A Stress-Free Life

 

Prior to finding salvation through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self, with a little help from our friends and family.

Life was hard, and every little bump in the road threw us off course, causing us to fight with all of our strength to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily living.

Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense mechanisms into our new Christian walk. We continue to overreact to life from our own energy and the reserve, which we build up within us.

Living life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through our own efforts.

Life is always hard as long we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want to please God with our life; but even when we feel like we are doing His will, we often fail.

We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up in Heaven.

This separation is actually caused by our independence and self-reliance. God is always in us through Christ by His Spirit; however, we do not acknowledge His existence unless we get into trouble and turn to Him.

We get the optimal results from life when we seek the Lord with our whole soul - mind, will and emotions, we acknowledge Him before we do anything, we do not depend on our human resources, and we trust Him as He directs each step of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, when we are safely tucked under the shadow of Your wings, life is no longer a challenge, because it is now an adventure! Remind us that we are united with Christ in salvation and perfected by Your Spirit in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life from our lack, because You face life through us with all of Your power as the triune God.

You do not call us to live life for You, but to step aside and allow You to live life in and through us. You did not give us a faint, fearful spirit, because Your love, strength and self-discipline reside within us by Your Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Help us to recognize the moments of Your pure joy in our day and to focus on Your love and peace to guide us.  

Thought for the Day:

As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened; once we realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us. - Colossians 3:3 

The Healing Journey - Part 2 - Identity of Our Own

 

I was 45 at the time my first marriage dissolved right before my eyes. I chose to face this new abandonment issue with the courage of an unsinkable Molly Brown, who heroically survived the sinking of the Titanic.

My boss at that time, a healing codependent, taught me that I am a person too, and I may minister to myself just as diligently as I minister to other people. That came as a revelation to me.

From this point on, I started to care for my own needs rather than to expect my mate or children or friends to care for them. I realized that Jesus encourages us to love others as we love our self.

To ignore our needs and to expect others to meet them is a classic codependent behavior, which needs healing. I got in touch with my body, soul and spirit and started to pay attention to and to meet my needs.

My joy increased as I realized that God continued to provide for me, and that He cared about me on every level of life. He died to save me from myself and to help me to enter into His ultimate rest (Hebrews 4:10).  

I spent the next two years learning that God is our true husband (Isaiah 54:5). He provides for our every need as we trust in Him and rely on His benevolence and grace.

There is nothing too difficult for Him (Luke 18:27). He can work miraculous wonders on our behalf, even when we least expect it. He provided me with a job, a home and new friends who nurtured me.

They too were recovering divorcees and many were codependent, just like me. We learned from each other, had fun times together and met each week to learn how to begin life again as single people.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us teachers with wisdom on how to get free from our past, to heal from our current situation and to look forward to the future with faith in You. We learned to depend on Your love rather than a person's love and to trust You even when we cannot trust people.

You bring us out of moments of depression, provide for our every need, put a new song on our lips and give us an identity of our own that has its source in You rather than in our accomplishments or in other people. You are our all in all both now and throughout eternity, and we delight in living in Your courts and finding refuge under Your wings.

Thought for the Day:

We come to the breaking point in our life where we invite Christ to be more and more at home in our heart, so that we can be filled with the fullest measure of His presence.

- Ephesians 3:16-19 (Amplified Bible)

Overcoming Anxiety

Anxiety is a horrifying malady. It strikes when we least expect it and has some sources that are subconscious and not apparent to the conscience mind. The healing process for anxiety often eludes us.

Anxiety may have its roots in unresolved conflicts of our past and is fueled by lies, which Satan planted there. Often our medication taken for medical issues will also trigger unexplained and unfounded panic attacks.

We chastise our self for these feelings, believing that we should be able to overcome them. The exciting truth is that anxiety cannot harm us. We have authority over the attacks in Jesus' name.

Focusing on the anxiety only increases the fears within us. Instead, we can focus on Christian music, fellowship or memorized Bible verses until the attack passes (Isaiah 41:10). Herbal relaxants also calm us.

Human faith is limited, and dependent on our five senses and physical circumstances. Faith in God replaces our fear of life's uncertainties (Isaiah 43:1). This supernatural faith understands what our human senses cannot even perceive (Hebrews 1:11).

God's Spirit is right there in us and with us, protecting us and guiding us through the travesties of life. His fruit replaces our carnal nature with the character of God (Galatians 5:22-23).

Hearing God's Word and standing on Jesus, the firm Rock of our salvation, also increases our faith in God (Romans 10:17). They renew our mind and heal us from past trauma by helping us to expose Satan's lies and to resolve those issues (Proverbs 12:25; www.theophostic.com )

Regardless of our experiences, God strengthens our resolve as we trust ONLY in Him, obey His commandments and believe without a doubt that He is always only a prayer away (Psalm 94:19).

There is no human way that we can control life, regardless of how much we obsess or attempt to keep our self and our loved ones safe. As we trust in God instead of our self, we experience His supernatural peace which exceeds all human comprehension (Psalm 56:3).

Prayer:

Father God, regardless of our experiences, either past or present, or our fears of the future, there is no trial that You will not walk through with us. You carry us through the rocky roads and the fire scorched earth to a place of safety tucked away in the cleft of the Rock of Christ (1 John 4:18).

You teach us that our mind is Satan's battleground, which he uses to take control of our life and to make us ineffectual for Your Kingdom work on the earth. Thank You for strengthening our resolve to deal with, or to turn over to You, the source of any negative thought or emotion in our life, and to put our trust in Your control over our circumstances (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 Peter 5:6-7).

Thought for the Day:

The result of sitting quietly in God's presence is a renewed sense of intimacy with Him, spiritual power to take authority over Satan's interference in our life and peace that surpasses human understanding.

 - Philippians 4:6-7; James 4:7-8; John 14:27

Trust the Lord Completely

Worrying is the world’s favorite pastime. Our emotional, spiritual, physical and mental powers diminish when we give in to worry. We make our self sick in body, soul and spirit by worrying.

Doctors write a score of prescriptions each day for anxiety-related illnesses, such as: anxiety, apathy, headaches, decreases in our immune system, increases in blood pressure, insomnia, and even bad habits such as grinding teeth and biting nails.

Worry is a negative emotion and is very self-destructive. I believe that worry comes from a subconscious fear that we are basically vulnerable and unprotected.

Worry influences our thinking, decisions, opinions and reactions to life. People who worry cannot relax and enjoy life. We fail to trust God with our life (Matthew 6:25-34).

Most worriers grow up in dysfunctional households and/or have a traumatic negative experience in life. Worriers have low self-esteem caused by one or more shaming experience perpetrated by our parents or someone we respect or love.

Worry takes our mind off the here and now and keeps it as either a prisoner of the past or trapped in an imagined future full of worse case scenarios. Surrendering them all to God is our only hope.

Understanding our worries can diminish their intensity and possibly eradicate them completely. Ask yourself, “What is causing me to worry?” “What is bothering me right now?” “What happened to put this fear in my mind?” Journal the answers and pray about God’s resolution for each one.

Prayer:

Father God, we worry because we believe that we have to maintain control over every aspect of our life in order to keep our self and our loved ones safe. Parents worry about children, wives worry about husbands and career, husband’s worry about their family and work related issues, and everyone worries about having their basics needs met.

Remind us that the best way not to worry is to follow the advice of Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust the Lord completely; don't ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” (TLB) Lord, we trust You to make even the bad events in our life to work out for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

Worry can paralyze us into inactivity and limit our productivity and inventiveness.