to
him as a believer in Christ.He chose not
to worry, be afraid or get stressed out due to circumstances that were subject
to change.
The apostle Paul was continually reminding himself while
encouraging others to rise above the situation.He knew the secret, now so do you. Believe God will give you what you
need to not only endure, but to thrive.He has the answers, so all you need to do is ask for them.What He did for Paul, He will do for you.
If we don’t encounter difficult situations we won’t
experience the power of God that “overcomes all the world” (John 16:33).We’d rely on our own resources and think we
can do it on our own.The favor of God
would never be available to us.
Get those poisonous thoughts out of your thinking and
mind of “How am I going to get through this, pay for it all, what if this doesn’t go
my way?"Stop taking the cares of the
universe on your shoulders; after all there is only so much Clairol rinse to cover
all the gray hair in this worry world!
God has your back.Although you can’t imagine how things will work out, God already has it
completed.He knows what is about to
happen even though you don’t.No matter
where the Lord leads follow Him and He will direct you right to the answer
(solution).
If you focus on how you think things will work out, you
will never have peace.Keep peace in the
middle of whatever you’re experiencing.
“There is no greater
witness than to keep peace in the
middle of your crisis.”
(quote Pastor Bill Cornelius)
This Week’s Challenge:
Share the Secret
Have we received the message of what we’re supposed to do
when we start to consume poisonous thoughts and take on the cares of the world?
Our God is limitless when it comes to His gifts, so we
need to embrace what is ours through Christ Jesus.The officials thought that Paul was doomed,
but God had different plans every time they tried to kill him.Satan is trying to convince the church that
God isn’t concerned about us and that He doesn’t hear our prayers; the devil is
a liar.
For this week we have a writing challenge to share the
secret of God’s peace that comes when we trust the Lord in times of crisis,
difficult situations and in all circumstances.We want to lift people out of the mind of despair and into the power of
God.
We're going to share that trust is the secret to finding favor and
receiving answered prayers from God. Write to someone who is taking on the world’s
problems along with their own.Send a
word of encouragement in a card, letter or email and be sure to include some of
the scriptures (or the link) from this post.
Don’t call or text … it could be a trap!If you’re not sold on this you will get
sucked into the words that may come out of their mouth and not be of any help.We’re following directions and writing like
the Apostle did to the church.
It may not seem like a difficult task, but the question
is, will you be like Paul and share this message even if you are in a “prison”
(seems to be no way out) situation?Miracles happen in the prisons of life and they aren’t always literal
ones.
Whatever you are going through, there is purpose in
it.God wants to show you what really
matters.Maybe you’re the one who
slipped and fell, having your thoughts captured by the “trending now news feed
of negativity” world. Ask for Him to forgive you for being consumed by stress,
worry and doubt.
Lord, forgive me for allowing poisonous thoughts that are contrary to Your Word
to fill my mind.I believe and trust You
to work this out for your glory.
Enjoy sharing this trust in God secret and then go
relax.The world is not on your shoulders
but His. Take a nap, but be sure to put the cat in another room first!
Remember the Four Thought Redirectors:
First - Love the Law of God
Second – Trust God Will Provide
Third – Trust God’s Plans
Fourth – Trusting God Is the Secret to Inner Peace
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture reference was taken
from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway.
Midnight was minutes away and I had yet to tackle the
dishes.I had gotten behind on my daily
chores due to a phone call and whipping up some green smoothies.
My husband couldn’t sleep.He was feeling anxious from the new meds and
came out into the kitchen.
“I’ve never felt this way before. It’s
awful.I’m feeling so anxious I could
scream!” said hubby.
Trying to be sympathetic to his feelings, I had a quick solution to take his mind off what he was experiencing.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Belarus; Curacao; Hong Kong; Ghana; Latvia; Malaysia;
Togo; Benin; Argentina; Puerto Rico; Spain; Netherlands; Egypt; Pakistan; Macedonia;
Thailand; Bulgaria; Mauritius; Philippines.
USA – Chestnut Hill, MA; Glenville, NY; Pennsville,
Pine Hill & Riverton, NJ; Reseda, CA; Crossnore & New Bern, NC;
Dahlgren, VA.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor.(DFB -
Daily Favor Blog) Living
my life before God and man, by sharing experiences as I walk out my faith.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below.All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life.Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
I kept at the
dishes while he stood there watching, and then I chimed in with a less than
sympathetic voice.“If you’re feeling anxious you can wipe the dishes.”The next thing I saw was him back on the
couch going to sleep.Guess he wasn’t
that anxious after all.
Getting back to
my task I started thinking about the people Paul the Apostle was talking to
when he said for them not to be anxious about anything in Philippians 4:6-9.What were they so up in arms about that the
message of their emotions made it back to him in prison?
Twenty after
twelve I returned to the living room to check how my husband was doing.This time I found him missing!Have you ever gone to look for someone but
couldn’t find them, then thought that the rapture took place and you were still
here?Have to admit I have in the past …
a bit scary.
