Battlefield of the Mind - Chapter 12

WORRY WORRY WORRY (AND MORE WORRY)   ....and let's not forget Worry's faithful cohort – Anxiety!   There's an old question that is grammatically incorrect, but is / was so commonly used:   "What is we gon' do now???"   I am guilty of asking that question to myself on many occasions until God and my various spiritual leaders taught me to think differently. Joyce Meyer explained that she was a worrier, and I can certainly testify to same. She worried about her family issues, so did I.  She worried about others and their issues, so did I.    Chapter 12 of Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer deals totally with the Worry and Anxiety that we seem to hold on to in our everyday lives.  It is amazing to me how we seemingly commit ourselves more to "worry," than we do to our trust in God, our faith, our Christian beliefs and our downright common sense sometimes.   Joyce Meyers reminds us that the enemy uses worry to torment us, and that some are addicted to worry. You cannot have peace if you worry, and if you worry, there's no peace in the mind.  "Peace is not something that can be put on a person; it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and the fruit is the result of abiding in the vine (John 15:4) … [and] abiding relates to entering the 'rest of God.'"   If we are a habitual worrier or worry wart, one should find themselves resting in scriptures that teach us to fret not (Ps. 37:8), take no thought (Matt. 6:25), be careful for nothing (Phil. 4:6); and one of the most important ones for me is casting … all of MY cares (I Pet. 5:7).  The read goes on with the definition of worrying…it brings out "snapping" and "nagging" – this reminds me of a relationship gone sour.  Why would I want that?  Why would I want my relationship with the Lord to be sour because I'm going totally adverse to what He has said in His Word? If my mind is filled with worry or anxiety, which takes up a lot of room, where is the room for my thoughts on the Lord? Am I keeping my mind stayed on Him? The people referenced in II Chron. 20:12 had to REST in the Lord…for they had no strength against the enemy….they did not know what to do…and God was not in their focus!    I love how Joyce Meyer ends with "Do your part, but do not try to do God's part."  So many of us do that…like God does not know what he is doing. Sometimes, he will ALLOW your part come to fruition (His permissive will), when you could have waited / rested on Him and waited again (His divine will).   Trust in the Lord and do good….so you can feed surely on his faithfulness.  (Ps. 37:3).   Just like Pastor told us Sunday, speak to the enemy of your mind.  TELL HIM TO GO – DON'T ASK! Speak the Word of God aloud!  Read the Word of God aloud!  Take no thought for the morrow…it'll take care of itself.  (Matt. 6:34).   Even with issues I may have now, my thoughts and perceptions are not in worry mode.  I cannot fret, worry or be anxious about NOTHING that I CANNOT change.    Thanks be to God our Saviour for victory over worry…victory over anxiety! God has assured us that we are not a people who have no hope or help – for we SHO 'NUFF KNOW that God is our HELP and our HOPE! God can and will extract worry and anxiety from us if we ask Him, and let Him do the work! If you are reading this, and you feel someone in your circle needs victory over worry and anxiety, bring victory in with you when you arrive in their presence. We are a people who can TALK VICTORIOUSLY!  WALK VICTORIOUSLY! and LIVE VICTORIOUSLY with the help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!    Shelia Riley