As I began settling in on my annual retreat, I slowly started the process of withdrawal from the busyness of my life to the peace, silence, and tranquility of this spiritual place. Here, I will completely turn myself over to the Lord, hoping and praying that I will be spiritually refreshed and renewed. Read More
For the past several weeks, I have been under an overwhelming amount of stress. Most of this was work-related: working long hours with short deadlines. Throw in several church-related activities and tasks on top of that, and I was running on non-stop overdrive.
In the midst of all of this, we had a family emergency at the hospital. Upon driving to the hospital one day, I noticed that I was having difficulty breathing and felt some odd pains in my chest that I had never felt before. I thought that I was having a heart attack. I immediately broke into prayer asking God to help calm me down. At that very moment, a song came on the radio – and I heard these lyrics:
Every anxious thought that steals my breath,
It’s a heavy weight upon my chest.
As I lie awake and wonder what the future will hold,
Help me to remember that You’re in control.
You’re my courage when I worry in the dead of night.
You’re my strength ’cause I’m not strong enough to win this fight.
You are greater than the battle raging in my mind;
I will trust You, Lord, I will fear no more.
As soon as these words touched my ears, I felt the power of God within me and I began to realize that I could not handle all of this weight on my own. I suddenly felt a calmness come over me and began to breathe normal again.
In our first reading, Queen Esther, filled with anguish, breaks into prayer and realizes that there is no one else who can provide her with the help she needs other than her Lord and Savior.
Every now and then, you and I need a little reminder that we need to turn to God for help. We cannot handle our stress alone but need to rely on the one who can help us carry our load.
During this Lenten season, let us get into the habit of turning to our Father in prayer. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Lord, turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness. Praise be to God, now and forever. Amen.
More than 19 million Americans have this, and it causes difficulty in some area of their lives. What is it? It’s a phobia. A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense of dread or panic when you encounter the source of your fear, whether it is of a certain place, situation, or object. Unlike general anxiety disorders, a phobia is usually connected to something specific. Here are a few of the most common phobias:
There is an old proverb that goes something like this:
Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things will be yours.
Notice, “Fear less” is at the top of that list of what needs to be done if all good things are to be ours. Moreover, “Fear less” was high on Jesus’ list of things you need to do in order to experience wholeness of life.
Jesus wants you to know beyond all doubt that you and I are important to God; that God wants to be in a relationship with us. You may turn on the busy signal if you wish, but God never will do that. We can always count on God’s constant care for us.
Each one of us is called to go out and serve those in need, the most vulnerable in our society – and that can be scary. We are often afraid to speak the truth, to stand up for what is right, or afraid of those who might try to hurt us. We might be afraid to try new things, or meet new people who are different than us. But Jesus promises us that God is in control: “Not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” Jesus reassures us of the value that God places on us. You and I are worth more than many sparrows; and we are also precious in God’s sight. With God by our side, we have nothing to fear.
A successful young executive was driving his brand new Jaguar down a neighborhood street when he noticed a kid darting out from between parked cars. As he slowed down, a brick smashed into his car’s door. He slammed on the brakes and drove back to the place where the brick has been thrown.
The furious man jumped out of his car and began shouting at the kid, “What the heck did you do to my car? Why did you do it?” The young boy was little scared, but was very polite and apologetic. “I am sorry Mister. I didn’t know what else to do. I had to throw the brick because no one else would stop to help.” With tears rolling down his cheeks, he said, “It’s my brother. He rolled off the curb and fell off his wheelchair. He is hurt and he is too heavy for me. Would you please help me lift him back into his wheelchair?”
The young man was moved beyond words and tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the other kid from the spot and put him back in the wheelchair. He also helped him with his cuts and bruises.
When he thought that everything would be ok, he went back to his car. “Thank you, sir, and God bless you,” said the grateful kid. The young man was too shaken up to say anything, so he simply watched the little boy push the wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk.
It was a long and slow ride back home for the man. When he got out of the car, he looked at his dented car door. The damage was very noticeable, but he didn’t bother to repair it. He kept the dent to remind him of a deeper message: Do not go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.
Each and every day, God whispers to our souls and speaks to our hearts. But most of the time, we do not listen to it because we are too consumed with the noise of our own needs, wants and desires.
My sisters and brothers, the Lord is always speaking to us. Therefore, we have a choice to make: do we listen for the gentle whisper or do we wait for the brick?
I thought that I’d share an entry from my personal journal dated September 21, 2007. I hope you find this to be helpful if you struggle with worrying.
Yesterday morning, I experienced one of those “God Moments” on my way to work. The day before, I had been hearing some nasty rumors of major layoffs coming in October at our office location. It sounded like it was going to be one of those bad ones with a large number of people being let go. So naturally, I began worrying. With me being the “new guy” in the group (being a part of this team for only a few short months), I figured that I would surely be the first one to go.
My sleep was restless that night; and from about 4 am on, I was wide awake with worry thinking about potential job loss. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally decided to get up and get on with my day. On my commute to work, I was praying to God about calming my mind. I prayed that I find the strength to trust in the Lord at all times and not worry about things that are out of my control, for God will take care of me and guide me – as He always does!
As I am driving, I passed a church on my route that had a sign out front. It read: “Don’t Worry – It May Not Happen.” It was like getting hit in the head with a brick. God was giving me a sign (literally). A feeling of calm suddenly enveloped me, and I finally felt at ease. (And when October came, I was still employed.)
May I continue to praise God for being the light in my life and for reminding me that all will be fine if I can only trust in Him who gives me life. Worry about nothing – Pray about everything. That’s good advice for all of us!
There I was, starting off my Friday morning by going to the fitness center for a good workout. Although, something just didn’t feel right with me…
As I was working up a sweat, I began feeling some intense pain radiating between my front, side, and back. I decided that it would be wise to stop exercising. I also thought that it was unwise to drive home with this shooting pain, but I did it anyway. Read More
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