Anyway, he had
gone into the bedroom and was sitting on the edge of the bed rocking back and
forth with his arms clinched to his chest.I inquired about his actions thinking something was wrong.When he repeated his dilemma I gave him the
same option.“If you’re still feeling anxious come dry the dishes.”This time he took me up on my offer.
Moving on …
The next day
seemed to be a repeat of the fidgets, so I tried to come up with creative
things to occupy my husband’s thoughts. For the most part it workedkeeping his mind on
faith not fear. That night we decided to have pizza for dinner (OK, it wasn’t a
“we” thing, but I really like pizza.)Since
Pizza Hut was just across the road, (literally one minute) I thought it might
be a good time for him to see if he could drive.
When he returned
home all he could do was fret over how bad the “newly installed” brakes
were.For the past two months I’ve been
saying they weren’t right, but he didn’t believe me.Now he did, but this new info only added to
his anxiety all over again and we were back to square one.
Nip Anxiety in
the Bud
Over the next
few days I began scanning my old textbooks to see what I could do to help my
spouse get out of his mood.I was aware
of the side effects from medications and even that most people who have open
heart surgery experience some form of anxiety.
Could I be doing something else
besides redirecting his thoughts when he begins to fall into what could be
called clinical depression? My actions would remind me of how Barney on Andy Griffith would settle something. How can this
be nipped in the bud before it takes root in the soul?
For many years
people have come to me about dealing with anxiety and/or depression. Most can
be walked through it step-by-step without medication if they have a sounding
board (someone to talk with) to communicate on a regular basis.This is what I would like to share with you
in this writing.
High Anxiety
Feelings of
anxiety are no stranger to today’s society and aren’t restricted to just
adults.It has become widespread in all
age levels due to stress in every avenue of life whether it is financial,
social, relational or cultural.
The Bible refers to it being caused by feelings
of guilt or judgment (resulting in worry, anxiety or fear), but it also shares
methods of dealing with this type of phobia.
Did you know
that people who live with anxiety issues have more health problems? Their
percentage levels are generally 10%-30% higher when it comes to back pain, acid
reflux, allergies, asthma, fatigue and migraines, because their immune systems
are always being challenged.
Anxiety levels heighten
when feelings of guilt, fear or worry appear, but calmness returns when these
same feelings are under control.No
wonder these emotions play such a vital part of our overall mental, physical
and spiritual wellness.
There was a song
called “High Anxiety” from a film of the same name. Although I never saw it, I
certainly heard the song in which the theme was that the person had no
alternative but to give into the feeling of being anxious.I disagree with this theory, because it’s
totally against what the Bible says we are to do if we believe in God.
Ask a stream of
questions to any person that has experienced temporary to severe anxiety issues,
and they will tell you one specific thing that escapes their feelings of
security. The feeling of peace is what gets lost in the shuffle of emotions,
and the base of that is fear.
Warning Signs
What keeps a
person in anxiety levels is that they forgo all surrounding reality except things
that relate to them directly. Their focus is totally on self, therefore finding
solutions can be difficult if they are not willing to step outside of their own
minds.They literally think differently,
and in that frame of mind they begin to believe what they are thinking to be
truth.
Let’s be fair about
this, never brush off anyone who is suffering with feelings that trigger
anxiety, worry or fear.When these
emotions arise, it is a warning sign that something has gone wrong in the body mentally,
chemically, physically or spiritually.
Many times these
emotional feelings are valid, but the person doesn’t know how to get them under
control.This is where we of like faith
need to step in to help our siblings in Christ overcome what they are
experiencing.
Scripture tells
how Paul discussed these emotions according to the gospel, and how we have the
power through Christ Jesus to overcome whatever the devil is feeding our
thought life.
“Don’t
worry (be anxious, fret or fear) about anything; instead pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will
experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.His peace will guard your hearts and minds as
you live in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7 NLT emphasis mine)
When we invite God into our “feelings” (emotions and
concerns), it allows His peace to rule over whatever we are experiencing.The situation or circumstance doesn’t always
change at that time, but the way we handle it does.
Instead of being ruled by what we feel in the flesh, we
are to guard ourselves in every manner with God’s peace.Think of it as you would if you were wearing
God’s armor. If you wear His boots of peace, you would be walking in peace
literally, so all your steps should be peaceful ones.Anxiety cannot live in the same space as
peace, it’s that simple.
Mind Control
Do you think it is possible to control your
thoughts?It may be impossible to
control every thought that comes into your mind, but we do have control over
what we choose to think about.Once a
thought enters the mind we have the power to give it birth or to “kill” it.Dwelling on unlovely, ungodly things gives
life to the thought, so it is important we have a way to counter those thoughts
that invade our thinking.
