Worry wort...

May 29:

Living a Life that Matters… 

Philippians 4:6-9

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

When I was younger, I worried about everything. Would Chuck be sent overseas with the Marines.? Would my boys grow up to be heathens? Would there be enough money for groceries? Would I ever find a Christian friend? Would I always feel alone? Would I always feel inadequate? & on & on & on... I worried so much that a dear friend of mine gave me a ‘worry wart’. Similar to the picture above, it had bulging eyes & a freaked out expression. I worried… “Do I look like that”? 

So I dug around in an old concordance, opened my Bible & began reading Philippians with fresh eyes & an open heart… It changed my perspective… & thus began my yearly pilgrimage through this precious book.

Perhaps you too want peace in your troubled heart… maybe you long to be content, yet you hear the voices that say " be successful, be popular, be beautiful, be perfect". I cannot stress enough how we have to STOP listening to these voices. Instead we need to listen to God's voice.

We must take control of our mind. Here we are commanded to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" We can do this when we hold the negative thoughts captive & dwell on the positive.

Ultimately, peace & contentment is more a shift in attitude than a change of circumstances.

“Never allow yourself to complain about anything–not even the weather. 

Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else. 

Never compare your lot with another’s. 

Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise. 

Never dwell on tomorrow–remember that [tomorrow] is God’s, not ours.”

 –Linda Dillow, Calm my Anxious Heart.