Madre
02-04-2008, 11:29 PM
Excerpted from Getting Through the Tough Stuff: It's Always Something
by Chuck Swindoll:
The arithmetic of worry
After years of studying the tough stuff of anxiety (and yielding to it more times than I want to remember), I've distilled what I've learned about its destructive power into four practical principles. I'll make them easy to remember by giving them to you in simple math—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
1. We worry when we add unnecessary pressure to an already full plate. Trying to meet everyone's expectations adds unnecessary pressure.
2. We worry when we subtract God's presence from our crises. Adversity minus God's presence equals doubt and fear.
3. We worry when we multiply our problems by inserting our solutions prematurely. Anxiety grips us when we insist on finding our own way out of the tough stretches in life instead of walking with God through them.
4. We worry when we divide life into the secular and the sacred. God doesn't want to compartmentalize our lives. He wants every aspect to be under His control.
by Chuck Swindoll:
The arithmetic of worry
After years of studying the tough stuff of anxiety (and yielding to it more times than I want to remember), I've distilled what I've learned about its destructive power into four practical principles. I'll make them easy to remember by giving them to you in simple math—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
1. We worry when we add unnecessary pressure to an already full plate. Trying to meet everyone's expectations adds unnecessary pressure.
2. We worry when we subtract God's presence from our crises. Adversity minus God's presence equals doubt and fear.
3. We worry when we multiply our problems by inserting our solutions prematurely. Anxiety grips us when we insist on finding our own way out of the tough stretches in life instead of walking with God through them.
4. We worry when we divide life into the secular and the sacred. God doesn't want to compartmentalize our lives. He wants every aspect to be under His control.