Emotional and Mental Health - Eliminating Anxiety

Life is insecure at best and terrifying at its worse. People say that bad things happen in threes, but at times in my life, I have counted five or six stressful catastrophes in a row.

I learned early on in life not to expect anything good to happen. That way, when good did happen, I was mildly pleased; but when it did not occur, I was not overly disappointed either.

As an authentic Believer, we learn to cast all of our anxious thoughts on God's strong shoulders - to leave them in His benevolent heart and to have faith in His faithfulness instead of in people (Mark 10:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

As we turn our attention away from our self and onto helping other people, we continue to heal from anxiety. This brings inner peace because we help to ease another's burdens and we find fulfillment in sharing our abilities and resources.

As we pray during each moment for God's will and direction, we acknowledge that God is in control of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:6-8). This reduces anxiety quicker than any mantra or affirmation we can repeat.

God orders our steps and gives us the grace to enter into His rest (Hebrews 13:5). His presence in our life allows Him to provide serenity in anxious situations. He helps us to set priorities and to follow them.

This habit is comforting and provides us with a routine to which we can establish and adhere. Routine limits anxious feelings and defines our responsibilities according to the will of God, rather than our own stressful agenda.

I do not hide from life any longer. I know from experience that our Daddy God is faithful, I experience security by walking in His presence and praying without ceasing, and I find fulfillment and peace in the comfort of the shadow of His wings.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that prayer is not created for us to manipulate You or to demand that You do our bidding in our way and timing. Our communication with You is for our benefit, however; and we do not need to wait for a crisis, which we can no longer control before we come to You. We wait in silence until we discover Your will for us during each moment of our day.

Thank You for giving us Your peace, which transcends any comfort the world attempts to provide for us. You are only a prayer away; and yet we fail to avail our self to the intimacy of our union with You. Thank You for abiding within us with Your presence and for filling us with Your Spirit and fruit.

Thought for the Day:

God is not our puppet to manipulate according to our will, but our Savior and King whom we willingly serve according to His will and way; He is not obligated to grant our wishes, but He chooses to give us only the best that we need to live a fulfilling life.

Her Cherished Treasure

 

The wise woman makes her husband her priority second only to God. He will see her love for him in her eyes, in her tone of voice, in her caring touch and in the amount of time she wants to spend with him. 

He is her most cherished treasure and is highly esteemed in her priorities. She respects, prefers and values his presence in her life. Men want to be appreciated, and to feel trusted, believed in and admired. When a husband feels disrespected, he feels humiliated and will often react in anger or withdraw within himself. 

Often, his own behavior causes these feelings, but a wife can still attempt to support him in his endeavors. We believe in him, even when he doesn't believe in himself. Men are more vulnerable than they will admit or than most women realize. They crave verbal affirmation and encouragement. 

This gives them security and confidence. Some men believe that if their wife will stand with them, then the whole world can stand against them and they will not care. Many men will seek genuine affirmation from another woman, if they do not receive it from their wife.

Men want to be romantic, but fear humiliation. A wife's encouragement, even in his frailest attempts, will encourage a husband to do even more. A man needs to know that his wife wants and desires him. This helps him to feel loved and gives him the confidence to succeed in every area of life. Due to her appreciation, he will not feel trapped by the innate need to provide for his family.

Prayer:

Father God, You created marriage to give men a helpmate (Genesis 2:18-22). Enable women to focus on the positive character in our mate and to build him up and appreciate him at every opportunity. 

Remind us to be grateful to him for each romantic gesture and every moment that he wants to spend with us. Assist us in maintaining a positive attitude, even when our husband disappoints us.

Thought for the Day:

When a wife accepts the influence of her husband over the household, even an unbelieving husband will be impressed; and may be won over to the Gospel because of his wife's respect. - 1 Peter 3:1

An Alien Within

Prior to coming to Christ, we determined our daily routine by our priorities. We valued, worked toward and pursued anything that would assist us in reaching our goals. We developed this habit, day in and day out, living by our human reasoning and working to please our self and to secure our future. Then, the Spirit of God moved in and encouraged us to entirely shift our mind-set.

