Opening quote: "Worry never robs tomorrow of it's sorrow, it only saps today of it's joy." -Leo F. Buscaglia
What is worry?
ˈwərē/ verb: worry; give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.
When it comes to worry and learning life lessons, we are probably all better teachers than students.
Chances are, the only time you will listen to someone giving you advice is when it's what you want to hear. If they tell you otherwise, you won't heed their advice.
Chances are, the only time you will listen to someone giving you advice is when it's what you want to hear. If they tell you otherwise, you won't heed their advice.
In 2 Chronicles 20, there's a king named Jehoshaphat. He ruled over the southern kingdom known as Judah. He was a good king, - he was not without fault but he loved and obeyed God and was loyal to him (2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 19:3-9). Verse 6 says that "his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord."
In 2 Chronicles 20:1-2 king Jehoshaphat was notified that the Moabites, the Ammonites and their additional recruited soldiers were planning an attack on Judah. Verse 3 says "and Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord." All of the people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord. Jehoshaphat makes a speech to all the people at the temple. In verse 12 it says: "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; netiher we know what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." Jehoshaphat was scared, worried, and afraid because of the news he had heard. He was worried about the safety of himself and his people. The first thing he thought of was to pray. If you were in his situation would you have done the same?
Jehoshaphat did five things to overcome his worries:
1. He prayed - really hard. Any kind of trouble can be worthwhile if it brings us closer to God.
2. He didn't let worry control his thoughts. Think of how God has delivered you before.
3. He didn't forget that God was ruler. Jehoshaphat remembered the sure fact that God is in control (2 Chronicles 20:6).
4. He remembered that God promises to help in every kind of difficulty (Genesis 17:7-8).
5. There's always something for which you can thank God. Later the place where the battle was fought becomes known as "the valley of blessings" (2 Chronicles 20:26).
Jehoshaphat learned things from his experience:
1. His friendship with God became stronger.
2. His trust in God was stronger.
3. His understanding of God increased.
4. His love for God increased.
If we truly hand over our worries and cares over to God, we will come out of the experiences stronger than when we went in. It will give us strength to go to the next obstacle and get through it as well. God can use every thing in our lives to show us that his promises were meant to be fulfilled if we will put our faith in Him.
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