“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

I dare ya!

See if you can find a single passage in the Bible that says, “worry about it”, “stress over it”.

If you can, I owe you a Snickers bar.

But I know my Snickers bar is safe with me because you won’t find it in the Bible.

But look at the way we typically deal with problems. Yup. You guessed it. We worry and stress. What does worry and stress accomplish? Can worrying and stressing over things make anything different? Can worry and stress change the outcome in our favor?

Nope.

But there is something that can. There is something that can actually make a difference.

Pray.

Something worrying you? Pray.

Something got you stressing? Pray. 

The next time you want to worry about it or stress about it, pray. Give it to God. Every time you sense worry or stress raising its ugly head, pray to God instead.

I dare ya!

The next time you want to worry about it or stress about it, instead pray. Give it to God.

Pray.

I dare ya!

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He cam to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once and angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around and there by his head was some break baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then he lay down again” (1 Kings 17:3-6).

Reflecting about this passage, Joy Clarkson writes:

One time in the Bible Elijah was like, “God, I am so mad! I want to die!” So God said, “Here’s some food. Why don’t you take a nap?”
So Elijah slept, ate, and decided things weren’t so bad.
Never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack.

I love that. Joy Clarkson is my kind of gal. I love a good snack and a good nap!

You see, we don’t make very good decisions when we are stressed, tired, and hungry. In fact, that’s a recipe for ensuring making terrible decisions. We can’t think straight when we are stressed, tired, or hungry. You combine all three? Gee! That’s disastrous decisions guaranteed.

Two take aways:

1. Get regular rest. Eat on a regular schedule. Take naps! Jesus napped. We should too!
2. When stressed, tired, hungry – NEVER EVER make life altering decisions. Instead, grab a snack and sleep on it.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Have you ever heard anyone say, “It’s okay not to be okay”?

That’s actually a truer statement than most realize. That’s right. This is a great place to start. We don’t have to pretend that we’re something or someone we are not. What you see is what you get. This is the right place to start.

• If we’re messed up, it’s okay to admit that.
• If our lives are messed up, it’s okay to admit that.
• If you’re not doing too well, it’s okay to admit that.

That’s the right place to start. You start with where you’re at. You cannot build a desirable future based on lies. You can only build your desirable future based on facts.

BUT…it’s not okay to stay there.

Do you think Jesus died on the cross, and to pay the debt of sin in hell just so you and I can be not okay? Come on!

Jesus died on the cross so that we might truly start living. And, while it is perfectly fine to start at a place where you admit that things are not okay, because of all that Jesus has done for us, it is not okay to stay there!

So, get your life started. Really start living your life, the way God meant your life to live. Jesus paid a high price so we can have that opportunity.