Cure For Anxiety

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

Have you ever seen a meteor shower?  They can be quite impressive.  The photo is of a meteor shower over Mt. Rainier. 

But what does a meteor shower, regardless how awesome, have to do with rejoicing in the Lord? I pose the following for your consideration: Have you ever been bombarded by the meteor shower of "What If"? 

•  What if I lose my job?
•  What if my spouse decides to leave me?
•  What if we can't make our bills this month?
•  What if I say the wrong thing?
•  What if I don't get the promotion?
•  What if?  What if? What if? What if? WHAT IF?

We waste a LOT of time and energy trying to dodge the meteors instead of trusting God to deal with our situations.  We expend countless hours of our lives and enormous amounts of money trying to find peace, calm, and woosah. We tend for forget that God loves His children and oversees everything!

Look at today's verse, in it we can find resolution to anxieties and worries. Permit me lay this out for better understanding.  The verb tense in "Rejoice in the Lord always" literally means "continuously rejoice." Make a habit. Make it sincere, Rejoice that God woke you up this morning. Rejoice that you have clothes to wear and food to eat. Rejoice that you can see the wonders God puts in front of our noses. Rejoice in the sounds we can enjoy. Rejoice in the Lord for everything He is and has given us!  And if the "continuously" part wasn't sufficient, Paul adds "ALWAYS" at the end. 

And if THAT weren't sufficient...Paul adds, "AGAIN I say, rejoice!"  Here's a secret you might want to write down, God's still teaching this to me: You cannot have a heart that is so grateful that you rejoice unless you clear away the clutter of worry and anxiety and put them where they belong...at the foot of the Cross!  Lighten you load! Lift up your head! Rejoice in the Lord!

How Will You Start Your Day?

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 

 

I will confess, I am not the brightest bulb in the lamp and first thing in the morning my bulb takes a long time to even glow.  But this changed several days ago.  Ever so often, I get a craving to add a packet of hot chocolate mix to at cup of coffee (don't ask).  On this particular morning, I blindly grabbed a packet, poured it into my coffee, and went to the sofa to share the morning with Woody.  It was upon my first sip of this concoction that I realized that the packet I had poured blindly into my coffee was actually Taco Seasoning.  That's when I got the feeling that it was going to be one of "those" days.

 

How did you start your day?  If you're like me, you cringed when the alarm went off and then stumbled sleepily to the coffee maker, then toddle of the the bathroom to begin the ritual cleaning.  I am NOT a morning person!  But I'm learning.  Over the past year, I tend to get up before the alarm, get coffee and sit on the couch to scratch Woody's tummy while I have quiet time.

 

It was during this quiet time that today's verse slapped me in the face.  Let's contemplate this for a minute.   Notice which day is mentioned as being the day God has made.  TODAY!  Yesterday has gone, it's already in the books, can't be changed!  But God has given us TODAY!  Tomorrow is not here yet, nor is it promised, but TODAY is the day God has made!

 

Consider how much time and energy we waste dragging our yesterdays around with us.  Some of us cannot even see today because we are stuck in yesterdays.  And yet God made THIS DAY for us to enjoy and share.  AND remember this as well, because God created today, He is with us throughout this day.  Why?  Because He loves us and has promised to never leave us or turn His back on us.

 

If that's not a good enough reason to rejoice, then perhaps a heart check would be in order. 

Change of Focus

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 

 

We don't like change.  Because that means we will have to change our routine.  And our routine is our comfort zone, we can go through our routine without thinking.  Yet God gave us a brain in order that we may think.  So you can begin to see the vicious circular pattern here.  And when we get stuck in that cycle of just muddling through, we become irritable, cranky, frustrated about everything and everyone, we become negative people because changing our negative view of the world and its inhabitants means......(dun, dun, dahhhh) CHANGE!

 

Now, refill your coffee and brace yourself.  I challenge each and every one of you to make a positive change in your perspective!  Consider this:  God made today.  He didn't have to, but he chose to.  You get to be part of this day. because God loves you enough that He wants you to share in today.  He didn't have to, but He did.  So.....if you still want to be crabby, irritated, hateful, and just cranky about life and everyone in it, you have just taken God's gift to you, stomped on it, and have thrown it back in His face! 

 

TODAY is the day the Lord has made for us!  Yesterday is NOT today!  Tomorrow is NOT today!  Only TODAY is today!  Celebrate and thank God for TODAY! 

Today Is THE Day!

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 

 If you are reading this, then welcome to TODAY!  You see, TODAY is THE day!  What day?  THE Day that you get to decide to make it worth remembering or just another day to endure.  Today is THE DAY you will never get to see again or live through again.  Today is THE DAY that God has made specifically for you!  This is His gift to you!  

Yesterday...we can never change anything that has already happened.  EVER!  

Tomorrow....we haven't gotten there yet, so we can only plan possibilities.

BUT TODAY IS THE DAY we live in now!  TODAY IS THE DAY which we are adding to our legacy!  TODAY IS THE DAY that God has given you and me!  Let's make it a day of rejoicing in spite of our circumstances!  Let's make it a day of celebrating the victories!  Let make it a day that God will be thankful He gave us!

TODAY is the day God has made...just for you!