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A Devotional for the Anxious Heart: 1 Peter 5:6-7
Scripture: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” (ESV) Thought: Our pride, or refusal to depend on God and be subject to him) often is the root of my anxiety. Pride keeps us captive to worry, anxiety, and dread because we are constantly trying to be “enough”. We are not enough on our own—never have been, never will be. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit are we made whole, new creations in Christ. Application: What do you do with worry? Are you humble enough to…
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A Devotional for the Anxious Heart: Proverbs 3:5-6
Scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on you own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV) Thought: How often have you sought understanding through the world or your feelings? Is all your anxiety connected to a real and present danger? Often the condition of heart reflects the insecurities we take on from the expectations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. When we act upon these fears, we often make our situation even more difficult. We add fuel to the fire, rather than cooling the flames with the truth of God’s love and guidance. …
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Spiritual Growth:
Identify feelings and behaviors that are holding you back Depending upon what you are reading, people have different names for the feelings and behaviors that hold us back from growing spiritually. Some people call them sins. Some roadblocks. Others, character defects. I tend to like the term character defects or patterns of sin. The feelings and behaviors that hold us back are not one-offs, but usually patterns of behavior or emotional reactions that we have developed over time to make sense of life, cope with life, or get what we want. The important thing about character defects is that what once may have been helpful creates problems in our lives…
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Find the Misery and Make a Rule
I recently listened to a podcast from Dr. Henry Cloud, where he presented a simple but powerful idea. When things aren’t going well in life, if we are struggling with feeling depressed or directionless, perhaps finding the source of the misery and making a rule about it is the best advice we can get. Let me give you an example from my own life. I had a period of feeling anxious and overwhelmed this fall. I felt hopeless, fatigued, and generally depressed about much of life. I admit I spent more time being in this funk than I did doing anything about it. I almost wore it like a warm…
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The Truth Model: The Truth Will Set You Free
Last week we discussed the sin model of human growth, as discussed in How People Grow (Cloud & Townsend, 2001). This week we will cover the truth model. The truth model argues that if we just understand truth, we will be set free from sin and struggle. The underlying premise behind the truth model is that if you don’t experience “freedom in Christ,” you lack or don’t understand the “truth”. The solution? Read, study, and memorize scripture. If you do this enough, eventually, you will be set free and know the truth not just in your mind but also in your heart (Cloud & Townsend, 2001). I can see this…
