Perfect Swap for ANXIETY

Anxiety; also known as worry or nervousness is a part of life for most people. And let's admit it, it is miserable. Our bodies respond to risky situations, stress and uncertainty with this form of fear. It's normal for the most part, however, anxiety can sometimes be a sign of a disorder that benefits from treatments. There are several people that I dearly love that suffer from diagnosed anxiety disorders. I am not referring to this type of anxiety in this post.

My personal experience with debilitating anxiety was postpartum after my youngest child was born. So overwhelmingly consuming. I was in a dark cloud that I couldn't seem to see past. Just leaving the house was more than I could manage at the time. I had been walking with the Lord for about 4 years then, my Bible was an arm's reach away, but my limiting anxiety didn't allow me to reach for the life giving Words of my Beloved Father. Sad. Dark. Isolating. I praise God that this darkness came to an end and is now a layer of understanding that the Lord uses in my ministry. He's awesome like that, doesn't waste a thing and each trial is sifted through His Sovereign hands!

In today's verse of thanks, Paul is teaching about the perfect swap or antidote for anxiety.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Last week I was sharing about Paul's joyful gratitude to God for his precious "flawsome" people of Philippi. For their response to the gospel message of Jesus' saving grace. Paul is an amazing encourager as well. Today's verse comes at the end of this same letter from his prison cell in Rome. His final exhortations or encouragements to the Philippians are practical tips on how to live as Christians. God begins to develop our Christian character when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But spiritual growth also requires discipline, obedience, and relentless concentration on our part. It's hard work... but it pays off big time!

Paul is giving us big orders here. DON'T WORRY about ANYTHING. Are you kidding me? Anything? Ah, but then he gives us the swap for the worry - PRAY! Imagine never having to worry about anything! It seems like an impossibility. But Paul's advice is to turn your worries into prayers. If you want to worry less - then pray more!

The next layer is "with thanksgiving". In other words, Paul is saying to expect God's answers by thanking Him for them in advance.

At Living Proof Live with Beth Moore, I learned from her teaching on anxiety that

"Expectancy is the perfect swap for anxiety." 

Expectancy = Expect God (to answer and provide for you) 

Anxiety = Expect bad (to come out of your circumstances)

A few other quotes from Beth on anxiety:

"Anxiety is a neon sign that says, "I don't trust God."

"Anxiety is always rooted in a quest for control."

"When it comes to anxiety, we can pray or become prey."

Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray, then expectantly thank God for His comfort and direction.

When I mentioned above that spiritual growth is "hard work... but it pays off big time," I was referring to the trade off. When we follow Paul's emphatic urging to present or cast our requests or cares on God, the result comes in the very familiar next verse: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

God's peace differs from the world's definition of peace (John 14:27). We don't come by it with positive thinking, lack of conflict, or nice feelings. Genuine peace comes from knowing that because God is sovereign - in control of all things - our citizenship in Christ's Kingdom is sure, our eternity is set, and our victory over sin is a sure thing!

The perfect swap for anxiety is expectant, thankful prayer. It's not easy, but it's a discipline worth practicing and God will joyously hold your hand while you take these steps towards His loving care!

Here's a song by Finding Favour that talks about casting our care on God: https://youtu.be/bKuAMmTqUbs

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7 KJV

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Flawsome

I heard a new word on the radio this morning - Flawsome - it means something that is totally awesome, but not without its flaws. I don't believe it's recorded in a traditional dictionary - if you want to look it up rely on an urban dictionary online.

I couldn't stop thinking about how this word describes who we are in Christ. God made us in His image and we have tremendous value and worth because of this truth - God made us awesome. Then there's the problem of sin that makes us flawed and can totally take us down and devalue us. But God loves us so incredibly much that He won't leave us like that. He gave us Jesus to redeem our sinful flaws and bring us right back into fabulous. It's not a onetime event however. We need to stay close to Jesus so He can continue the good work He began when we accepted His great gift of salvation. We are certainly saved when we accept His gift, but if we really want to be effective and shine for Christ we need to grow and mature.

