DON'T LIVE IN FEAR!

 Don't Live In Fear

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and thanksgiving present your requests to God" Philippians 4:6(NIV)

A little note of caution here. This passage does not mean to not have a care in the world.

We all know this is not humanly possible.

To paraphrase the medieval author Chaucer life is a "thoroughfare of woe and we are pilgrims passing to and fro."

Life is about struggle and facing trials of many kinds.

But once again so much about gaining peace and joy in life has to do with your state of mind.

You need to face all the challenges and obstacles before you with a state of positive expectation.

There are a few things that you can do to stack the odds in your favor so as not to be anxious about your life day to day.

First of all, quit feeding your mind junk! What I mean by this is to stop listening to all the negative news that is spewed out daily through all the social media sites. Most public sources of "news" know that positive reports don't sell or attract attention. 

Especially in today's world of media saturation it is important to filter everything that you see and hear.

This does not mean to be paranoid but rather to not believe everything that you see and hear from network news or other sources of information.

Secondly, count your blessings! When you are really feeling down about the way life seems to be going take time to do the Benjamin Franklin test of your condition.

This test is simply where you create 2 columns and on the one side you write down everything that is going good in your life or that you have to be thankful for. In the other column you write down what you are "up against" at the moment.

It is amazing how more often than not the good outweighs the bad.

Thirdly, pray continually.

One of the things that you find out early on in life is you can't do it all on your own.

In sports you have your team mates.

In the military you have your comrades.

In life you have your family and friends.

Teamwork is the way great things are accomplished in all walks of life.

And who better to be the team captain than the Lord Himself.