Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book. Trade Your Cares for Calm (p. 40). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It really is, isn’t it? Max says, “And for good reason. Only God has the power to see and know everything. But we forget. And before long, we’re back at it—running too fast, working too many hours, and trying to control everyone and everything around us. “The question isn’t if this approach will wear you out. It’s what do you do when you run out of gas? Stare at the gauge? Blame your upbringing? Deny the problem? Never works.” He goes on, “In the case of an empty tank, we’ve learned: get the car to a gas pump ASAP. In life, we try to push the car ourselves. We are in such a hurry to get where we want to go that we scoff at the service station, get out of the driver’s seat, and try to do things with our own effort. Push, push, push. Stopping for gas is for wimps. “If you are putting in sixty hours a

A thought by Max Lucado from his book. Trade Your Cares for Calm (p. 12). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But we live like it, don’t we? Matthew 6:34 (MSG) says, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” Max then says, “Doesn’t each day have its share of challenges? Some of them repeat themselves over time; others are one-day specials. The key to tranquility is to face today’s problems and no more, to treat each day like a self-contained unit. Here are today’s problems. Meet them with God’s strength. But don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today. You can’t cross a bridge until you reach it.” He goes on: “• Find a parking place for tomorrow’s problems . W

A thought by Max Lucado from his book. Trade Your Cares for Calm (p. 2). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) How will you face this day?   Many will face today with anxiety and some with fear.   Max says, “Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one. Fear screams, Get out! Anxiety ponders, What if? Later he says, “Chances are that you or someone you know seriously struggles with anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are reaching epidemic proportions. ‘The United States is now the most anxious nation in the world.’   (Congratulations to us!) The land of the Stars and Stripes has become the country of stress and strife.” He goes on, “It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote, ‘Be anxious for nothing’ (Philippians 4:6). ‘Be anxious for less’ would have been a sufficient challenge. Or ‘Be anxious only on Thursdays.’ Or ‘Be