I've been looking at our next verse of thanks. Paul is writing to the church at Philippi that he founded on his second missionary journey. Paul is in prison in Rome for his faith but that doesn't take him down. He has joyful thanks for his supporters from Philippi. They had sent him a gift that he was grateful for and he also wanted to encourage them and strengthen them by showing that true joy comes from Jesus Christ alone. That even in hardship (due to a broken and flawed world) we can have joy in our faith in Christ.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3 (including verses 4-6 to complete the thought)

Prayers of joyful thanksgiving for his readers' response to the gospel are a distinctive feature at the beginning of Paul's letters. He loves his people and is overwhelmed with gratitude to God for their hearts being transformed and that their desire is to not only follow Christ but to continue the good work He began in them. They want to stay close to Christ and become more flawsome.

We are all flawed. We can't get around it. We are sinful by nature. But God loves us anyway. He knows who He created. He knows our potential. He loves us because He loves us. Not because He can clean us up, but because we are His. We are awesome because we are His. He's more aware of our flaws than we are. He's omniscient - knows absolutely everything. We can't hide any of it from His eyes. He still loves us. He takes it a step further and gives us His one and only Son who is perfect God and man to die as a sacrifice for our sin. His blood covers all flaws.

This idea of being flawed and awesome at that same time makes me think of a song about how we are simply dust and by God's loving activity in our lives we become diamonds. Due to sin, we go from not much value to great worth by accepting God's Son as a gift of grace and partnering with Him in His good work to spread His love and His Word to a hurting world.

Listen to Diamonds by Hawk Nelson by clicking on this link  https://youtu.be/Yf1ARbpB0gA

Oh the joy of the Lord

It will be my strength

When the pressure is on

He's making diamonds

He's making diamonds

Out of dust

He's making diamonds

Out of us

The pressure is certainly on our friend Paul, yet he has joy and thanks in his heart for the Lord and for the good work God is doing in the hearts of the people he invested in for Christ's sake. Thankful joy doesn't come from outward circumstances but from inward strength. We must not rely on what we have or what we experience to give us joy, but on Christ in us - that makes us Flawsome! Thanks be to God!

"God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way."
~ Unknown

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

I Want What She Has

Have you ever met someone that has such an inner peace and joy that very little can rattle them? Have you ever thought, "I want what s/he has!" because they seem to have it all together. Even when life seems to be falling apart around them they don't fall apart themselves. How can some people manage like this?

The folks that I've met that have this hope-filled outlook have not come by it easily. They have paid their dues in many a trial, pain, sorrow and loss. Their secret is not hoping in themselves or other people but in Christ. They are what Paul refers to as Children of Light.

The section of scripture that I've been studying in Ephesians explains how we can live our lives as Children of Light. What is the light? Jesus is the light (John 8:12) of the world. As Christians we are to live in the light God gives (Ephesians 5:8). Walking in the light keeps us from the darkness of sin and allows us to shine before men (Matthew 5:16). In other words, Jesus is our example and when we walk or live life by His guidelines and live in His power through the Holy Spirit, we grow in grace and do good to those around us. That's letting our light shine - loving others as God first loved us.

In today's verse of thanks, Paul is giving further instruction on how to keep our light shining for God's glory and the good of others.

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20 (preceded by the second half of vs. 19)

Singing or listening to Christian worship music is one of the ways that I get myself out of "stinkin' thinkin'" or a pity party. Paul is teaching that we should regularly encourage one another by talking about the Lord and quoting scripture, particularly the Psalms. That's another trick I use - when I'm struggling to adore God in my prayer time, I open up my Bible to Psalms and let David or one of the other psalmists give me a hand. It doesn't take long for me to become consumed with the glory of God's goodness and power!