Prior to Salvation, our flesh formed habits as we trained our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions to respond and react in certain ways to the challenges and trials of life. We were used to living independently of any restraints or parameters for our behavior (Romans 8:7-8). We served our self and made sure we would come out on top (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 5:15). We did good deeds for others, but we wanted the praise.

Salvation sets up a dichotomy in our life, which causes a tug-of-war within our soul. God wants us to put to death the carnal deeds of our flesh, so that we can live an abundant spiritual existence (Romans 8:13-14). Yet, our flesh wants to maintain the status quo and control our own life. The tie-breaker is God’s Spirit, who rebirths our human spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:5).

Now, our old nature is dead and we are Born Again by God’s Spirit. Spiritually alive, we partake in the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4). The nine fruit of the Spirit replace our formal carnal character (Galatians 5:22-23). We no longer live independently, but in dependence on God’s love and will.

Our former traits, alien to God’s ways, still influence our thoughts, words and behavior. However, we can crucify these independent and willful tendencies on a daily basis (Matthew 16:24-26), and obey the will of God instead. We willingly submit our old fleshly habits to the work of God’s Spirit within us (Romans 8:12-13). We restrict the deeds of our flesh by renewing our mind and surrendering our life to Christ (Romans 12:2; Mark 10:28-29).

Prayer:

Father God, by Your saving faith, a gift to us from Your mercy and love, we receive Your Holy Spirit who influences and transforms us. You draw us to Your heart and You renovate every aspect of our life by Your Spirit. This free gift is priceless and we thank You for the sacrifice Jesus paid for our eternal life (Ephesians 2:8). Teach us to walk in Your Spirit every moment of our life (Galatians 5:16-25).

Thought for the Day:

Each day we walk in more victory over the flesh by dwelling in the Spirit and following God’s desires for our life. - Galatians 5:16-26

Know That He is God

God brought Israel out of the bondage of Egypt to give them the promised Canaan Land. Even after that miraculous deliverance, the Isrealites discounted the benefits of their freedom from bondage. They missed the delicacies of Egypt. They forgot that their 40 years of wandering were the result of their disobedience to enter the land after God delivered them from Pharoah’s army.

Even after that disobedient generation died, the next generation also despised God’s provision for them. Our Father God wants to provide a blessed life for us, as we follow His will during each of our days. We may not have the delicacies of this world, but we will have more than we need. God desires for our focus to change from self-reliance to reliance on Him for everything.

The more we take our eyes off our self and focus them clearly on the Lord, the more peace we experience in our life. We have no idea what God is capable of doing and providing for us until we put our total trust in Him. He is faithful and worthy of our faith in Him. He often provides our needs before we even ask Him. He cares about every area of our life.

Sometimes, we demand blessings from God. We attempt to hold Him over a barrel, as if we have something to bargain with that God actually wants. God does not want us to grasp at the gifts He is waiting to supply. He wants us to sit still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). He wants us to wait with open arms to receive all that He has for us. He has a blessed life just waiting for us to receive.

Prayer:

Father God, our unbelief keeps us from entering Your promised land, just like it did the Israelites. Help us to relinquish the secret sins, which we think we cannot live without. We want to devote more time to seeking You than we do to pursuing an income, a family, our hobbies and our earthly priorities. Remind us to obey by faith instead of trusting only in what we can see with our natural senses. You will supply all of our needs, according to Your glorious riches, if we simply trust in You (Philippians 4:19).

Thought for the Day:

God gave His own life to ransom us from sin; yet, we defile His gift with our disobedience and rebellion.

The Flesh is Already Dead

The carnal person lives in rebellion to God’s desires for our life. The natural person resists God’s redemption and forfeits His peace and joy both on earth and for eternity. The focus of carnality is on the self and everything that benefits the flesh, regardless of any spiritual priorities or needs. Even Born Again people often cater to their flesh more than their spirit.

However, this carnal focus will not continue in the life of an authentic Believer. Our union with Christ makes a huge difference in our life. God’s Spirit will continually convict the sinful soul of His priorities. We find the freedom of forgiven sin, the contentment of acceptance in God’s Family and the security of our identity in Christ’s character within us (Galatians 5:22-23).

