An Anxious and Worried Mind: Chapter 12
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Simple6
Posts: 170 Member
Dear Friends,
What a thought provoking chapter for me. Am I addicted to worry? As I began to seek the Lord with this question, He immediately brought something to my mind. Yesterday, my daughter who has been in Thailand for the last six months, said to me, "Dad seems so stretched. He seems to have aged since I have been gone." What she didn't know was I have already felt low level concern over my husband's exhaustion level. Her brother who came to us, three months ago expressed the same concern. Gabriel is currently fighting a sinus infection that is not responding to antibiotics. So he is constantly not feeling well. The thoughts of worry have been piling up in my mind. My mind went directly to......oh my goodness, my husband is getting too old to work as hard as he does. What are we going to do? How are we going to survive. I had a full blown moment of anxiety. The thoughts kept coming and growing worse and more darker. Fear showed up and added to those thoughts. Agitation soon made an appearance and my body began to feel sick and nauseous. Pretty soon, my moment of anxiety became an hour of time lost to torment.
Joyce defines worry as "to torment oneself with disturbing thoughts." That is exactly what has been going on in my mind without me even recognizing it. These thoughts did not lead to peace. They lead to me being tormented. I followed those thoughts because they seemed logical and "wisdom" in the moment. Plus, since I had my own fears and worries, that had been added to by the words of my son and daughter it seemed right. That is the strategy of the enemy. His plan is covert. He knew He couldn't come in and plant a thought that said, "God can't provide for you." Satan had to use time, repeated thoughts and added intent to attack me. I needed to recognize it. I needed to see the foundation for the stronghold that Satan was trying to build in my thoughts. This time I did not. So, the attack was successful for a time, until the Holy Spirit helped me recognize that I was not abiding in Jesus but abiding in my own fear. I repented.
Joyce writes " Peace is the fruit of the Spirit according to Gal 5:22. It must be chosen over what our fleshly mind thinks. We can choose to be peaceful by choosing to think on things that promote peace rather than things that open the door for worry and anxiety." I chose wrongly. I chose to be hospitable to worry. What I learned is that worry cannot be welcome in anyway to my heart. All the doors of my heart must always remained locked to any thought that doubts the provision of God in my life. So what that looks like for me is this. When the thought of worry comes to my mind, I immediately acknowledge it and give it to God. "Lord, my husband is sick. I trust you to be the Source of all things we need as my husband is healing." I don't deny the worry but acknowledge it and entrust it to the Lord. That way, I can release it and empty myself of it, so His peace can flow into that place. If I don't acknowledge it, how can I release it? It took me opening my mouth and speaking it out loud to the Lord releasing the burden of it, then speaking His Word about this situation that released me from the torment. Just as Joyce pointed out "A sword in its sheath won't do any good during an attack." Time to take out our swords!
A dead man can't be addicted to anything(Gal 2:20). That is how I am beginning to perceive myself. I am dead to all old habits of responding, interpreting and reacting. As they show up, my response is to get out my sword and say " I am a new creation in Christ. I am dead to worry(or whatever is showing up). It no longer has any power over me. I chose Christ alone and His way of thinking, doing and being." This is what victory for me looks like.
What a thought provoking chapter for me. Am I addicted to worry? As I began to seek the Lord with this question, He immediately brought something to my mind. Yesterday, my daughter who has been in Thailand for the last six months, said to me, "Dad seems so stretched. He seems to have aged since I have been gone." What she didn't know was I have already felt low level concern over my husband's exhaustion level. Her brother who came to us, three months ago expressed the same concern. Gabriel is currently fighting a sinus infection that is not responding to antibiotics. So he is constantly not feeling well. The thoughts of worry have been piling up in my mind. My mind went directly to......oh my goodness, my husband is getting too old to work as hard as he does. What are we going to do? How are we going to survive. I had a full blown moment of anxiety. The thoughts kept coming and growing worse and more darker. Fear showed up and added to those thoughts. Agitation soon made an appearance and my body began to feel sick and nauseous. Pretty soon, my moment of anxiety became an hour of time lost to torment.
