Worry

Worry

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From the Bible

Mt. 6  25:-34

From Swedenborg

When the Lord said don’t worry, or that nothing is impossible, he meant that with his power we could conquer our troubles. So, the only solution for worry is by using God’s power to end it. This is a different way of looking at the situation. The only way that will work.

Arcana Coelestia #2338:

“Temptations involve feelings of doubt about the Lord's presence, mercy, and salvation. . . . But good spirits and angels . . . sustain hope in us, and an affirmative outlook.”

If we intellectually accept the truth that all power is from God, this still does not make us conscious of the actual inflowing of God’s power. The illusion is that we act by our own strength and power, ALONE. The Lord allows us to keep and cherish this illusion in order to preserve our status as beings of free will. If we decide in favor of the Lord's way, it must be a free and unforced decision.

Before Jesus was nailed to the cross, he was placed in front of the Roman governor, Pilate, who had to judge Jesus for his trial. Jesus then spoke a timeless truth when he said, "You would have no power at all over me unless it were given to you from above" (John 19:11). These are true words for each one of us. The power we have is from above, but in our day-to-day life, we are not conscious of this active life force that flows into us from the Lord.

From Romans 38-39 we read: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A John Hopkins University doctor said, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non- worriers, but that is a fact." But I think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.

So when you’re walking along and a worrisome thought, a selfish or negative thought enters your mind, you have 3 options:
1. Dwell on it
2. Say I am not going to do that, I am not going to let that in
3. OR The Lord’s not going to let that into my life.

Someone once said: “Every evening I turn my worries over to God. God’s going to be up all night anyway.” Another line I have often heard is: "Why worry? It is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere." And my all time favorite saying about worrying, that I learned in the 12-step program is: "If you worry, why pray? If you pray, why worry?"

“I love the Lord!” I am a Christian, I believe in the Lord and that the angels are fighting for me. I can’t fight worry alone, but the Lord can and will fight them with me. And when we ask the Lord to help us, the negative thoughts and what they attract to us spiritually will flee our lives. They will flee when they know that the Lord is over our hearts.

“I love the Lord, I love the Lord.” Saying this over and over in itself might be enough to make those worrisome thoughts go away. When you do this you turn your worry over to God. Please realize: there is more on your side, fighting for you, than on the negative side. The worries will flee if we ask God for help. So the ridiculous situation of saying: I am going to fight all those negative spirits and worrisome thoughts, can be changed to: the Lord is here with me, God is over my heart and we will win together.

So if we ask for the Lord’s loving power to fight the battle against worry --those negative and impossible voices --  we can keep our hope in the Lord.

Help us, Dear God, to stay in hope and rejoicing for the Lord’s power in our lives and let us continue to praise God for our many blessings instead of dwelling in the land of worry. I pray that you may continually dwell in  God’s loving presence. Amen.
 

   

And close the Bible.