Be Thankful Even in Tough Times
by Rick Warren
In Philippians 4, Paul says, "May you always be joyful in your life in
the Lord." Can we really be joyful in all circumstances? The Bible
suggests the following strategy:
Don't worry about anything--Worrying doesn't change anything. It's
stewing without doing. There are no such things as born-worriers. Worry
is a learned response. You learned it from your parents. You learned it
from your peers. You learned it from experience. That's good news. The
fact that worry is learned means it can also be unlearned.
How do you unlearn it? Jesus says, "Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34 NIV). He's saying don't open your
umbrella until it starts raining. Don't worry about tomorrow. Live one
day at a time.
Pray about everything--Next, instead of worrying, use your time for
praying. If you prayed as much as you worried, you'd have a whole lot
less to worry about. Some people think God only cares about religious
things, such as how many people I invite to church or my tithing. Is God
interested in car payments? Yes. He's interested in every detail of
your life. That means you can take any problem you face to God.
Thank God in all things--Whenever you pray, you should always pray with
thanksgiving. The healthiest human emotion is not love but gratitude. It
actually increases your immunities. It makes you more resistant to
stress and less susceptible to illness. People who are grateful are
happy. But people who are ungrateful are miserable because nothing makes
them happy. They're never satisfied. It's never good enough. So if you
cultivate the attitude of gratitude, of being thankful in everything, it
reduces stress in your life.
Think about the right things--If you want to reduce the level of stress
in your life, you must change the way you think because the way you
think determines how you feel. And the way you feel determines how you
act, which is why the Bible teaches that, if you want to change your
life, you need to change what you’re thinking about.
This involves a deliberate conscious choice where you change the
channels. You choose to think about the right things. Because the root
cause of stress is the way we choose to think, we need to focus on the
positive and on God's word.
What is the result of not worrying, praying about everything, giving
thanks, and focusing on the right things? Paul tells us the result is,
"you will experience God's peace which is far more wonderful than the
human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your
heart quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."
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