Joyce defines worry as "to torment oneself with disturbing thoughts." That is exactly what has been going on in my mind without me even recognizing it. These thoughts did not lead to peace. They lead to me being tormented. I followed those thoughts because they seemed logical and "wisdom" in the moment. Plus, since I had my own fears and worries, that had been added to by the words of my son and daughter it seemed right. That is the strategy of the enemy. His plan is covert. He knew He couldn't come in and plant a thought that said, "God can't provide for you." Satan had to use time, repeated thoughts and added intent to attack me. I needed to recognize it. I needed to see the foundation for the stronghold that Satan was trying to build in my thoughts. This time I did not. So, the attack was successful for a time, until the Holy Spirit helped me recognize that I was not abiding in Jesus but abiding in my own fear. I repented.
Joyce writes " Peace is the fruit of the Spirit according to Gal 5:22. It must be chosen over what our fleshly mind thinks. We can choose to be peaceful by choosing to think on things that promote peace rather than things that open the door for worry and anxiety." I chose wrongly. I chose to be hospitable to worry. What I learned is that worry cannot be welcome in anyway to my heart. All the doors of my heart must always remained locked to any thought that doubts the provision of God in my life. So what that looks like for me is this. When the thought of worry comes to my mind, I immediately acknowledge it and give it to God. "Lord, my husband is sick. I trust you to be the Source of all things we need as my husband is healing." I don't deny the worry but acknowledge it and entrust it to the Lord. That way, I can release it and empty myself of it, so His peace can flow into that place. If I don't acknowledge it, how can I release it? It took me opening my mouth and speaking it out loud to the Lord releasing the burden of it, then speaking His Word about this situation that released me from the torment. Just as Joyce pointed out "A sword in its sheath won't do any good during an attack." Time to take out our swords!
A dead man can't be addicted to anything(Gal 2:20). That is how I am beginning to perceive myself. I am dead to all old habits of responding, interpreting and reacting. As they show up, my response is to get out my sword and say " I am a new creation in Christ. I am dead to worry(or whatever is showing up). It no longer has any power over me. I chose Christ alone and His way of thinking, doing and being." This is what victory for me looks like.
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An anxious and worried mind. That pretty much sums it up. When we get to this stage of the battle in our minds, it is very easy for strongholds to take ground and influence our thinking, actions and bring defeat. It is very easy when given the bleakness and sadness of hardships, losses of finances, loss of loved ones, failed attempts, uncontrollable circumstances and sickness, to name a few. It is easy to see things only at face value and become anxious and begin to worry. It seems natural, doesn’t it and like if we don’t worry about things – then we don’t care or something is wrong with us, our priorities are not right. Oh…there it is…the little crack that Satan looks for…to creep in like a theft and begin to build a stronghold! But this is exactly where you must say “NO”! NO, NO, NO you don’t devil…and rebuke Satan immediately. As radical as this may sound, it is exactly what Jesus did in the wilderness. God calls us to be clear minded and self-controlled. (Pet. 4:7) You say…”but how can I do that when right now I am like a top spinning out of control and off my rocker with this situation”!!! One of the KEYs is to pray for the right perspective and then applying God’s principles to gain a good foothold…balance. Do not waver.
What a concept…clear minded and self-controlled. Imagine that…we can clear our mind of all that clutters it; sweep out the lies of the devil! No misconceptions, no assumptions…no anxious or worried mind. I’d much rather Jesus come in and sup with my Lord, wouldn’t you, too? As you practice what the Lord gives you for the moment (spirit-lead) you will find it becomes clear in your mind what you are to do and God will give you self-control to achieve HIS purpose. His REST…is obtained- in the storm of life, the bumps in the road, the detours, the roadblocks and at the darkest points…REST in God for your needs…be willing to wait patiently. Occupy your time with what fills your heart with HIS joy and it will change your continence. Change will happen and when it does…it will be filled with Gods truth, God’s promises and God’s glory!
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I am a week behind you all, so this was my chapter this week. Let me perhaps rephrase that - I thought I was "behind" but I see VERY clearly God's perfect timing in this! You have probably be following my posts about the situation here in Mali - still not good at all. What more PERFECT time than this for me to be reading about "An anxious and worried mind" - plenty of opportunity to put it into practice. AND it really has helped enormously!
