Forty-five Minutes at Sixty-Three Feet
A. Trouble is normal.
“I have told you these things so you may have peace in Me. In the world you will have much trouble. But take hope! I have power over the world!” John 16:33 (NLV)
B. Get a game-plan for dealing with trouble.
1. Turn to God first.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1Peter 5:7
2. Grab perspective.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear… Psalm 46:1-2
3. Engage your memory.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— Psalm 103:2
a. Remembering has advantages.
1) Remembering refocuses us in the heat of life’s battles.
2) Remembering prompts God awareness.
3) Remembering reminds us that God is not taken by surprise by the troubles we’re currently facing.
4) Remembering drives
a) Gratefulness
b) Confidence
c) Courage
d) Encouragement
e) Hope
f) Love for Him
5) Remembering reinforces the truth that I’m not facing life alone.
b. Forgetting has liabilities.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Deuteronomy 4:9
1) Forgetting encourages going back to our hard-wired preset of trusting ourselves.
2) Forgetting breeds anxiety about the present
3) Forgetting feeds fear about the future.
4) Forgetting intensifies the feeling that I might be facing life alone.
... “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid…” Hebrews 13:5-6