We need these tricks/disciplines to keep our hearts right and become children of the light - someone that "has what others want" - hope in Christ and gratitude for the mercies of God the Father. Life is not easy - it drags us down and we struggle to give thanks. Take heart - God works all things out for good if we love him and are setting our hearts toward His will/His best for us (Romans 8:28). We are not asked to thank God for our problems, but for the strength He is building in us through our trials.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says it like this:

Man has much for which to be grateful; and the duty of acknowledging the mercy of God to the race should not be forgotten. We are often prone so to magnify our calamities, and to contemplate the woes of the race, that we overlook the occasions for gratitude; and we should, therefore, look upon the "mercies" which we enjoy as well as the miseries which we endure, that our hearts may be right. He who looks only on his trials will soon find his mind soured and complaining; he who endeavors to find how many occasions for gratitude he has, will soon find the burden of his sorrows alleviated, and his mind tranquil and calm. Yet, if the words here are to be taken as in our translation, "for everything" they are full of force and beauty. At the close of life, and in heaven, we shall see occasion to bless God for all his dealings with us. We shall see that we have not suffered one pang too much, or been required to perform one duty too severe. We shall see that all our afflictions, as well as our mercies were designed for our good, and were needful for us. Why then should we not bless God in the furnace as well as in the palace; on a bed of pain as well as on a bed of down; in want as well as when sitting down at the splendid banquet?

Addison Road put out a song called "This Little Light of Mine" and the lyrics read:

In this life you will know

Love and pain

Joy and sorrow

So when it hurts

When times get hard

Don't forget whose child you are

That's the thing... if you've received Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life (I have), you are a child of the light and you already have "what they want." The discipline is to not forget it, stick to your guns, plant your feet and call on the Name of Jesus when life is hard. That's what I try to do. I'm still a work in progress, but the good news is my faith grows daily and so do my peace and joy as I look to Jesus for my light, my hope. I'll get you going by sharing the link on YouTube for the song that will bring you back to your childhood and help you shine your light and give thanks for everything:  https://youtu.be/Ii2THk_yR3Q

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Soap in My Mouth

I've got a mouth on me - meaning I talk a lot and at times, I'm sorry to say, my words are not pleasing to God or anyone within earshot. I've struggled with this trouble with the tongue all my life. I have vivid memories of getting soap in my mouth at the hand of my well meaning mother. I thought it horrible punishment at the time. Now that I'm a mother and a Christ follower, I'm glad she did it... it means that she loved me deeply. She wanted to "clean up my act." And I'm sure it troubled her at many levels that she had to take this action with her only daughter. If she were alive today, I'd be giving her a call with this conviction on my heart seeking her forgiveness.

In today's verse of thanks, Paul is instructing the Ephesian believers how to conduct themselves as representatives of Christ. He teaches that unity, maturity and purity are our goals. That we must battle the fleshly desire to sin, partner with the Holy Spirit who gives us the power through Christ to have a new lifestyle, and to be always mindful of Christ's presence in us. He is specifically teaching that obscene or foolish language has no place coming out of a Christian's mouth.

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Ephesians 5:4

The off-color language that Paul is referring to is not limited to cursing and dirty jokes, but also the more common and overlooked gossip. In The Message this verse is written like this: "Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect." Foul language or talk about shameful things is so common that we begin to take it for granted. Paul cautions that vulgar speech should have no place in the Christian's conversation because it does not reflect God's gracious presence in us.

I love how Paul doesn't just tell us what not to do, but what we should do instead. He's such a good teacher. Thanksgiving is the answer to our struggle with letting the foolish talk escape our lips. By being grateful for all that God has given us, we can displace evil thoughts and words.

Having just studied the book of Revelation, giving thanks as an antidote to evil made me think of how thanksgiving and praise are continuous in our next life, our eternal life in heaven. If we get serious about taking the Holy Spirit up on His offer to help us use the power of Christ in our every day by giving thanks instead of speaking evil and destruction, we would be bringing a little heaven to earth each time.

Oh, can you just imagine the smile on our Heavenly Father's face that He doesn't have to put that soap in His children's mouths! It says in Ephesians 4:30 that we grieve the Holy Spirit of God when we let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths. We have the power through Jesus death to avoid grieving our Father and avoiding the "soap" of conviction simply by not saying what we shouldn't and saying what we should. Wow!

Being aware of my struggle with my words, and my desire to change, years ago a dear friend made a wall hanging for me as a gift, the prayer on it reads:

I want to be a woman with praise and affirmation on her lips.

