“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:23-24 (NLT)
If you are going to deal with worry and anxiety, the first thing you have to do is face reality.
In Matthew 8, we see the reality of the situation that Jesus and the disciples faced. What they went through shows us the reality of what we have to face when life doesn’t go the way we plan.
They faced a sudden storm. This is a picture for us of unexpected problems. We often don’t know what direction a problem is going to come from or where we will be when it hits.
If you build your life around the belief that you’ll be okay this year as long as nothing goes wrong, you’re going to lose. Because something will always go wrong.
They faced waves. Waves in our life are overwhelming circumstances. For the disciples, the waves in the midst of the storm were higher than their boat. They had overwhelming circumstances. And the same thing happens to us. A storm hits our life and the circumstances of it leave us wondering, “How am I going to face that?”
They had a boat. This is a picture for us of inadequate resources. The boat wasn’t big enough to hold the waves that were coming. We face the same situation.
If only we had all the money in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. If only we had all the time in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. That’s just reality, and saying anything else is a lie.
Jesus was asleep in the boat. Here were the disciples in the midst of a storm and almost ready to drown, and Jesus, the one they knew could make a difference, was asleep.
This is a picture of how many of us feel when we are facing a genuine problem in life. We don’t know what to do or where to turn, and we know God knows what we’re going through. The worse it gets, the more we wonder, “God, where are you in all of this? Why don’t you do something to change the situation?”
The question is how can we keep from worrying when life is overwhelming and it feels like God is slow in answering?
Anxiety wears you out and it shortens your life, but if you have no other answers, you are going to keep worrying. Many people think the answer to worry is to somehow pretend that there is nothing to worry about. But the only way to deal with worry effectively is to face reality and then choose to face reality with faith.
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31.1.11
Break
I can't wait. Not for the reunion dinner. Nor cny. No visiting this year as we r still observing the 100days of grieving for grandma. I do miss her. Fact that my current place is so much nearer to her place, I do think of her when I go to that area. I tink I shld make an effort to visit my other grandma whom I'm closer to. Bt I can't help it coz I really don wish to stay ard in Sg during cnys. Not last yr, not this, not the next few yrs too. Hmmm.
Family aside. Cny is abt food. N getting fat. N mayb even sick. I hope not tho. Thankfully I still hav someone at home to share these goodies the cols gave.
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
Family aside. Cny is abt food. N getting fat. N mayb even sick. I hope not tho. Thankfully I still hav someone at home to share these goodies the cols gave.
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
24.1.11
21.1.11
Anything can happen
There isn't a dedicated bus to bring us to and from work usually. Diff buses and diff drivers mostly. At $60 per month for one-way, we have to tolerate with it being late (even an hr!), not showing up, and also look at the condition of this one. This has been picking us to work in its lousy condition for at least the past 2 months. The best tin they can do is to designate this particular one. Being run-down is one thing. Smelly, another. Now it has to breakdown on tpe! Best! N these china drivers. What to say about them? Attitude and all.
But because of the convenience it offers to take us straight into the ulu office, we have to bear w these inconveniences. Like even in the worst case if it has to break down once a week. Grrrrr. Ok, still, tgif!
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
But because of the convenience it offers to take us straight into the ulu office, we have to bear w these inconveniences. Like even in the worst case if it has to break down once a week. Grrrrr. Ok, still, tgif!
- BlogPress <3 iPhone
20.1.11
19.1.11
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