“Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 TLB).
The major cause of stress in your life is worry. You worry because you wonder if you will have what you need when you need it. But anytime you expect other people to meet your needs instead of God, you’re going to be frustrated and disappointed, because nobody on Earth can meet all your needs. Only God can do that. If you want a cure for stress, learn to look to God to meet your needs. Some people find their security in their job, and when they lose their job, they lose their peace of mind. Others put their security in their marriage. Then their spouse dies or they go through a divorce, and they ask, “Who am I? What is my identity?” Or maybe you put your security in your money. There are a lot of ways to lose your money. You might consider never putting your security in anything that can be taken away from you. You can lose your job, your health, your reputation, your spouse, and your mind. But you cannot lose your relationship with Christ. When you put your security in that promise, you can trust God to meet all your needs. Romans 8:32 says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?” (TLB). If God loved you enough to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross, don’t you think he loves you enough to take care of every other need in your life? Yes! Of course he does. Every time you start to get stressed out, pause and say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 ESV). God’s going to provide. He’s going to take care of you. Instead of stressing out, look to him to meet all your needs.
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“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? . . . O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-4, 9 NLT).
We’ve all heard the phrase “Things are looking up!” But what does it mean? It means the situation is improving. Your problems are decreasing, and your opportunities are increasing. Here's an important truth: Things will start to look up for you when you start looking up. In other words, your circumstances will improve when you stop looking at them and start looking at God. Over and over in the Bible, we see this phrase: “Lift up your eyes.” It’s another way to say, “Look up. Get your eyes off yourself and onto God.” God said it to Moses. He said it Abraham. Jesus said it to his followers. There’s an old rhyme that says, “Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars.” In other words, one inmate looked down in despair, but the other one looked up in hope. You have that same choice, and I hope that you choose to see the stars. God created every one of them. And those stars are the exact same ones that were shining on the night of Jesus’ birth 2,000 years ago—and King David saw the same stars 1,000 years before that, when he wrote these words: “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? . . . O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-4, 9 NLT). When we look up and see how big God is, it shrinks the size of our problems. Our problems never seem as big or as overwhelming when compared to the greatness of God. “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV).
If you want to stand out at work, one trait will put you head and shoulders above everybody else: Be an encourager. When you are known for being an encourager at your company, you’ll be at the top of the class, because encouragement is so difficult to find today. We live in a deeply negative culture, where put-downs seem to be favorite form of humor. People are constantly demeaned and degraded at work. They’re criticized and maligned. When somebody comes along and says, “Good job!” it makes a tremendous difference. Unfortunately, in most workplaces, the message comes through loud and clear that people really don’t matter to the company or the cause. All that matters is their work. The only thing they’re valued for at that job is what they produce. God calls us to communicate the exact opposite. He didn’t just create those people you work with—he died for them! That’s how much they matter. When we affirm the people we work with—even the ones we disagree with or don’t get along with or who just absolutely drive us crazy—we are telling them, “You matter to God, and you matter to me.” Here are three ways to affirm others: Listen to them. The Bible says, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NLT). One of the greatest gifts you can give people is an attentive ear. When you listen, you’re saying, “You matter. I value what you have to say. I value who you are.” Every time you genuinely listen to people at work, you’re ministering to them. Use positive words. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (NLT). God wants us, as believers, to be people builders, not people users. Most of the world is filled with people users. But when you speak positive words of encouragement to people and you build them up, you’re ministering. Pray for them. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:11, “You are helping us by praying for us” (NLT). Make a prayer list of the people you work with. Put it in your Bible, pray regularly for them, and watch what happens in your office or on your job site. You cannot pray for people and not see them start to change! I encourage you to mention that you’re praying for them and ask how you can pray for them. Even unbelievers appreciate people praying for them. Every time you do that, you’re building a bridge through which you can minister to people. “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17 NIV).
Have you ever met someone who is always arguing and looking for a fight? There's a story about one guy who was so argumentative he would only eat food that disagreed with him. Wise people work at maintaining harmony. James 3:17 says that true wisdom is peace-loving. If you’re wise, you don’t antagonize people’s anger. The Bible also says in Proverbs 20:3, “Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them” (GNT). You can only avoid arguments when you know what leads to them in the first place. Here are three causes of arguments:
If you want to be wise in your relationships, don’t antagonize others’ anger. “A wise man controls his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes” (Proverbs 14:29 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13 NIV).
Have you noticed how common sense isn’t so common? A lot of smart people are not too wise. They may be educated, but they don’t have wisdom. They may have all kinds of degrees, but they’re a washout with relationships. James 3:13 says that wisdom is a lifestyle: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (NIV). Wisdom has nothing to do with your intelligence. It has everything to do with your relationships and your character. It’s not a matter of what you say with your lips but what you live with your life—not a matter of your words but of your works and not so much your diplomas but your disposition. How can you know if you’re wise in the ways you relate to people? The Bible lists the characteristics of wise people in James 3:17: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (NIV). “Pure” means uncorrupted and authentic. In 1 John 3:3 this word is used to refer to Christ’s character. It means you have integrity. If you’re wise, you’re not going to lie to others, cheat them, manipulate them, or be deceitful. All relationships are built on trust and respect. If you’re not honest, who’s going to trust you? Who’s going to respect you? You must have integrity in your life. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely” (Proverbs 10:9 NIV). They’re not afraid of being found out because they don’t say one thing to one group and another thing to another group. Someone said, “No one has a good enough memory to be a habitual liar.” Eventually that person is going to slip up. But if you’ve got integrity, you can walk securely and confidently in your relationships because you know you’re not putting people on. Wise people do not compromise their integrity, because they know that having integrity is the only way to maintain healthy relationships. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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