Does Anxiety Mean that I am a bad Christian?

Do you know that feeling of anxiousness that creeps up when life’s challenges start piling up? There are seasons (days, weeks, maybe months) when it feels like all of our resources are used up, when demands are many; some big, some just the regular stuff of daily existence.  When my life gets like that sometimes I awaken at 2 am and stare at the ceiling, my head full of worry and concern about it all. I wonder if my faith were greater, if my prayer life was deeper, if  … would I wrestle with this kind of concern or would I be able to let it go?   From many conversations with others over the years, I know that getting anxious and/or feeling overwhelmed is normal. But, again, does this indicate a lesser spirituality?

Here is an amazing revelation!   

Jesus grew troubled, too. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” (John 12:27-28, NIV)  He was approaching the time of His great work, dying on the Cross, making the sacrifice for the sins of the world, opening the way to reconciliation with the Father for us.  And, there it is – He was experiencing anxiety.  Where we read ‘troubled’ John uses a word in the original text that indicates strong feelings of fear and dread, about loss of inner peace! Yes, I know that nothing I face remotely compares to what Jesus was about face and yet I am comforted that He, too, felt the weight of life and responded with something less than serenity!

He was not at all confused about His mission or calling. Prior to speaking about his inner tempest, He told the disciples - “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:23-24, NIV)  Even with such clarity, He wrestled with the will of God.  He does not beg to be ‘saved from this hour,’ released from the call, the hardship made less difficult.  He interjects a prayer that His Father’s Name would be made even more wonderful in His faithfulness.

Today, stop beating yourself up for feeling afraid, overwhelmed, or weak. Instead, follow the Master and choose obedient submission, humbly allowing the Lord to work His will in your life. Whatever your challenges, instead of begging for a more level pathway, pray for His power to be unquestionably evident in you as you remain hopeful and steady in Him. Paul who also knew feelings of inadequacy was inspired to tell us that God whispered this word of faith into his heart in the hardship. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

If you are anxious, remember this word from the Word. "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NLT)  

Instead of trying to minimize your challenges, choose rather to maximize your faith.  There is a gift of strength to be found in Him.

_________________

Fear Is A Liar

(listen to this Zack Williams song at this link)

When he told you you’re not good enough

When he told you you’re not right

When he told you you’re not strong enough

To put up a good fight

When he told you you’re not worthy

When he told you you’re not loved

When he told you you’re not beautiful

That you’ll never be enough

Fear he is a liar

He will take your breath stop you in your steps

Fear he is a liar

He will rob your rest steal your happiness

Cast your fear in the fire

'Cause fear he is a liar

When he told you were troubled

You’ll forever be alone

When he told you you should run away

You’ll never find a home

When he told you you were dirty

And you should be ashamed

When he told you you could be the one

That grace could never change

Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears

Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears

Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

'Cause fear he is a liar

Jason Ingram | Jonathan Smith | Zach Williams

© Anthems of Hope (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055

Are you a radical?

  There are those with whom there is no possibility of a discussion about politics because they are ‘’all in” in their dedication to a singular point of view. There is only one way to think and anyone who does not share their view is flat wrong, end of story.  There are sports fanatics whose dedication to a team extends all year long.  They show something like worship for the star players of their favored club!  The list of causes to which people commit themselves and their resources is a long one.  

We have all experienced dealing with someone who is radically committed to something or someone.

I admire those who are radically committed to Jesus!  No, not that kooky, spooky weird religious person who spouts Bible verses constantly, or who feels the need to interject something about “Jesus” into every conversation. The radical Christians who find my admiration are those whose love for the Lord goes deep, who live selflessly and lovingly, who are steady in faith – in all seasons.  Hyper-religiosity is not to be confused with radical devotion.  The former flows out of Self, is worked up and often sustained by emotionalism. The latter is evidence of an intimate conversation with the Spirit, rooted in an inner transformation produced by daily obedience to Jesus’ invitation to ‘Come, follow Me!’

Mary of Bethany was a radical lover of Jesus. In Luke 10, we meet her learning from Jesus, quietly listening to Him, “sitting at His feet.”  Her sister, Martha, in that famous scene, explodes in frustration, wondering why Jesus does not tell Mary to get up and help prepare the meal. Jesus gently reminds her that Mary has “chosen better!”  What a correction. Martha loved Jesus, too. But, she confused her own needs to do, to be, to work with true devotion. The result was anger. It can happen to us, Christian. When our ‘devotion’ gets mixed up with Self, we will get frustrated when people do not march to our cadence. We will begin to blame, accuse, and wonder why everyone is not as committed as we are. That kind of ‘devotion’ is too often the norm and drives people from knowing Christ because it is not really about Jesus; it is about us;  our agenda, our ego.

