Have you ever been listening to someone and had a light bulb moment? I had one the other day. I've been letting it roll around in my head to really let it soak in.
I was listening to Mark Driscoll talk about the prosperity gospel and how off base it is. I couldn't agree more - nowhere in MY Bible does it say the Christian life promises wealth, health and no troubles. In fact, the original 12 disciples' lives pretty much shoots that theory to pieces!
What caught my attention though was when Pastor Driscoll said that Jesus had anxiety. I thought, "No way! Jesus could NOT have been anxious." But He did sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. The thing was, whatever He was feeling at that moment did not keep Him from obedience to His Father.
As most of you know who read my blog, I tend to be a worrier and a fretter. It's a habit I'm trying to break. The irony, of course, is that my life verses are Phil 4:6, 7. You know, the verses that say, "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
I guess I kind of thought that meant, if I was really in tune with God, I'd never feel anxious. Which, now that I think about it, is kind of silly. That's like saying just because the Bible says to "be angry and sin not," means that you won't ever be angry.
Feelings are real. They are a gift from God. I mean, the gift of fear let's us know that walking down that dark alley alone in the bad part of town might not be the best idea.
However, it's when I let those feelings rule me that I get into trouble. And yes, I realize that the closer I get to God, the more my mind is transformed to the mind of Christ, and the result of that is my feelings will align more and more with Him. I don't know about you, but I'm not quite there yet, and I was feeling very guilty that I still had anxious moments. I worried about being worried, if you can believe that! lol I worried about what worry said about my faith.
Feelings are real, but they aren't always true. I can't trust them exclusively to help me make decisions and see things clearly.
However, when I feel anxious or worried, I have a choice - just like I have a choice when I get angry. I can choose to take every anxiety and worry to Christ. God promises us peace if we do that.
In Phil. 4:8 it says what I should dwell on instead of the things I'm anxious about or my worries. "Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
Anxiety and worry only win when I choose to dwell on them, to allow them to grow in my mind until they are huge. When I choose to take my thoughts captive and to dwell on the true and lovely and pure, it puts it all into perspective.
~ Blessings, Bronte
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