"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. "
-Corrie Ten Boom
in honour of the first day of spring, my allergies have decided to come out and be a part of the festivities. a wonderful time of year as things warm up and live again... and my eyes begin to itch. lovely allergies.
what is an allergy anyway? Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system of defense against foreign invaders, particularly pathogens (the agents of infection). The allergic reaction is misguided in that these foreign substances are usually harmless. The substances that trigger allergy are called allergen. Examples include pollens, dust mite, molds, danders, and certain foods. People prone to allergies are said to be allergic or atopic. (from medicinenet.com)
after reading this, i realized that this applies to worry. is the worry we have a misguided reaction to something foreign in our lives that may just end up being harmless? it may just be.
i've used the "do not worry about your lives" verse here once or twice before but it serves being put up again:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!" (matthew 6:25-30 nasb)
in other words- don't have misguided reactions to things that are of little importance. worry is inefficient. as corrie ten boom stated above: "it empties today of its strength". the allergies im dealing with right now are making my eyes itch, making me sneeze out of control and making me feel tired and drained. all this because there is pollen in the air that is intended to help the growth of spring vegetation- not kill me. but my body seems to think pollen is out to kill me so its spending all its valuable resources trying to keep any molecule of pollen at least 50 feet from me through violent blasts of air from nose.
worry does the same thing. it taxes all your resources in an effort to try to prevent something from happening that (1) you have no control over and (2) will not do what worry is telling you it will do to you. worry wont add a single minute to your day. worry really does nothing at all except leave you feeling tired and drained. it empowers events, people and things that currently have no power over your life to suddenly, inexplicably take complete control of your life.
are your worries driving you crazy? they drive me crazy all the time because i deal with worry alot. just like with allergies- the cure is fighting back. worry is one of your greatest enemies- its emptying your today of its strength. just like people take allergy medicine to fight their sneezing, we need to take our worry medicine. what cures a bad case of the worries?
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing? ...for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (matthew 6:31-34 nasb)
the trick is to seek God first. how do we seek God? "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (jeremiah 29:13 nasb) its going to require all of you to seek God. if you commit your resources and energy to seeking God, you'll have no resources left to use on worrying.
thats how you fight worry. God already knows that we will need what we are worrying we won't have. He knows. don't worry.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
this is for you
(this post inspired by this article)
dear you,
im not sure what you're going through; or what you're dealing with right now but i just wanted to let you know- it's going to get better. you will make it through.
ignore the news on the web and tv; the craziness of the day and the situation of the world for a moment and realize God loves you. you are not insignificant at all. you may feel alone right now, you may feel scared or even hurt or abused but He says this: "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's permission. Every hair on your head has been counted. Don't be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows." (matthew 10:29-31 gwt)
God doesn't even let a sparrow fall without his permission. and if you're worth more than many sparrows and He knows how many hairs are on your head- i think it's safe to say He is involved in every detail of your life and sees what you're going through." so why doesn't He stop this pain or remove these problems i'm going through?", you might ask.
one of my favourite quotes is from c.s. lewis who says: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." What is God shouting to you? this pain and suffering you're going through might have a purpose that you need to discover.
Phillip Yancey says it like this: "Every square millimeter of the body has a different sensitivity to pain, so that a speck of dirt may cause excruciating pain in the vulnerable eye whereas it would go unreported on the tough extremities. When organs such as the heart detect danger but lack receptors, they borrow other pain cells, which is why heart attack victims often report pain in the shoulder or arm. The pain system automatically ramps up hypersensitivity to protect an injured part (explaining why a sore thumb always seems in the way) and turns down the volume in the face of emergencies (soldiers often report no pain from a wound in the course of battle, only afterwards). Pain serves us subliminally as well: sensors make us blink several times a minute to lubricate our eyes and shift our legs... to prevent pressure sores. Pain is the most effective language the body can use to draw attention to something important. "
why would i put this in a letter to you when you're needing encouragment? good question. because pain is the language God uses to draw attention to something important in your life. i don't know exactly whats going on in your life but i know God is shouting. God is shouting to me right now too. if your arm or your head were in extreme pain, wouldn't you go to a hospital or buy some medicine to relieve the pain?
go to God who "who comforts us in all our affliction" (2 corinthians 1:4 nasb) and who understands what you're going through.
you are going to make it. i know it. maybe, just maybe- what you're going through right now is bringing attention to something in your life, that if addressed and worked on will make you better. i say this because even this morning, God is shouting to me. there are things that even i know i need to address and i too have pain to remind me of that.
God's megaphone is rousing you. go to Him and tell Him where it hurts, whats going on and why you're at the point of giving up. He will help you. He can heal what others have hurt and fix what others have broken.
in love, josh
dear you,
im not sure what you're going through; or what you're dealing with right now but i just wanted to let you know- it's going to get better. you will make it through.
ignore the news on the web and tv; the craziness of the day and the situation of the world for a moment and realize God loves you. you are not insignificant at all. you may feel alone right now, you may feel scared or even hurt or abused but He says this: "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's permission. Every hair on your head has been counted. Don't be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows." (matthew 10:29-31 gwt)
God doesn't even let a sparrow fall without his permission. and if you're worth more than many sparrows and He knows how many hairs are on your head- i think it's safe to say He is involved in every detail of your life and sees what you're going through." so why doesn't He stop this pain or remove these problems i'm going through?", you might ask.
one of my favourite quotes is from c.s. lewis who says: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." What is God shouting to you? this pain and suffering you're going through might have a purpose that you need to discover.
Phillip Yancey says it like this: "Every square millimeter of the body has a different sensitivity to pain, so that a speck of dirt may cause excruciating pain in the vulnerable eye whereas it would go unreported on the tough extremities. When organs such as the heart detect danger but lack receptors, they borrow other pain cells, which is why heart attack victims often report pain in the shoulder or arm. The pain system automatically ramps up hypersensitivity to protect an injured part (explaining why a sore thumb always seems in the way) and turns down the volume in the face of emergencies (soldiers often report no pain from a wound in the course of battle, only afterwards). Pain serves us subliminally as well: sensors make us blink several times a minute to lubricate our eyes and shift our legs... to prevent pressure sores. Pain is the most effective language the body can use to draw attention to something important. "
why would i put this in a letter to you when you're needing encouragment? good question. because pain is the language God uses to draw attention to something important in your life. i don't know exactly whats going on in your life but i know God is shouting. God is shouting to me right now too. if your arm or your head were in extreme pain, wouldn't you go to a hospital or buy some medicine to relieve the pain?
go to God who "who comforts us in all our affliction" (2 corinthians 1:4 nasb) and who understands what you're going through.
you are going to make it. i know it. maybe, just maybe- what you're going through right now is bringing attention to something in your life, that if addressed and worked on will make you better. i say this because even this morning, God is shouting to me. there are things that even i know i need to address and i too have pain to remind me of that.
God's megaphone is rousing you. go to Him and tell Him where it hurts, whats going on and why you're at the point of giving up. He will help you. He can heal what others have hurt and fix what others have broken.
in love, josh
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