God’s Spirit renews our mind (2 Corinthians 4:16; Titus 3:5), transforms our emotions (Ephesians 3:16-20) and heals our body (Psalm 103:3). We enjoy worshipping our King more than serving our flesh. We willingly lay down the deeds of our flesh, because we realize that in Christ our flesh is already dead (Colossians 3:3-4). Spiritually alive, we experience victory over both sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Prayer:

Father God, by Your divine power, You provide us with every resource we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). The fact that You dwell in us by Your Spirit and that You will perfect us in spirit, soul and body relieves so much pressure from us on a daily basis (Ephesians 1:14). We do not have to perfect our self. You give us the desire and the ability to work out our own salvation, as we live in respect for Your authority and power in us (Philippians 2:13).

Thought for the Day:

Be filled with the Spirit and speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. – Ephesians 5:18-19

A Paradigm Shift

Prior to coming to Christ, we determined our daily routine by our priorities. We valued, worked toward and pursued anything that would assist us in reaching our goals. We developed these habits, day in and day out, living by our human reasoning and working to please our self and to secure our future. We focused on our success and make sure we came out on top (Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Our flesh formed habits as we trained our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions to respond and react in certain ways to the challenges and trials of life. We are used to living independently of any restraints or parameters on our behavior (Romans 8:7-8). We do good deeds for others, but we want the praise. However, when the Spirit of God comes into our life, He encourages us to entirely shift our mind-set.

This sets up a dichotomy in our life, which causes a tug-of-war within our soul. God wants us to put to death the carnal deeds of our flesh, so that we can live an abundant spiritual life (Romans 8:13-14). Yet, our flesh wants to maintain the status quo, so that we can retain control. The tie-breaker is God’s Spirit. He resurrects our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:5).

Our spirit is Born Again and Spiritually alive (Colossians 3:3). Then, He crucifies our old nature with Christ, and we partake in the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). The fruit of the Spirit replace our formal carnal character (Galatians 5:22-23). We no longer live independently, but in dependence on God’s love and will. Yet, some of the former traits, alien to God’s ways, still influence our thoughts, words and behavior.

Gradually, we experience a shift in our paradigm. As we lay down our independent and willful tendencies on a daily basis (Matthew 16:24-26), and obey the will of God instead, we willingly submit our old fleshly habits to the work of God’s Spirit within us (Romans 8:12-13). Each day we walk in more and more victory over the flesh (Romans 7:14 - 8:12). We eventually abide in God’s Spirit and daily follow God’s desires for our life (Galatians 5:16-26).

Prayer:

Father God, Your saving faith, a gift to us from Your mercy and love, comes from Your Holy Spirit and influences and transforms us. You draw us to Your heart and You renovate every aspect of our life by Your Spirit. This free gift is priceless, and we thank You for the sacrifice Jesus paid for our eternal life (Ephesians 2:8). We give You all of the praise, honor and glory for what You accomplish in our life.

Thought for the Day:

We overcome the deeds of our flesh by renewing our mind and surrendering our life to Christ. - Romans 12:2; Mark 10:28-29

Where is Revival?

 

I hear people praying all the time for revival. It is “buzz” word for less sin and more spirituality and commitment in the church. We hold three day, week-long and even several week revivals with singing and preaching every night in an attempt to touch the hearts of the unsaved and saved alike. Our hope is that they will meet with God and He will change their lives and give them more spiritual passion. However, the most common comment after a revival service is, “We had great singing and preaching.”

Very few, if any, lives are noticeably changed by these extravagant services. Revival means change, and very few people want to change. We like the status quo and we are so tired from our busy lives that we do not want to add one more item to our to-do list. We like the easy road and we enjoy dabbling in sinful activities now and then, nothing addicting or deadly, just compromising with the world in a few areas. Holiness takes effort and we are too tired to put any effort in seeking more of God.

Revival is not a result of human effort. We can pray, fast and demand revival from God forever, and nothing will happen. Revival means recovery, restoration, renewal and resurgence. We need revival to change our self-centeredness and rebellion. True revival happens one life at a time. It starts with the revelation of our sinful state and the conviction that we need a change in our thoughts, words and deeds. We see the King, the Lord God Almighty, and we realize that we are imperfect with unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).

