PRAISE

Your Way To 

VICTORY

(Lose Your Anxiety - Part 2)

Praise God right where you are!

 Last week's newsletter was titled "Lose Your Anxiety". If you missed it, I hope you will check it out in the Archives in the left-hand column. This newsletter is a continuation of that subject. In discussing anxiety, I candidly shared with my readers that I had struggled with micro-management in the past, and even perfectionism. As a result of entertaining these destructive behaviors over the years, I also shared that I was diagnosed with a serious heart disease in 2011 known as left ventricular hypertrophy, - an abnormal thickening of the septum wall that divides the heart's chambers. The response to that newsletter was "off the charts". 

I received dozens of emails from readers confessing their own various struggles with anxiety, as well as depression, mood swings, and even obsessive/compulsive disorders. But micro-management and perfectionism topped the list of reader confessions. In a nutshell, these two pre-cursors to full-blown anxiety are unfortunately alive and well in the Christian community. Perhaps, it has been easy to over-look because these two anxiety-causing enemies have been masquerading as "do-gooders" successfully for such a long, long time. The following is a letter that I received. It says it plain and simple.

LETTER FROM A READER

Dear Susan,  

"I am a Christian and I've been a micro-manager and perfectionist for most of my life, although I'm not sure I ever fully understood that about myself until now. Reading your newsletter was like looking at myself in a mirror and seeing me for the first time. Maybe it's because I'm older now or just because hindsight really is 20/20, but I now realize that always trying to fix people and their problems has robbed me of much of my own life. It just seems like I'm always taking on someone else's problems or trying to arrange someone else's life even when they don't appreciate it or ask me to. I end up being miserable and I make others miserable. The trouble is I can't seem to stop. I've prayed and asked God to help me, and I've made all kinds of resolutions to try and just stop what I know is driving me and everybody else crazy, but by the next day I'm right back at it again trying to fix everybody and everything. You were right when you said that micro-management and perfectionism are pre-cursors to full blown anxiety. I am now so full of anxiety and even depression that I don't know what to do. When it comes to others and figuring out a way to overcome their problems I always seem to have the answer but when it comes to myself I am lost and need help. Would you please tell me what you did to get the victory over being a micro-manager and a perfectionist? I desperately need an answer. I love your transparency and feel like you will tell me the truth even if it's not what I want to hear." (Jane, Alabama)

PRAISE

IS THE ANSWER

"And my tongue shall speak of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long."

(Psalm 35: 28)

Knowing the right cues is important when working with horses, but timely praise is the real secret to any great partnership. 

 Sometimes we find ourselves on a journey looking for answers, but the quickest route that would lead us to those answers is somehow overlooked. When I received the unwelcomed diagnosis of LVH, I spent the first phase of what would become my "journey to healing" in complete denial. I reasoned with myself that surely this could not be happening to me, and there must be some mistake, - the doctors were wrong, - the tests were wrong. But the doctors and the tests were not wrong. I had allowed my mind to entertain stress and anxiety foolishly, if not willingly over the years, and now my body was reaping the consequences of my actions. Human denial is a strange phenomenon, but fortunately for me, it had a relatively short shelf life. I soon moved from denial into a new phase of my journey. That phase was the urgent call to arms and "pray like your life depends on it" phase.

Have you ever noticed that when you're not in a crisis of some sort, you tend to be more casual in your prayer life? Casual prayer flies out the window when the verdict concerning your life changes suddenly, and you find yourself in a place where you are truly "desperate" for God's help. Suddenly, your prayer life goes into overdrive! And so it was with me. I prayed feverishly and relentlessly about my problem, and then I prayed some more. Finally, a year went by with no significant change. Many nights I lay in bed with my head full of questions, "What else can I do? Why doesn't the Lord answer my prayers? And then one night, I heard a familiar voice "whisper" something deep down in my spirit, and I knew my life was about to change. 

The Whisper... 

"God already knows what you have need of. Now praise Him, instead."        

GOD INHABITS  THE

PRAISE

OF HIS PEOPLE 

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!"

(Psalm 150: 6, NASB)

Have you ever had a light-bulb moment when everything comes together and finally makes sense? When the Holy Spirit encouraged me to "praise God", instead of "praying my problem" over and over again, the lights went on for me. I began to praise God every morning, and throughout the day, and it wasn't long before I stopped thinking or worrying anymore about my heart condition. The more I continued to praise God, the less and less my problems seemed to matter. It wasn't long until my next echocardiogram would give proof of the power of praise. The test showed that my heart's thickened septum wall was miraculously shrinking back to it's normal state. What had made the difference? I had learned how to enter God's throne room with praise!

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

(Psalm 100: 4)

SOMETHING TO 

 Think ABOUT... 

Every time you engage God in prayer, you have entered the realm where He dwells. You have not only passed through His private gates, but you have entered into His royal court. You are welcome there because you have become an adopted heir with Christ through your salvation. You are now part of a royal priesthood, and 

Royals adhere to correct protocol.

As a Royal, when you enter God's gates, you enter with Thanksgiving. And when you enter His courts, you do so with Praise!

PRAISING GOD

Keeps Us In The

Center Of His Perfect Will

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."

(1 Peter 2: 9, NIV)

When it comes to what we believe, it's easy to get off on one side of the ditch or the other. Where I come from, we quickly learn to keep our wagon in the center of the road.

Everything in God's kingdom is in perfect balance. When you're in perfect balance, you are not too far left or too far right, - you are perfectly in the center. Having said that, - when it comes to what we believe, it's easy to get off on one side of the ditch or the other. The best thing is to keep our wagon in the center of the road. What do I mean by that? I mean that you and I should always seek to be in the "center" of God's perfect will for our life. And how do we do that? We do that by finally deciding to obey  "all of God's commandments", once and for all. Of course, it would be tempting to relegate all of God's commandments to a simple top 10 list. However, His commandments are  found throughout the Bible. One of those commandments tells us to "cast all our cares and anxieties" upon Him. Another commandment tells us to "praise Him in all things". I can't speak for everybody, but I know I want to be in the center of God's perfect will. And that's why I finally made the decision to get out of the ditch once and for all, obey God, and get back on the high road!

THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes with your soul."

(3 John 1: 2, ESV)

Where the mind goes, -

the body follows.

When we "pray our problem" over and over, it's like getting our truck stuck in a ditch. We simply can't get any traction under our tires no matter how hard we step on the gas pedal. Interestingly, we never wind up in a ditch when we're praying according to God's will. On the other hand, we always end up "stuck" when we pray according to our flesh! 

Surprisingly, our flesh (physical body) doesn't trump our mind (soul, intellect, will) when it comes to getting God's attention. Why? God knows that where our mind chooses to go, - our body will follow. Never forget - miracles always start with the mind and translate to the body. That's why we must first "believe"! When we believe, we see miracles! Interestingly, the more advanced we become in scientific technology, the more we discover the undeniable connection between mind and body. Could it be that God knew about this connection right from the start? Of course He did! He is, after all, the Master Architect behind the real mind-body connection. And the real mind-body connection will always demand that we praise Him first in order to receive.

Today, you and I can come boldly before God's throne of grace with the confidence that He will hear us and answer our prayers. How do I know that? I know that because we are, indeed, Royals, and we have learned to enter His courts with Praise!

Natural Horse

Faith-Man-Ship

(Teaching biblical faith using horses)

ARE YOU READY FOR THE FAITH RIDE OF

 YOUR LIFE? 

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