THE SLOW KILLER DISEASE!

13th FEBRUARY 2023

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. –Philippians 4:6

This topic has become recurrent due to the number of sudden or premature deaths being recorded these days. A well-known slow-killer disease in the history of humanity is hypertension or high blood pressure, which sometimes arises due to a combination of anxiety and stress. Anxiety not checked leads to hypertension, depression, confusion and lack of confidence.  Major causes of anxiety are the following: Worries about not making it, fear of poverty and insecurity.  That is majorly so because life is not always easy, and there are always moments that we find very difficult to overcome. I also know that the chief reason people go to church is that they desire God’s blessings to live a successful life free from poverty and insecurity, not necessarily because they want to worship God.

Anxiety and fear do not remove problems; rather, they complicate or multiply them. That is the reason, Jesus Christ taught us to live in the PRESENT to overcome failure and poverty. As far as the Master is concerned, the troubles of one day are enough for that day. That is because when we think about our pasts and the future, we end up not enjoying the PRESENT moment with its wonderful gifts.

There are many reasons things would not happen as we plan. These are reasons clearly beyond our control. This is because you cannot change the course of the universe directly, and neither can you change how other people behave. But you can change how you react to any negative influences. For instance, if you can accept whatever happens to you as the will of God for you in Christ Jesus, then you would have solved all your problems as well as healed your anxiety. But if you are accusatory or tend to blame others for your travails, then you have lost it, and your problems may never get solved.

The scripture says, in all things, give thanks to God for that is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. That, also means nothing happens by accident, and God knows it all and sure would make all things perfect again. If you truly wish to overcome poverty and fear, then the PRINCIPLE is that you refuse to think about the future. Plan very well for the future, though, but do not fret or become anxious about whether you will fail or succeed in life. Some people say they are not worried or anxious, yet their blood pressure rises by the day. Unknown to them. However, they already have fear, and anxiety bottled up in their subconscious mind! Also, we sometimes go through life with so much stress that we do not remember to rest the nerves or the heart. That is a wrong lifestyle. You must remove anxiety from your life!

Furthermore, if you are already experiencing poverty, and grave insecurity, to change your condition for good, the PRINCIPLE is that you must accept what you are experiencing at the moment as the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. This may sound foolish to some of us. But remember that when God gives a commandment, He gives you a miracle in return for your obedience to His command. The reason for thanksgiving in times of trouble, pains and trauma, is to align your spirit with Christ. Remember, Christ in you is the hope of glory. Simply leave all the troubles and pains with Jesus, and he will give you a triumphant exit plan.

Today’s scripture says, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING, RATHER PRAY FOR EVERYTHING with thanksgiving, then, God will grant you peace and fulfilment. To overcome anxiety, try taking the following steps every day:

1.     Pray and spend some time in meditation, talking to God. Tell Him about your worries.

2.      Believe in God’s plan. Our God is a miracle worker.

3.     Trust God. It is not easy to trust God, especially when you feel like things are out of control, but still, you must keep trusting Him. You must trust God for His grace to abide with you.

4. Thank God for what you are going through and thank Him also for what He will do for you.

5. Take good care of your health challenges, and rest well. Even if you can’t afford luxury food, drink plenty of water daily!

PRAYERS

Father in the name of Jesus Christ, I thank you for today’s word. Lord, I commit everything into your hands. Please give me the inner light to comprehend your commandment and the inner strength to overcome problems. AMEN.

FURTHER READING: Matthew 6:25-34