Revival comes when the Spirit of God moves on our life, convicting, enlightening and changing us from the inside out. Revival occurs regularly as we daily wash in the water of God’s Word (Ephesians 5:26). We do not wait for emotion, but we act on Biblical truths. Yearly, organized meetings are not necessary for this to happen. Revival occurs within each human soul as we seek a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. We forsake our sinful lifestyle and rearrange our priorities.

Those who experience revival follow hard after God, early in the morning they rise up and seek Him, their soul – their mind, will and emotions – thirsts for Him and they see His power and glory in their life  (Psalm 63:1-2, 8). Then, as God uses these individuals, they are instrumental in witnessing and inspiring others to join them, and the fire spreads. They have a renewed desire to obey God’s precepts, to grow in spiritual fervor and to please God in every way. They love the Lord with their whole heart (Matthew 22:37).

Prayer:

Father God, forget Your displeasure with us and restore us. Revive us by Your Spirit; so our hearts delight in You. Shower us with your unfailing love and refresh our devotion to You. Give us your good and perfect gifts and help us to share with others the immense love You have for us (Psalm 85:4-7, 11).

Thought for the Day:

Get serious with God today, and ask Him for revival in your life right now.

 

No Part-time Postition

Read: Psalm 63:1-3

“And he said to them all, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. – Luke 9:23

Walking with God is no part-time position. It is a full-time lifestyle. It requires more than just loving Him, because it includes full devotion of body, soul and spirit. If we reserve the bulk of our affection for family, job, hobbies or other interests, we are not giving our whole self to God. Jesus tells us that if we do not leave family, friends, home and job for His sake, then we are not fit for His Kingdom (Luke 9:62).

God does not want us to love Him for what He does for us or what He provides for us. He simply wants us to love Him…period. Not love Him also, but love Him only. Then as His love flows out through us, we love everyone in our life with God’s Agape love instead of with our self-centered human love.  If we do forsake all for Him, then we will receive a hundred times as much as we give up, and we will inherit eternal life as well (Matthew 19:29).

Jesus is not telling us to live as a hermit or to reject our family, friends, home and job. However, these worldly loves usually occupy a larger part of our heart, time and energy than our devotion to God does. This means that we only give God a fraction of our dedication. We put the cart before the horse. Eventually, since we put our priorities in the wrong order, our life comes to a standstill. We hit a brick wall of negative emotions and defeat. We lose everything we hold dear.

What if life snatches everything we have away from us? Would we still love God? Is our soul – our mind, will and emotions - thirsty for God? Do we long for Him as if we are in a dry and weary land without any water? Is His love for us better than anything life has to offer? (Psalm 63:1-3). Do we serve Him with all of our thoughts and affection? (Deuteronomy 11:13). If not, we stand the chance of losing our faith, hope and joy if life takes away from us any one of these temporal things we focus on; and even more so, if we lose them all.

Everything in this life is temporal and fleeting. We can lose our spouse, children, friends, home, job, health and hobbies in an instant of time. I lived through a very hard time in my life. Even through rejection, relocation and restoration, however, I never lacked anything I needed. I kept my focus on Christ first, and He always provided me with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual abundance and more resources than I could have ever thought to ask Him for (Matthew 6:33). God is the only entity in life that is everlasting. He promises never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

As we relinquish our attachment to anything pertaining to this world, God fills our life with Himself. His opinion of us, love for us, favor on us and His presence in our life become more fulfilling than our relationship with anything or anyone in this world. Once we line up our priorities with God first, He provides everything we need (Psalm 68:6). God did and does so much for us. He wants us to seek Him first and to completely surrender all of our spirit, soul and body to Him. Then He will give us everything else in more abundance than we can ever think of or ask for (Matthew 6:33). When He fills the void in our soul, which makes us feel empty and lonely, nothing can ever take that away from us.

God gives us a double portion of His Spirit (Psalm 23:3). He restores our self-worth and enthusiasm. He provides for our physical health and bodily needs as well (Proverbs 3:8; Isaiah 38:16). Jesus comes to dwell in us, and we also dwell in Him (1 John 4:13). It is no longer us that lives in our body and soul, but Christ lives in us and through us (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I place You like a seal over my affections, words and actions. For Your love for us is stronger than death. It flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench Your love, nor can rivers drown it. You promise never to leave us or forsake us and Your love is eternal. You have given us eternal comfort and good hope through Your grace and we thank You now and always (Song of Solomon 8:6-7; Hebrews 13:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:16).