The Word of God is the main tool we need for squashing thoughts
that lead to anxiety, worry or fear, which if it’s given life, it is actually a
sin. Jesus shared this with His disciples and His early followers in Matthew 6:25-34.If we are thinking on things that unsettle
us, we are not thinking about what God says on the subject are we?
And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is
true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think
about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.Keep putting into practice all you learned
and received from me (Paul through Christ Jesus) – everything you heard from me
and saw me doing.Then the God of peace
will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT)
Changing
Thoughts, Changing Minds
It’s true
whether you want to admit it or not; worry/anxiety is a habit of the mind! So
our ultimate goal for winning over these emotions is to literally change our
mind about what we dwell on concerning our thought life.
Did you know that
it is impossible to think on more than one thing at a time?It is also hard to deliberately think on the
same thing for fifteen minutes.Try it,
you can’t do it. You may start out
thinking on one thing, but before you know it your mind has drifted onto a ton
of other subjects.
You have to redirect your thoughts back to the thing you
started out thinking.Our own prayers
are witness to this. How many times have you thought about something else when
you were in prayer?No need to answer
that.
Knowing this to
be so, we can change our patterns of thinking so that when anxiety, worry or
fear knocks on our brains, we give it no entrance!The opportunity to “think on these things” (as
Apostle Paul noted), emerges and we can open that door.
Distract
Yourself from Anxiety
Tuesday travels
gave light to the tunnel of gloom.We had
contacted a person who had made requests for litter buckets and were in
position to give them to her.Vet
clinics and pet rescue facilities are never short on these pails and are
pleased if they can be recycled.
Once more we set
the pick-up in the Walmart parking lot.It was too hot to stay in the car, so I decided to set them up on the
back of the car.Instead of standing
next to the vehicle, my husband and I found shelter and shade on a bench
outside the entrance door of the store.From that position we could keep watch on the car as we waited to make
delivery.
I wish I had my
camera at that time. It was hilarious to see the responses of people as they
strolled past the trunk of the car.Some
shoppers circled, side stepped, back stepped, turned around or stood by the
vehicle glaring at the closed buckets.What was going through their minds was clear on their faces, and had us
to the point of laughing.
After that day
my husband’s level of anxiety practically disappeared, because he had
transferred/replaced those negative thoughts into peaceful ones.Basically, he allowed himself to become
distracted from the anxiety issues by focusing on something else.
God’s Word can take
hold of anxiety, fear or worry and put those emotions under the work of the
cross, like Christ said for us to do. The power is in believing what we say we
believe about the Bible, then acting on it.
Being optimistic
about the favor and blessings for us as Christians is important if we are to do
what scripture says, and truly be anxious for nothing no matter what that may
be.Our ultimate hope is provided through
the peace of God, which passes all we could possibly understand about our
emotions or how we are to deal with them.
This Week’s
Challenge:
Kicking the Habit of
Anxiety (fear & worry)
The Word of God
explains that as believers we really don’t need to let the cares of this world
overwhelm us, but sometimes that’s not so easy. Having someone to share our feelings
with, who is spiritually grounded, will help us live out what we say we believe.
Whether it is
you or someone else dealing with anxiety, this week’s challenge will have us learning
how to identify the source and not give it place in our thinking.
We’re going to
focus on four things. First we need to identify what kind of anxiety is trying
to overtake our thoughts.Don’t ignore
it. Is it worry, fear, panic or
separation anxiety?Are you or the
person on medications aware that this may be a side effect?Is there caffeine use or drugs/drinking
involved?
Second has us
looking at practical applications for a solution to overcoming anxiety.Discuss what brought on those feelings (Was
guilt a factor, etc.?). What can I (you/we) do to deal with these emotions
according to what was recently learned in the Bible and in godly teaching/counsel?
Third, how does
this relate to faith and believing what we say we believe about God’s Word? If we really believed, would we be acting like
this?
Finally, our
mind will always go somewhere, so we have to make sure it focuses on the right things by redirecting our thoughts. There are times when ridding of
unwanted feelings can be as simple as doing something physical such as: getting
more sleep, exercising, watching something funny (life is funny, go observe it)
or participating in a new hobby/activity.
Identify
Practical Applications
Faith Check
Redirect Thoughts
There are occasions
when we need to be redirected in the way we think about the promises of God, as
being real and available to all who believe. For those who walk by faith and not by sight, we are to stand in the gap and remind our beloved family in Christ
that they are not alone.
Learn how to be
a “distractor of anxiety” by reassuring others that these “feelings” are
temporary. God will deliver them, because they walk by faith in His wonderful
favor and blessings as His child.
Be encouraged, peace really can be one thought away!
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
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As we walked around the area something more amazing caught our attention. The tree limbs did not crush anything when it fell and they totally missed all the power lines. As a matter of fact, all the branches "surrounded" our picnic table area where I potted up plants, and they wrapped around the closed umbrella but never touched it in any way! How was that even possible? I can tell you how, God kept His promise of protection over us, the house and property.