We meet Mary in John 12, once again in a place of radical devotion. After restored her brother, Lazarus, to life, Jesus and the disciples came to the house for dinner. The familiar roles play out again. Martha is serving and then Mary comes in the picture. This time the quiet woman breaks all convention, her commitment causing her to break society’s rules. She goes into the room where the men are eating, goes to Jesus’ place. John, who witnessed it, says  "Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." (John 12:3, NIV)  There was no mistaking her love for Jesus!  She did not preach, scold, or nag. She just loved and that last phrase sticks with me today …  “the house was filled with the fragrance.”

Paul says that when we truly love Jesus, our way of life will be a fragrance in the world. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." (2 Corinthians 2:15-16, NIV)  Are you so close to Jesus that you ‘smell’ like Him?  Do the people that you live with become consciously aware, not of you, but of Him when you are around?  It is question worth pondering!

Mary’s radical devotion was costly.
The box of fragrant oil she opened that night was worth the annual wages of a laborer! Imagine that. Did she ask for recognition for her extravagance? No, she just gave it.  If we are radical disciples, we will just give our love to Him. We won’t be looking around for an award. We will not care if we serve one or a million.

Her gift was criticized.
If you and I are radically committed to Christ Jesus, if we give our best, not everyone will see it in a positive light. There will be critics. Interestingly, it was one of Jesus’ own disciples who raised the objection.  “What a waste! She could have sold it and gave the money to the poor.” Judas missed the point. She was not doing something religious, calculating maximum benefit for the most people – She was loving the One who had given her brother life, the Savior who opened the Way to Eternal Life for her, too. 

Hear Jesus’ invitation to be radically devoted. Let the Spirit work in you and learn to love Him – with obedience, in a costly way, that ignores the critics. When we live in this way, He is lifted up and promises that others will be drawn to His amazing love and life. 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

________________

O God of such truth as sweeps away all lies,
of such grace as shrivels all excuses,
come now to find us
for we have lost ourselves
in a shuffle of disguises
and in the rattle of empty words.

Let your Spirit move mercifully
To recreate us from the chaos of our lives.

We have been careless of our days,
our loves, our gifts, our chances…

Our prayer is to change, O God,
not out of despair of self but for love of You,
and the selves we long to become
before we simply waste away.

Let Your mercy move in and through us now. Amen

copied - by Ted Loder

Wild Winds and the Spirit to guide!

The sun was shining when I left my church office to go to visit with an ill person. When I went into his home, it was beautiful outside.  Minutes later, we were rocked by a wild storm. I left for home in wind and driving rain.  I found the roadway blocked with a fallen tree.  What should have been a 15 minute drive turned into over an hour long adventure on back roads, finding no less than 6 roads blocked by trees, downed wires, and poles. Without my phone and GPS technology I think I might still be trying to get home!  

Yesterday was a metaphor for life! One day everything is great, the next we are in crisis.  However … if we are walking with Jesus, there is a Guide, the ever present Holy Spirit.  Even then there will be times when we grow anxious, when our thoughts tumble and we wonder – “How, what, where, when?” … a hundred questions screaming for answers, the Tempter whispering that He has forgotten us.

When laid down to sleep last night another storm blew through my life, this one emotional and spiritual.  My mind revisited the room of that sick man, who is near the end of this life. His frail body, the constant hum of his oxygen machine, the hospital bed in his living room, the table full of prescription bottles; it all stirred up too many painfully vivid memories for me. At 10 pm, there in the darkness of my own bedroom, fear of the future crept in.  Would I someday be in that state? How could I endure it?  In faith, I reached out to the Father, asking that He would silence those questions that borrowed from an unknown future. And, just as my GPS guided me through the afternoon’s storms to home, I found the Spirit leading me to peace and rest.

This morning, I want to encourage YOU in two ways.

First, walk with the Lord faithfully while the sun shines!

The spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, Scripture intake, meditation, and service open up pathways in our soul that allows the Spirit of God to work in us. When things are going great, we may be tempted to ignore those important choices.  We must not wait for the arrival of a crisis and only then to cry out to the Lord!

Second, stay steady in faith, sure that He is ‘a present Help in times of distress!’

Faith does not eliminate every storm. It makes a way through the storm and leads us, ultimately, to Home.

Here is a word from the Psalm, a prayer of David when he was in a stormy time of life. Let the inspired Word take root and bring hope.

"Listen, God, to my prayer! Don’t reject my request. Please listen and help me.
My thoughts are troubled, and I keep groaning because my loud enemies shout and attack.
They treat me terribly and hold angry grudges.
My heart is racing fast, and I am afraid of dying.
I am trembling with fear, completely terrified.
I wish I had wings like a dove, so I could fly far away and be at peace." (Psalm 55:1-6, CEV)

"I ask for your help, Lord God, and you will keep me safe.
Morning, noon, and night you hear my concerns and my complaints.

I am attacked from all sides, but you will rescue me unharmed by the battle.
You have always ruled, and you will hear me.
You will defeat my enemies because they won’t turn and worship you." (Psalm 55:16-19, CEV)

Amen!