Just For Today

Just for today, Lord, I place myself totally in Your control.
I live, breathe and feel Your freshness and Your sweetness
There is no where I can go,
Nothing I can do or be
That  would take Your Presence from me.
I take my eyes off my dreams, desires, fears, cares,
Hurts, disappointments and appointments
And place them on You.

For You are my Lord,
My anchor,
My leader and my guide.
No matter what this day may bring
I rest securely in You,
Confident that You will see me through
For You have promised
To never leave me or forsake me
And your promises are always 'yea' and 'amen'.
Thank you, Lord, for today
And all that it will bring.

How To Deal With Anxiety

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeIn my job as an occupational therapist,  I come into close contact with people who suffer from anxiety. It is my duty to help them cope with their anxiety in a positive way. One of these ways may be encouraging them to be consistent in taking their medications and helping them develop other coping skills. These combined methods are usually successful and the person leaves the hospital a week or so later looking and feeling much better. However, they often return with the same problem.

What causes anxiety? The scientific explanation is that stressful or frightening situations can evoke a fight/flight response designed to protect you from harm. For example, if you are strolling through your neighborhood and a ferocious dog comes bounding out at you, your heart begins to pound, your palms become sweaty, your pupils dilate, you feel breathless etc. All these prepare you for fight or flight.

But what if you are anxious or simply worried over family matters, finances, health or other conditions. You may not experience the strong symptoms listed above, but you constantly have this nagging feeling at the back of your mind that maybe you can never get out of this situation. Depression, a close relative of anxiety, may also show up and if you are not careful, you may find yourself having suicidal thoughts. How do you cope with this? The illustrious prophet, Elijah suffered his own uncharacteristic bout with anxiety.

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life (fight/flight response). When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die (suicidal). "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors" (1 Kings 19: 1 - 4).

Elijah is not the only person mentioned in the Bible who suffered this kind of emotional upheaval. Jeremiah (45:3), David (Psalm 55:6) and Job (30: 27) all expressed similar feelings. Which begs the question, Can a Christian become depressed or anxious? The answer is 'yes.' I find myself getting anxious from time to time, even though I know it's not God's will for me to be that way. Paul said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4: 6). And it goes on to say, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (v 7).

This may be easier said than done. I present my requests, but still I remain anxious. Well, this morning I determined that I am going to trust God fully. I am going to believe that when I ask God for something in faith and according to His will, He is going to answer me. It may not always be the answer I expect, but it's always the best answer because He knows what is best for me. I am not going to give in to worry and anxiety any more because the Bible says, "... anything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14 : 23).  I don't want to be guilty of sin because of a lack of faith.

Are you worried or anxious? Trust God! Praise Him! Get in the Word and see what it has to say about faith and fear. See how you too can have "the peace that passes all understanding", the peace that allows you to enjoy your life the way God intends you to.

A Very Depressing Week

This has been a sad week for me. First, on Monday a co-worker mentioned the Eddie Long scandal and showed me pictures on the internet that he allegedly sent to the young men he is said to have had relations with. As the week progressed, more allegations and even lawsuits surfaced, making it seem that the rumors may be true. And the more I heard, the sadder I became.

If the rumors are true, this will not be the first time the church has been buffeted like this, and I daresay, it will not be the last. So I tried to take it all in stride, until my friend, a Christian,  came to work looking very depressed and expressing feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Maybe I was tired, or maybe hearing my friend, who is always so upbeat, voice feelings of depression scared me and I found myself becoming tearful. But through my tears, I prayed for her and she later said she felt better.

So I tried to forget about Eddie Long and all the depressing thoughts. Then wham! On Friday, a Brinks driver was gunned down in front of the bank close to where my daughter works.

My blood ran cold.

A poor man going about his business suddenly had his life snuffed out.  His family ... how did they feel? Did he have young children? How would they go on without him? What if my daughter had been hurt? What if other people had been hurt? Would they find the criminals? The thoughts tumbled around in my mind like clothes in a clothes dryer. But eventually, I thought of what Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16: 33).

"While we look not at the things which are seen , but at the things which are not seen : for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4: 18).  We can take comfort in knowing that all these things that are happening around us - church scanals, depression, crime - will one day be no more. Therefore, we are to set our sights on "things above;  not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). It may not always be easy, especially if your loved ones are involved, but by focusing on God, we can spare ourselves a lot of sadness and a lot of depression.

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• "Bishop Eddie Long Scandal Hits Other Sermon Sunday" and related posts (news.lalate.com)