It's my desire to have my children remember that I 

celebrate their accomplishments and applaud their efforts.

Help me to be a mother who reflects joy, peace, and serenity 

- instead of disapproval, irritation, and criticism.

Put a guard on my tongue.

Fill my mouth with tributes to You and to those I love.

What we say probably affects more people than any other action we take. Let us work hard to be children that please our Heavenly Father by giving Him thanks and avoiding the taste of evil mixed with soap in our mouths.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Getting to Know You

Often believers and unbelievers as well, will ask me to pray for them and their circumstances. It's an honor that I don't take lightly. But I've never before been asked to teach someone how to pray.

Recently I was asked exactly that by a sweet friend, "Can you teach me how to pray?" I am overwhelmingly honored by this request. It is the whipped cream (the real stuff) on top of the hot fudge sundae that the Lord has been blessing me with this year. Last year God prompted me to want to get to know Him better and to understand His holiness more. This year, it doesn't surprise me that His training program for me was to get to know Him more through the avenue of prayer.

Dr. James Dobson writes this about prayer in his devotional, Night Light;

He (Jesus) longs for fellowship with us. And when we kneel before Him and spend even a few minutes in prayer, we bring joy to Him. The apostle Paul said Jesus wants to hear your voice "continually" (1Thessalonians 5:17). But, when we let ourselves get caught up in the busyness of life and put off time for prayer, we become less sensitive to His voice and His leading in our lives. 

Relationships, whether human or divine, must be cultivated and maintained if they are to be vibrant and meaningful. Let's make sure we spend time every day with our loving Master.

Dear Lord, we seek a thriving prayer conversation with You. We need it - to know You better, to hear You more clearly, and to love each other more deeply. Teach us to pray. Amen

Speaking of the apostle Paul, in today's verse of thanks (and the surrounding verses), Paul is praying a beautiful prayer for the Ephesian believers:

"eversince I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Ephesians 1:16 (including v. 15 and 17 to complete the thought)

Paul writes these loving words to the churches in Ephesus from prison in Rome (he's in prison for preaching the gospel message). Paul is emphasizing the culmination of God's purpose to bring all things in the universe together under Christ ("to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" Eph 1:10). It is imperatively important that Christians grasp this, so in this prayer Paul prays for their understanding and their relationship with Christ Jesus.

Paul's prayer for the Ephesians was that they might really understand who Jesus is. Jesus is our goal and our model, and the more we know of Him, the more we will be like Him. Study Jesus' life in the Bible to see what He was like on earth 2,000 years ago, and get to know Him in prayer now. Personal knowledge of and personal relationship with Jesus Christ is life-changing. I can personally testify to that!

As I was pondering the gratitude that Paul has to God for his fellow believers in Ephesus and his deep, deep desire for them to really know Jesus personally, I thought of this little song that Julie Andrews sang when I was a child; Getting To Know You.

Getting to know you,

Getting to feel free and easy

When I am with you,

Getting to know what to say

Haven't you noticed

Suddenly I'm bright and breezy

Because of all the beautiful and new

Things I'm learning about you

Day by day

I'm pretty sure she wasn't singing this about being in prayer with Jesus, but it sure does describe the things that God is revealing about having this beautiful relationship building tool available to me 24/7 - no appointment needed.

My dear friend's asking for help with prayer allowed God to open the eyes of my heart (Eph 1:18) to understand more deeply that prayer is mostly about being with Him and getting to know Him. Paul is deeply touched by God's message and purpose being received whole-heartedly by the folks that he poured his life into in Ephesus. He continually gives thanks to God for this amazing transaction of hearts. I, too, am touched deeply and give thanks to God for the beautiful lives that He is changing as I and those around me are Getting to Know Him.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

THE Gift

Friends, I've missed our meeting here. God had other plans and places for the "seeds" He has given me to be sown recently. He most certainly blessed those efforts in the form of a celebration of identity and accomplishment and a lovely harvest of fruit! Our ministry had the great privilege to applaud the efforts of 32 women that committed 66 weeks over the course of 3 years to delve into the entire counsel of God's Word! That's right; we studied 1 book of the Bible a week for 66 weeks. Hard work and effort that was truly worth celebrating and each of us that partook are the ones that received the best gift, THE Gift.

