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A few weeks ago, I wrote this post on worry and my struggles with it. After it posted, I received a considerable amount of feedback - making it one of the most-read posts to date. Among the responses, I received an email from my former youth pastor's wife relating to my struggle and suggesting this helpful book.
Holy. Moly.
Talk about a life-changer! As I've been reading through this book, I have become more and more convinced that the author must have a unique insight to my soul or something. (or maybe God knew that this was precisely what I needed to hear) Every single word addresses my frustrations, fears, and concerns.
Last night, I tossed and turned fitfully, praying for sleep to come. It didn't. So, I got up, grabbed the book, and - despite the dim light of my bedside lamp - I read.
Chapter 4 was - verbatim - what I had been wrestling with... and for all of you who responded, telling me that you struggle with the same thing, I thought I'd share a brief snippet of the wonders of this truth.
It all seems so easy: Stop, Refocus, and Practice.
In the moment that you find yourself in that tailspin of worry, Stop. Put your proverbial pencil down. Go no further. Get a grip. As the author so perfectly puts it, "You do NOT have to continue down the path controlled by emotions. After Christ saves us, we are no longer slaves to sin. We do not have to obey fear and anxiety as if they were our masters." Sucker-punched. In the gut.
Once we have (by the grace of God) put a stop to the tailspin of emotion, we must refocus ourselves: reminding ourselves of the Truth that we know of God's faithfulness. "Instead of envisioning the problem at hand (and the problems that could follow), we envision for a moment our God, beautiful in heaven, well aware of our needs, and powerfully able to provide for them. Instead of thinking through our options to fix our problem on our own, we meditate on God's supernatural ability to work out our problems in ways we cannot begin to imagine." [Alsup 53]
And then, we must practice. Nothing worth having comes easily, for the most part. I have learned am learning, daily, that this is NOT a once-and-done/fix-it-all method. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes daily surrender. It takes constant effort to live out 2 Corinthians 10:25, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." It takes self-control and discipline that only come from Him.
Today, I am praising the Lord for His faithfulness to provide an answer in an unexpected way. I am praising the Lord for His faithfulness to pursue my heart despite my disobedience. Today, I am praising the Lord that He is always at work to conform me to the likeness of His Son, for the glory of His Great Name.
I am a broken pot, in need of redemption. Praise the One who redeems.
PS - After reading back through this post, it makes very little sense. So, congratulations for reading the whole thing. Also, buy the book. It is SO good so far.
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Makes sense to me! If you haven't started reading Wendy's blog, it's a MUST! theologyforwomen.org - SO GOOD!
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