Thought for the Day:

God wants all of me, not just on Sundays, but on every other day of the week as well.








Thank you, Marianne Lordi, for the use of your photo.

 

We Make The Difference

Read: Luke 10:38-42

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31-32

The facts of creation prove to me that God intended for us to live in paradise. He wants an intimate relationship with each one of us. Instead of receiving His gift, mankind chose to exalt himself as equal to God and we ended up in this pain-filled world. There is good news, however. God’s Spirit within us makes this life not only bearable, but also victorious (Isaiah 41:10).

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are gifts from the Lord that we can enjoy every day of our lives (1 Corinthians 13:14). We only need to accept God’s complete forgiveness and to surrender our will to His in order to make a lasting difference in our life and in the world around us.

In Luke 10:18-42, Mary realized this truth and she relinquished her need to control her environment and chose instead to sit at Jesus feet. Martha, on the other hand, assumed the leadership role in order to impress Jesus with her self-efforts. She ended up with bitterness and anger eating at her soul. Attempting to maintain control often causes mental breakdowns and emotional wounds.

Intimacy with God is available to every Believer. He longs for our fellowship (1 Corinthians 1:9). We only need to take the time to meet with Him in absolute quietness (Psalm 46:10), waiting and listening, getting to know Him intimately and experiencing first hand the width and length and height and depth of His love  (Ephesians 3:18). Tranquility of body, soul and spirit is the key to attaining this union with God.

Your flesh, the world and the devil will raise roadblocks to keep you from spending this quality time. As we simplify our lives, however, and walk in the Spirit, we end up doing only those activities, which the Holy Spirit leads us to do each moment of the day. This does not mean that we cannot plan ahead, but we follow the Spirit’s leading as we plan.

If we cannot hear from God, negative emotions in our soul, such as anxiety, stress, unforgiveness and anger, are probably the impediment. Negative emotions are our soul’s way of communicating to us that something is out of synchronization within us. If you pay attention to what your body, soul (mind, will and emotions) and spirit are telling you, then you can deal with the root cause. Then the negative emotions will disappear as well.

Another facet, which blocks communication are the lies, which Satan often whispers to us, and which we actually believe. These negative statements cripple us emotionally and limit us from realizing our potential in Christ. Ask God to reveal your negative beliefs and to replace them with His truth. Freed from these unconstructive restraints, we live productive, God blessed days.

Perseverance is the key to finding regular time to spend with God each day and then to guard it, making it a priority in your life.  You can choose morning, afternoon or evening to spend this quality time with Him. It depends upon the other demands in your life. If you force yourself to get up too early in the morning, you may end up resenting this time instead of looking forward to it. You can even spend time with God during your lunch break or while the children nap in the afternoon. This may be the best opportunity for you to focus on God. I love to spend the night watches (Psalm 119:148) with God. The world is quiet all around me and there are no distractions or needs that interrupt my time with the Lord.

It is impossible for God to love you more than He does right now (John 3: 16). He loves you infinitely and He exults over you with joy (Zephaniah 3:17). Your unrighteous behavior will grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30), but that does not alter His unconditional love for you. We cannot earn His love and we cannot earn intimacy with Him either. Both are free gifts from our loving Father (Romans 5:16).

Know without a shadow of a doubt that God wants to spend time with you. In fact, He is prepared to spend eternity with you. The relationship you build with Him here on earth will remain in place forever. You may think that you do not have time in your day to develop this intimacy with God. Nevertheless, it is actually all a matter of priorities. We make the difference through our choices. Trim the unnecessary activities in your schedule to free up your resources and to give you time to spend with Jesus, the lover of your soul (John 14:21).

Prayer:

Lord, teach me to adjust my priorities and to eliminate busyness and negative emotions from my life. They needlessly contaminate my thoughts and clutter up my time. Help me to make a difference for You in Your Kingdom on the earth by following the leading of Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

Though many things may seem important, only God’s will is necessary.