I know I haven't been posting much - but I just wanted to let you know that I am carrying on and it is SO VERY useful to me. God is amazing. His plans are perfect. And yes, we CAN rest in Him - I LOVED that example of the painting of a raging, rushing waterfall with the birch tree hanging over and a bird resting in a nest on one of the branches. That is honestly how I am feeling right now in the situation I find myself in. GOD IS GOOD!
Please keep praying for Mali - and particularly for me and my family as we are apart. I return home on Monday. Pray for my safety here in the capital until then, for a really good meeting with the Christian lawyers tomorrow (still going ahead, but with lots of security in place around meeting area - never had to be involved in arranging that sort of thing before now!), for a good trip home, and for wise decisions for me and my husband as we discuss what we should do. British embassy is asking us to consider leaving if we have "no pressing need to remain". Japhet and I need to consider what we do - when would be our cut off point for needing to withdraw again. REALLY DON'T want to have to evacuate again, but obviously will do if we need to.
THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS FOR YOUR LOVE AND YOUR PRAYERS.
Love, Ali0 -
I am a week behind you all, so this was my chapter this week. Let me perhaps rephrase that - I thought I was "behind" but I see VERY clearly God's perfect timing in this! You have probably be following my posts about the situation here in Mali - still not good at all. What more PERFECT time than this for me to be reading about "An anxious and worried mind" - plenty of opportunity to put it into practice. AND it really has helped enormously!
I know I haven't been posting much - but I just wanted to let you know that I am carrying on and it is SO VERY useful to me. God is amazing. His plans are perfect. And yes, we CAN rest in Him - I LOVED that example of the painting of a raging, rushing waterfall with the birch tree hanging over and a bird resting in a nest on one of the branches. That is honestly how I am feeling right now in the situation I find myself in. GOD IS GOOD!
Please keep praying for Mali - and particularly for me and my family as we are apart. I return home on Monday. Pray for my safety here in the capital until then, for a really good meeting with the Christian lawyers tomorrow (still going ahead, but with lots of security in place around meeting area - never had to be involved in arranging that sort of thing before now!), for a good trip home, and for wise decisions for me and my husband as we discuss what we should do. British embassy is asking us to consider leaving if we have "no pressing need to remain". Japhet and I need to consider what we do - when would be our cut off point for needing to withdraw again. REALLY DON'T want to have to evacuate again, but obviously will do if we need to.
THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS FOR YOUR LOVE AND YOUR PRAYERS.
Love, Ali
My Dearest Ali,
God's timing is always perfect in your life. I love how I see the peace of God growing in you. You are that bird at rest while all around you is storming. No matter what rages around you, it can not overcome His peace. His peace is always greater, fuller and larger then the storm you face.
I am praying that even as you feel the turmoil and feel the efforts of thes conflicts, your hearts would be Jesus focused and Jesus grounded. You will have sound minds about this. Minds that hold His thoughts and His purpose for this time in your lives. You will know when to go and when to stay. The Lord will bring both your hearts into unity for these moments, because they are submitted to Him. He lives big in both of you. He moves through and in you both. Your steps are order by Him. Because of this, He has a perfect plan for all the decisions that you making and the timing you are making them in. As you and Japeth seek Him you will receive His wisdom and His understanding for your lives. He wants you to know. I just pray for a revelation that no matter where you are, or what you face, God is on your side! God is in you! You are His, you belong to Him and He cares for each of you. From your children to you, God is your supply. He always supplies above and beyond all that you could ask or think.
As I am writing this, I feel like I should share with you something my husband and I do. Whenever we are faced with hard circumstances and need to make a decision, we ask ourselves what we do if those circumstances didn't affect our choices at all. What we would do if we had all that we needed in the moment. What this does is locate the desire of our hearts. Then we lay that desire down in submission to the Lord and ask Him to bring our hearts inline with His will for our moment. This helps us to hear the Lord's voice. You and your husband's hearts are in Mali. As you seek the Lord He will direct your path and make it plain. I also see that in your hearts there is a time to leave Mali. God will reveal that. Circumstances, want to lead. But both you and Japeth have hearts to honor God with all that you are. You will make the right choices. He is leading you and you are letting Him.
I will continue to hold you up in prayer, knowing that God is very much active for you and for Mali.
With much love and joy to share with you this season,
Jenni0