In this post I'll be bringing Paul's teaching on the results of generous giving to a close with today's verse of thanks.

"And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. (v.14) Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

My last two posts started this momentum of praise to God for His generosity to the Corinthians that they in turn shared their abundance and confession of the gospel with their brothers. Here Paul is bringing them full circle back to the source of love and life - God - the giver of his indescribable gift.

God is the original giver; He selflessly gives Himself to us in the person of his Son, and all true Christian giving is our response of gratitude.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:9-12

God's indescribable gift - eternal life through His own Son, Jesus' life, death and resurrection - is the surpassing grace that is freely given to us. Whether or how we receive it and what we do with THE Gift will determine how effective our life on earth is and that will in turn be measured in praises back to God and our rewards in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

"Just as there is only one stamp of humanity, so there is only one stamp of holiness, the holiness of Jesus, and it is His holiness that is gifted to me. God puts the holiness of His Son into me, and I belong to a new order spiritually." ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Some receive THE Gift with immediate gratitude that overflows out onto others. One of the precious celebrated women in my study group is the "cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7) that God loves. When I asked if she would be willing to share her story about what God has been doing in her life through the study of His Word, she immediately replied by quoting "be prepared in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2b) and a "Yes!" Her testimony at our celebration was articulated beautifully in her day to day struggles and how God carries her through and answers her prayers. She also shared how difficult it is to fit studying God's Word into a busy life and the reason she has persevered through it. This sweet sister understands receiving and giving. God is glorified!

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

We have the hope of eternal life because God lavished us with His indescribable gift. When the revelation hits us that receiving this gift brings Jesus' holiness into us and we now possess an abundance to bless others with, holding back grieves the One who gave it. Give thanks to God for THE Gift and ask Him to give you the courage you need (like my sweet sister-in-Christ) to share it with others.

"Eternal life is not a gift from God, eternal life is THE gift of God." (emphasis mine) ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Ripple Effect

The world calls it a "random act of kindness," I call it the ripple effect. And I don't see it at all as random. God is love (1 John 4:16) and the giver of all good gifts (Romans 8:32, James 1:17). Being created in His image (Genesis 1:27), we are designed to love Him and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). God gives us the need to love Him and the desire to do good for our brothers and sisters in the world as an effect of that initial love (1 John 4:19).

In my years of ministry, I've seen it time and time again, where a woman is encouraged by what has been revealed to her in God's Word. She, in turn, is encouraged by another to share her story and that brings forth the "ripple effect" of others realizing that God is working in their lives in a similar way. Then they are encouraged to share their story and invest in the life of another. And another. And another. Who started this? God.

In today's verse of thanks, Paul continues to teach on sowing generously or being a "cheerful giver that God loves" (2 Corinthians 9:7). He points us to the ultimate wave of our obedience in following God's lead in casting the first pebble or sharing what He has given us in the first place.

"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." 2 Corinthians 9:12

Paul goes on to say in vs. 13, "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." The "ripple effect" of generous giving on the part of the Corinthians will extend beyond Jerusalem to the church as a whole, causing widespread prayer and praise to be offered to God. That's the ultimate goal of the ripple effect. God starts the ripple in the heart and circumstances of an individual, they obediently follow His will, His lead, and the ripples turn into waves of thanksgiving back to Him.

"It's sad that in a world of billions, people can still feel isolated and alone. Sometimes all it takes to brighten up someone's day is a smile or kind word, or the generous actions of a complete stranger. Small things, the tiny details, these are the things that matter in life - the little glint in the eye, curve of a lip, nod of a head, wave of a hand - such minuscule movements have huge ripple effects." - Shaun Hick

Wouldn't it be a great thing to know that by your obedient work for the Lord a multitude of praises go back up to Him in the heavenlies? He knows full well where the ripples started on earth - He will surly credit this to your account that is eternally secure (Matthew 6:20)!

Show your thanks to God for His goodness in your life by sharing it with others, and watch as the ripple effect turns into a wave of praise to God!

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b