Max Lucado Wisdom

A few weeks ago, Pastor Sheryl Kinder-Pyle asked us if we were someone who worries about the past, the present or the future. She asked us to raise our hands to indicate which type of worrier we were; I didn’t raise my hand. I didn’t raise my hand because I’m a bit of all three, and who wants to admit that? I try not to dwell in any of those places but I surely visit all three.

Janet Starkey

So much has been said about worry that I decided to focus on the wisdom of Max Lucado:

​Worry is an option, not an assignment. God can lead you into a worry-free world. Be quick to pray. Focus less on the problems ahead and more on the victories behind. Do your part and God will do His. He will guard your heart with His peace … a peace that passes understanding.
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Deep breath – yes!

​“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” (Philippians 4:6) God offers you and me the possibility of a worry-free life.  Jesus said, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.” (Matthew 6:27) Worry is irrelevant.  You don’t add one day to your life or one bit of life to your day by worrying.
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If we can set worry aside and trust in God and His love for us perhaps we can focus on being contagiously calm.

How many disasters have been averted because one person refused to buckle under the strain? It’s this kind of composure Paul is summoning when he says: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.” (Philippians 4:5-6 NIV)

The Greek word translated here as “gentleness” describes a temperament that’s seasoned and mature. It envisions an attitude fitting to the occasion, levelheaded and tempered. This gentleness is “evident to all.” Family members take note. Your friends sense a difference. Coworkers benefit from it.
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The gentle person is sober minded and clear thinking. The contagiously calm person is the one who reminds others God is in control. Pursue this gentleness. The Lord is near. You are not alone. You may feel alone, you may think you’re alone, but there is never a moment in which you face life without help.
God is near—be anxious for nothing!
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Tender Jesus, teach us to be like You in all our ways. Teach us kindness, gentleness, generosity, and to be giving, forgiving, loving and caring. Guide us to the place You want us to be; take control. Mold and shape us into the brilliant beings we were always destined to become. In Your name we pray, Amen.

Be quick to pray and pray about everything!

In His Name, Janet