As each year draws to a close, I have made it a practice to share a few of these Top 10 lists with you with hopes that you might find them both interesting and helpful.
Be encouraged for what God wants to do in your life in 2011 and have a Happy New Year!
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10. scriptures on stress
Do you trust in God? Imagine what it would be like if you were really able to trust in God amidst your most challenging trials and most stressful times of your life. Then those ‘stressful’ times would not stress you out because you would be at peace – at Shalom. It’s this type of complete trust in God that he wants us to have. Our challenge is to not only understand this intellectually in our heads, but to truly believe this in our hearts and to live it out.
Trust in God – Experience His Peace
Earlier this morning, I read a wonderful article titled In Search of Shalom from the December, 2011 edition of In Touch Magazine. The author, Chris Tiegreen, hits the nail on the head as he explores the topics of trust in God and experiencing his peace. He points out that it’s God’s will for us to experience true Shalom – wholeness, fullness, safety, wholeness and well-being. Instead of placing trust in our God, our Creator, Tiegreen reminds us how we so often try to manufacture our own peace through our substitute material possessions and dysfunctional and often addictive behaviors.
Trust in God – Worry, Anxiety and Your Health
Many health issues stem from a person’s chronic state of worry and anxiety. God did not design us to be able to live healthily when we are in a constant state of worry. When we can get to the point where we resolve the inner battle of whether we can really trust in God, we can stop striving in our own strength and abilities to gain the peace we are searching for. To find wholeness and peace amidst life’s challenges and stressors, we must choose to believe that God is what we need most and then rest in the resulting peace that he gives us.
Trust in God – A Resolution for 2011
Looking for a New Year’s Resolution, a behavior to change or a new attitude to adopt in 2001? Perhaps it could be to more completely trust in God so that you’ll experience greater peace.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
Have a Happy New Year!
Trust in God – Related Scriptures
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Therefore do not worry …… but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-33
Almost 60% of American adults say they had difficult childhoods featuring abusive or troubled family members or parents who were absent due to separation or divorce. Nearly 9% say that while growing up they underwent five or more “adverse childhood experiences” ranging from verbal, physical or sexual abuse to family dysfunction such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or the absence of a parent. This data was reported in the Dec 17th, 2010 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the report, Dr. Lee M. Sanders, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine said that “There is a connection of these events to lifelong implications, not just for mental health for adults, but also for physical health.” Valerie J. Edwards, team lead for the Adverse Childhood Experiences Team at CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, says that a person who has several of these events is more likely to get cancer and heart disease. In the report, Edwards said. “This is serious and it’s not just a quirk of statistics. It’s a real relationship.”
The Faith and Health Link
As the experts have indicated, if left unaddressed, issues like these childhood traumas can likely affect one’s emotional health in adulthood. Over time, these emotional issues can affect one’s physical health. Deep-rooted emotions and beliefs associated with such trauma such as anxiety, resentment, shame, low self-worth, rejection and unforgiveness can play havoc with one’s endocrine, cardiovascular and immune system resulting in a host of chronic diseases.
In general, medical practitioners do not care for these issues of the soul that are at the root of these diseases. This is where faith in the healing power of God and his Son Jesus comes into play. Jesus’ compassion, love and power expressed through his followers and accompanied with prayer, can bring inner healing to the soul of these traumatized individuals. This inner soul healing then favors improved physical health.
The sooner a child or young adult can come to experience the deep love and healing power of God, through Jesus, the more likely they will not succumb to these long-term emotional and physical health problems. Healing and restoration is part of the life transformation that God desires that his children experience in this life on earth.
Such experiences of healing and improved personal wholeness can be a witness and encouragement to others of God’s love, grace and power. It can also enable healed these healed individuals to better give their life away in service to others. In all this, God receives glory.
It’s sad that the statistics in this report are what they are, but it’s Good News to know that God is still in the business of healing and restoration of his children. Our role as believers and followers of Christ is to be a conduit of this message and his love.
Related Scriptures
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. Proverbs 14:30
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:12
As the holiday season gets into full swing, often there are angry meltdowns in stores, restaurants, airports and elsewhere. Many people are exhausted, stressed and worried about money. The December 14th issue of the Wall Street Journal included an article in their Relationships column on anger.
Anger is a protective response to a perceived hurt, says Dr. James, a psychologist. The article indicates that the emotional center of the brain has a much greater influence on us than the part of the brain that controls our conscious thinking. This is a partial explanation why our anger often presents itself as publicly it does.
The referenced article is focused on what people can do when someone in your life often becomes very angry in your presence. Here are a few of their suggestions:
Managing The Anger of Others
Don’t be silent
Validate their feelings, but not their behavior
Set boundaries
Explain why their behavior bothers you
Anger and Our Health
Medical research is clear that chronic anger impacts in a negative way on our health. Read what WebMD has to say about anger and our health.
The Scriptures on Anger
A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger. Proverbs 15:1
Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim. Proverbs 15:4
“In your anger do not sin:” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Ephesians 4:26
He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends. Proverbs 17:9
A relaxed attitude lengthens life. Proverbs 14:30
Anger Management – What We Can Do
It’s inevitable that those we are around, our loved ones and we ourselves will have hurt feelings, and those hurt feelings will occasionally be expressed through our anger. It’s how we go about handing the hurt feelings and associated anger that will make all the difference in our relationships.
In that light, my prayer for us all is that we would stay close to God and that more of his love would flow into us and through us to others who are in our lives. I pray that when others get angry in our presence that God would give us a sense of compassion and understanding as to the root cause of the anger and give us discernment to understand how our actions may have contributed to the hurt feelings that prompted the anger. And then God, I pray that you’ll help us to extend forgiveness to others who may have hurt us. Amen.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10-11
The following Billy Graham “In My Opinion” column about sickness appeared in the December 6th Charlotte Observer. I thought it would be something worth sharing with you.
Question: When we get sick, is it because we did something wrong and God is punishing us by making us sick? I heard someone say this once, but if it’s true, how can I know what I’ve done wrong?
Billy Graham’s Answer: No, this isn’t necessarily true. The Apostle Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived, and yet he suffered from some type of recurring illness that caused him great difficulty (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
It’s true, of course, that when we deliberately abuse our bodies (with things like alcohol or drugs or sexual promiscuity or overeating) we’ll pay a heavy price, both physically and emotionally. God gave our bodies to us, and when we ignore His laws and treat our bodies with contempt, the inevitable result will be injury or sickness, or even a shorter life. The Bible commands us to take care of our bodies, and when we fail to do this, we are failing to do God’s will.
But not all sickness can be traced to a specific sin we’ve committed. Sickness and death affect us all, and the reason is because sin — like a deadly virus — has invaded the whole creation. We live in a fallen world, and decay and sickness and death are the result. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Build your life on a solid spiritual foundation — one that will last, no matter what happens to you. That foundation is Jesus Christ, who came into the world to rescue us from sin’s guilt and power. Make it your goal to live for Him. The Bible says, “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
To read other short answers to questions by Billy Graham, visit the Billy Graham’s My Answer section on the BGEA website.
As each year draws to a close, I have made it a practice to share a few of these Top 10 lists with you with hopes that you might find them both interesting and helpful.
Do you trust in God? Imagine what it would be like if you were really able to trust in God amidst your most challenging trials and most stressful times of your life. Then those ‘stressful’ times would not stress you out because you would be at peace – at Shalom. It’s this type of complete trust in God that he wants us to have. Our challenge is to not only understand this intellectually in our heads, but to truly believe this in our hearts and to live it out.
Let’s Connect!