Anxiety and our Minds

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV: 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 hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes we need the reminder that there is nothing worth being anxious about. Even those Christians who have been on the road for a long time would do well to remind themselves of these verses. There is no situation that would not benefit from God’s intervention brought about by our thankful prayers and requests. All change starts by a heartfelt prayer from a full hearted believer.

Can you or I understand the power of prayer? Of course not. Absolutely not! Bear in mind that we must use our hearts and minds, but that God will guard our hearts and minds, IN CHRIST JESUS. Our prayers are shallow unless we invoke Jesus Christ in our words.

Verse 8 finishes this way: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Do we conveniently forget verse 8? The thoughts in our minds are invisible to others, and we can even think rubbish while telling others that we are turning over good things in our heads. Are you guilty of this hypocrisy? It’s personal, so the question becomes, “Am I guilty of looking good while thinking evil?” Paul makes his conclusion clear. Our thinking must be true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. We started out trying not to be anxious, but it is only by filling our minds with these good thoughts that it becomes possible.

As a final thought: I was part of a discussion when these verses were quoted, and we all agreed that this is also a prayer which should trip off our tongues easily, and every day.

Joy

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John15:11NIV

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah8:10NIV

A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good. John10:10NIV

The type of joy that comes from the peace that only God can give is ours as faithful servants. The Bible is full of references to the uplifting joy of the Lord, and we do well to remember this. The theme runs through the old and new testaments, so it is an important word for us to hear and obey.

There are those outside the family of God who want to rob you of this happiness, and we must not allow them to get a foothold. It would be a thief who would want to rob us of our positive outlook on life, and sadly there are thieves in the church too. Instead of emphasising and concentrating on the joy that salvation brings, they would want to point to the ‘prophets of doom’ which they see as more important than the joy itself.

You know the type. So and so is a false prophet, and a teacher from the devil, parading as a christian. Beware of him or her, they will lead you astray. They are dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. Disguised as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they appear in such a way that you wouldn’t know you are being taken in. But it’s ok they say, I am here to keep you right, because I know who the good guys are and the bad ones too. Listen to me and I will keep you right because I have seen the evidence on the internet, based on the truth of the Scripture of course. If anything will rob your joy, it is this kind of thief.

When the authorities are training to spot a counterfeit, they check the genuine article over and over again until they know it completely. They do not round up every false copy and scrutinise them one by one. There are too many, so they concentrate their attention on the original, only and always. What a lesson. Maybe we should take less time to look for the fakes, and only and always scrutinise Jesus Christ the original. That way, our joy will never be in danger of being diminished or even stolen!

Anxious?

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:18,19

Thankfully, anxiety isn’t the end game for us. We have the assurance in God that our sorrow can turn to joy as it is recorded for us in John 16:20 when Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise, and from the lips of Jesus no less!

It’s a short step from anxiety to worry or even depression, but I think that other short step to joy is preferable. Joy is that deep, inner, settled peace and not a happy clappy cheery fixed smile condition when our life is in turmoil. Yes, we all get anxious about so many things, but with the Lord as our helper, it doesn’t need to slip backwards into worry. No, we can have joy instead when we place our faith and trust where we know it needs to be, with our Saviour who faced the cross to give us abundant life, as He told us in John chapter 10 and verse 10 where He assures us: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The Moaners

To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3 TLB

Now and again I come across a moaning Christian. Hold on there, that’s not right. The words ‘moaning’ and ‘Christian’ don’t go together and shouldn’t be used in the same phrase. It’s an oxymoron to give it the correct title. But there you have it. Sadly, it’s usually older folks who have been on the way for a while, but somewhere they seem to have lost their joy.

These are invisible Christians, at least to themselves. They are oblivious to their sad condition which everyone else can so easily see, but who will tell them? I won’t or can’t because I respect them and their life lived for Christ. Also because there may be an underlying, and as yet undiagnosed medical condition which we know nothing of…. yet. So tread carefully and resist the temptation to fire a broadside that you may later regret. True joy goes much deeper than the facial muscles and the occasional gripe, and that same joy is their, and your, strength.

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah 8:10 NLT

Happy

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:3-12

Jesus says ‘Blessed’ nine times in as many verses, so should we not take note? Firstly the word ‘blessed’ also means ‘happy’. I don’t know about you, but there are some things in these verses which any of us would find hard to be happy about, but that’s the command straight from the lips of the Master, the author of our faith.

You will have been in the company of some positive, and happy people at some time and it is impossible to come away sad or discouraged. The happiness is contagious and their smile spreads to your lips and eyes without you even noticing. You can’t help it. The best thing you can do is to pass that happiness on when you meet the next person. The message I get from these verses is that your circumstances should not be bigger than your ability to be positive and be happy, or know you are blessed! Is that hard to do?

What about the opposite situation then? How do you feel when you share some time in the company of someone who runs everybody and everything down? Someone who hasn’t a kind or good word to say about anything, and who has a face like a ‘Lurgan Spade’ as my dad used to say. For those who don’t know, a Lurgan Spade is a long, thin spade for digging deep but narrow furrows. Get the picture? I guarantee you can’t get away soon enough, and when you do come away you feel depressed, unhappy and saddened. You don’t need that, so you make sure you avoid contact with that person as much as you can. Not easy if that person is family!

What do you want people to think of you as you are in their company? Yes, it makes a big difference when you are ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’ as Jesus wants and asks. It is no coincidence that the best witnesses for the kingdom are those who shine the happiness of salvation, and your friends or family will not be trying to avoid you either. How good is that? You get to witness and enjoy their company often, and that makes us blessed indeed.

Wealth and Happiness - A Study

A report has been issued which says that the wealthier we get as a nation, the more miserable we become! It took a university research team to come up with this finding, after a lot of study, and money was thrown at the project.


Anyone with some common sense could have seen this outcome. You only have to look at the lives, and in some cases deaths, of the celebrity group. The so called stars of our entertainment industry, sports personalities, TV and movie queens and kings of this age and years past are easily seen and remembered. You, like me, will remember some of those very wealthy people who were very sad, and in some cases, took their own lives as a result of their loneliness! Names do not need to be listed.


Wealth and money is not a crime, or indeed the problem in itself, but when it takes over our lives, and becomes a LOVE, it is a monster. There are many men and women in our nation who struggle to manage their finances to support their growing families through difficult times, but these same people would not normally be described as 'depressed' or suicidal, because the rewards far outweigh any difficulty they face. 


The 'ordinary' person can always do with more money to help them, but this study didn't focus on them, but the 'wealthy'. These are the ones who, with increasing money, correspondingly have decreasing happiness. There is more than one kind of wealth, and I know lots of people who have that! Wealth of a loving family, good friends, and people who love them in return. There is no greater wealth in the world, and that kind of wealth does not create sadness. On the contrary, these are the happiest people I know! 


Where should we put our treasure? Into the bank, or invested in the lives of others? For me, there is no contest!