23 JUN 24 Coffee with Chaps Devotional: Walking through anxiety and worry Day 3

Day 3: What are you focused on?

Matthew 6:33 “ But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In the different seasons of life, our attention is drawn by our needs and wants.  As a child, I wanted a BMX bike and that was all I was focused on.  As a teenager, it was sports.  As a young adult, I was seeking a lifelong relationship.  What we focus on can bring us worry, stress, and anxiety until it is obtained or discontent when it is not.  Such is the reality of human nature.

We can overcome these things when God changes our nature and the Holy Spirit takes up residence.  Worry and anxiety lose their grip on you when you change your focus to the things that truly matter now and for eternity.  Jesus says you have that ability when you “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”.  These are enough to fill our lives with meaning, purpose, service, identity, and a deeper connection with the community of faith and God.  

The old hymn tells us, ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’, reminds us that when we look into the face of Jesus our worries and anxieties ‘will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace’.  Jesus adds that those needs we worry about will be satisfied in Him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for bending down and hearing my prayer.  You know what things I worry about and what you want from me.  Lord, strip away my worry and help me to focus on you, your kingdom, and your righteousness.  I want to find my satisfaction in you, in Jesus’ name amen.

15 JUN 24 Coffee with Chaps Devotional - Walking through worry and anxiety Day 2

 Are you carrying burdens?

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

When you first leave home for college, you set off with a backpack filled with hopes and dreams.  You quickly realize that adulting is hard! As you walk this new journey your backpack can become filled with items that weigh you down like fear over grades, worry about juggling a part-time job and full-time school, needs & wants, difficulties with new relationships, failures, and the list goes on. Before long the pack is too heavy to move or live freely like you did when living with your parents.

One thing they won’t teach you in college is that God can take the burdens from your backpack and give you perspective, strength, and even joy.  Understand something about God, he sustains the entire universe including life from small insects to how planets orbit around the sun. No molecule is random or out of his control.  Our burdens are not too big for him to handle and he promises to be with us through these challenging times.  While we might think we are failing or drowning, God plans to use these stressors to develop us into the person he desires us to be.  Start talking to God about what is in that backpack of yours and get help from the One who can do something about it to alleviate the heaviness.

Heavenly Father, today my pack is too heavy because of the load I carry.  Help me to let go of anything that I do not need, and give me wisdom to deal with the rest.  I trust you to sustain and care for me as you and I walk this road together.  Make me into the person that you want me to be and use these burdens for your glory.  In your matchless name, amen.

12 JUN 24 Coffee with Chaps Devotional - Walking through worry and anxiety (Day 1)

12 JUN 24 Coffee with Chaps Devotional

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Phil. 4:6

Day 1 - What is the source of your worry and anxiety?

My wife and I adopted our last six children years ago who were all under the age of six at the time. It took time for them to trust that we would always be there for them fully and to care for their needs and many wants. Unconsciously, they worried if we might return them to foster care; if we would provide the bare necessities of life like food and shelter; or if we would love them as our ‘own’. Each day they witnessed our love and care for them with regular meals, clothes, their own bed, hugs and kisses, etc. We had to verbally affirm or remind them regularly that this would be their forever home and their needs would be met. Proving our love and care daily, eliminated their worry over time.

As adopted children of God, we have a good father who knows how to care for and develop us. Life is challenging and painful, and things don’t always go how we expect them to. God’s children are not immune to that and are often more likely to suffer. God’s words to us are “endure” and “trust” him through all of life’s highs and lows. We don’t have to worry because He is always with us and will provide what we need when we need it. Our worry and anxiety will decrease when we talk to him about our concerns and remember all that he has already done.

Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have done for me and how you have cared for my needs. I feel like I forget that when I’m going through a trial like this. I trust you with it and ask that you give me the strength and wisdom to endure. Let me remember that you are walking with me through this, and I am not alone. In Jesus name, amen.