4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:4-7 NRSV
There is no wonder why Christmas is celebrated in the winter. Even though by the position of the stars and the presence of shepherds and sheep scientist and biblical scholars have concluded that the advent or first coming of our Lord , the birth of Christ more than likely happened in the warm months of the spring or summer, even with all of that considered there should be no wonder why there are so many holidays (to include Christmas) in the winter months. Could you imagine if November thru February had as few holidays (and days off) as March through June does(there's really just Memorial day? )
Psychologist have recognized that there is a special dis-ease that comes in the winter, they call it Seasonal affective disorder or SAD. They say that the shorter periods of day light combined with the lower temperatures in the winter lead to higher levels of depression. But you don't need cold weather and lack of sunlight to be sad. We are going through a winter economically, and as some of our pundits say, when America catches a cold minorities get the flu. This time of year with the change of temperature changes also seems to bring a wave of deaths. Losing a loved one during the holidays can mar you ability enjoy the holidays for a life time, if we let it.
Some of us are going through a spiritual winter. The thing we thought we had under control in our life, that evil that you would not do, that is the thing you do. Then the good that you would do you can't seem to do. Anybody used to be able to pray and felt like the power of heaven came down before your prayer was over, but now we'd be lucky if we stayed awake thru the one prayer we try before bed. These things can lead to depression. And if we're not careful depression works in a cyclical and repetitive way. Depression can magnify itself. Depression starts out with a (1) negative event or happening, then that leads to a (2) low self esteem or negative interpretations of why the event or thing happened, that leads to a (3) feeling of sadness or depression, which if not handled correctly might lead to taking on some (4) negative behaviors, and those negative actions and behaviors have (5) some social consequences that lead to some social rejection and loneliness, another (1) negative event that starts the cycle all over again.
That's why it is important to learn from Mary, rather than magnify her problems (a teenage mother, pregnant with another's child) Mary choose to say “My Soul doth Magnify the Lord!” Yes, I'm going to realize that my God is bigger than my problems are, so I can break this cycle of depression before it even gets started. You see when I focus on and dwell on my problems , they seem bigger than the Lord. But when I magnify His name, when I make His name big my cycle of depression is broken. When I worship Him over my worry depression has to walk out of the door of my mind because I realize that the Name of the Lord is a strong tower, [that] the righteous [can] run into and they are saved. I realize that God is bigger than my problems.
I told my classmate from Virginia union how impressed I was that he's studying at Princeton. I said Gerald, Doc, do you realize that you are studying at Princeton? See I was magnifying Princeton, not that I was minimizing Virginia Union our masters level education, or Howard university my undergrad education, but doc...you're studying at Princeton! That's where they make the SAT prep books!
My barber taught my son a lesson one day, he was cutting AJ's Hair and a fly started floating around AJ's head, now this caused great peril for him because AJ's hands were under the barber's smock and he couldn't lift them to swat the fly away. He also was undoubtedly aware of the fact that if he moved Mr. Leo might cut him in the wrong place and potentially ruin his hair cut or an ear. He reasoned that his best move was to alert Mr. Leo to the presence of the fly, and it's impending danger. Well, Mr. Leo, who happens to be a youth pastor, taught Alijah a powerful lesson that he hasn't forgotten. It was as profound as it was simple. Maybe it can help some of us who might aim to be smarter than a six year old. Mr Leo said to Alijah "You should never be afraid of something, that's not bigger than you." Well not only are your problems not bigger than you, no problem you'll ever have in life will ever be bigger than your God. When your problems seem too big for you to handle, you need to remember to worship over your worry.
Sometimes the stress of the holiday season can become overwhelming when we focus on:
1.)the used to be's but ain't no more
2.)the not yet's, but needs to be
3.)wish it was but probably never gon' be.
The holiday season can become an occasion of sadness, stress and disappointment when we focus on the history of our past, the inadequacies of our present and our yet fulfilled future; however when we chose to worship God rather than worry He is able to grant us the peace on earth and good will towards all men that His coming promises.
You may ask, how can I worship over my worry? You can worship over your worry when you remember when God Did. “4 Rejoice (When?) Always and again I say rejoice” I rejoice always because God always brings me out. You can worship over your worry when you realize where God Is “5B The Lord is near” God is that very present help in the time of my not yet [Trouble]. You can worship rather than worry, when you realize that your Not yet's won't always be Not yet's, because God is near. God is moving closer to making my Not yet's my remember when God did's. You can worship over your worry when you request what God wants to give. “6 in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” God gave me, is giving me and will give me exactly what I need. I thank Him for not always giving me what I ask for. God gives us the peace that passes all understanding. All of us will at times stress about what's not yet, or be disappointed about how things aren't anymore. But when I worship God rather than worry He gives us peace on earth and good will to all men to enjoy during the holiday season.
No comments:
Post a Comment