TURNING ANXIETY TO PEACE,

Via Philippians 4.6-8

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.  Finally, … whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy—think about such things.

       V 6—Whenever I am anxious,

                Therefore Afraid, Angry, Bitter Harsh…

       V 7—I can Pray for Peace—

                Peace of Mind, Thoughts, Feelings, 

                   “Still waters and Green Pastures.”

V 8—After I ask for Peace, I can Think About—

              (Set my Mind and Focus, Seek, Meditate)

       things that are

              True, Noble, Right, Pure, Love

              Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy.

Take a moment to identify an issue that causes Anxiety.

          Ask yourself, in your mind’s eye,

“Why am I anxious?  What am I anxious about?”

          God will tell you.

Stay still, pause a moment longer, and see if there is another issue.

        And another, and another, and … another…

Until you seem to have found the most important, bottom line cause of Anxiety.

When you have “hit bottom,” turn your mind to one of “these things” in v 8.

          Select one and focus on that one ("True,"...) thing for “Peace,”

 just like you did on “Anxiety.”

Something for Peace will come to your mind.

         Continue to focus and other things will come to mind.

Continue to focus on Peace until you come to the most important, bottom line thing that brings you Peace.

Continue your meditation morning and evening 

                 (reviewing noon, 5-7 times a day), 

         until your Peace is well-established.

Once you have learned to establish Peace in your heart, you can enter this place of calm, quiet assurance of grace and goodness from the Love and Faithfulness of God, the rest of your life.

                                                                                                                                                    MANY SUFFER FROM A CRUSHED SPIRIT

             The human spirit can endure in sickness,

                        but a crushed spirit who can bear?

Proverbs 18.14 

HERE IS OUR ANSWER. 

DO AND SAY

SOMETHING

GOOD AND RIGHT.

The Kingdom of God is …

righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

                                                       Romans 14.7

Do and say something good and right to and for anyone you meet and especially to all your relationships.

If you do or say anything good in Jesus Name, in obedience to the will and way of God, because He wants you to, you will experience instant peace and joy.

The primary elements of love, for even an enemy, 

     is saying and doing something good.

  I say, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”                                                             Luke .27-28

If doing and saying (blessing) something good for enemies is difficult, how much more should we work at good for all others?

A moment’s reflection (“waiting on the Lord”) will immediately

give us something we can say or do.

Reading Proverbs looking for something right and good for others for God will give us more and more significant things we can say and do.

Proverbs will give us good to say and do and bad to eliminate at the same time.

        Doing and saying right and good is always helpful to you and the recipient of your encouraging, comforting words and actions.

Now:

Do not be afraid (of what might happen).

Do not be discouraged (by what has happened).

Meditate in the Law of the Lord day and night,

So that you will be prosperous and successful.

Have not I commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid.

Do not be discouraged,

for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

                                                                        Joshua 1.7-9

                                                                                                                                                           

Past events and future possibilities, singly or cumulatively, crush our spirit and we live under the condemnation of these memories and fears for years.

Negative past events and the memories, and the thoughts that torment us in the present moment, as the basis for all the fears we have about what might happen next and in the future.

If I have suffered in the past and think “suffering” in the present, I will instinctively think and fear suffering and failure in the future.

The past was real, but it is history.

This present moment can be different.

This present moment that we now in which we decide to live by faith in God expressed in doing and saying something good to the next person we see and meet, and the one who comes to our mind for later—

in this moment our discouragement and fear

(Depression?  Anger? Stress?  Tiredness?)

lose their power in and over us.

At this very same moment, peace and joyful anticipation move into our heart, soul, mind, and body, which is what Jesus promised if we choose to Love others.

This is the promised result of obeying "the Great Commandment” right now.

Move and do or say something for another—

right now.

       

Begin to do this daily, one by one, day by day.

Begin doing the one you recognize right now as a new start.

       Write it on a card and review and revise the card daily.

Build up a card file with weekly additions from the “Put On” verses of Colossians 3.12-14 and /or James 3.13-18.

A Resurrection of Sorts

Hello to any who read this with me--
Thanks to special prayer and extra grace, I have decided to resurrect my blog notes.
In these "last days" of mine, I want to write some notes about "Life with God in the Days of Or Life."

Leszek Kolakowski asked, "Why is there Something rather than Nothing?"

I ask, "What is this Something?"

God answers. "This Something is a Man that I am mindful of."

"What is a Man?"

"A Man is the supreme creation of God."

How can that be?

It often seems that a man is the most miserable, wretched life form on earth.

One of the unique potentials of Man is his capacity to be the greatest or the worst of all life forms.

The unique greatness of the Creator is His capacity and desire to save, transform, and restore the worst Man to join the best of every Man.

How can this happen?

God.

Our Creator.

He created everything.

Everything was and is in His mind.

He brought all His thoughts into real life existence.

He created the Something when there was Nothing.

We, Man, Mankind, are part of this creation.

He knew what He was doing.

He knows what He has done.

He knows what is happening it.

He watches all things, at all times.

He creates me. He watches me.

He has influences what I am doing.

BUT.....!!

Part of His creating plan includes my being able to agree to and submit to His judgment and influence for my choices.

Somehow, His "sovereignty," power, purposes, still allow for my willingness to follow His creative purposes for my existence.

He has created me, and each of us, for a good purpose, but left a bad choice available to us.

We are given plenty of influence for the good, but we can choose the bad and reap the bad consequences.

And here is the next amazing reality--

If I make a wrong choice, I can change that choice back into the good that I forfeit if I obstinately continue in my selfish disregard for my Creator's plan and purpose and way to eternal happiness.

How does this happen?  To be continued..I hope.