Day 34 - Then What? Responding to Worry - Month 2 Week 5 Day 6

Today’s reading (Bible in 1 year) links to reading are at the end

Genesis 48 - 49:27

Isaiah 28

Matthew 22:23-46


I worry at times!  


Will we ever finish the renovations on the house?  Will the funds arrive to replace my truck?  Is God’s best plan to replace my truck (I sure hope it is but I may need to fix this truck, and I really want a new (to me) truck..I have my reasons!)?  Is Jake (our dog) going to be healthy this month or will we have another gigantic vet bill? He’s been sickly since we got him 5 years ago.  What should we do for vacation this year?  Can we even afford a vacation this year?  We’re supposed to go to the wedding of Syl’s only nephew in England next year; where will those funds come from?  Will Sylvia’s medical tests this year show she is still cancer free? She has been cancer free for 3 years, but I worry.  Is the driveway still safe for us?  We’ve had a lot of snow and now at our age, injuries come easier.  Is the deck strong enough for the weight of 2 feet of wet snow? I know it is structurally sound but I still worry.  Was that a mouse I just heard in the ceiling?  I thought that’s why we have pest control.  I sure hope Syl doesn’t hear it (I didn’t today, but I did several months ago).  I mentioned that because Sylvia reads my posts.  Hold on, was that chest pain a panic attack or a heart attack? First world stressors I know.


Life throws us a lot of curve balls and these concerns are very real to me.  I’m sure that you who are reading this have different but very real concerns.  


As I was reading today, in Genesis, all I could think of is God provided for Jacob’s family in Egypt, but they were already a family of wealth.  They were simply in a 7 year famine and God looked after their food needs.  


Hold on! I’m also a person of wealth.  I am not rich but God has provided much for us.  We own a house and that house is on the shore of the Bay of Fundy.  We have a truck…but we also have a car that’s in great working condition.  Jake is a great dog and his warmth and companionship is worth the vet bills.  We can actually discuss going on vacation when many people I know have never been out of this town, let alone discussing a trip to another country.  Sylvia is cancer free! We have a tractor with a blade and bucket to clear the snow.  The deck is still standing.  We have a pest control company to get rid of pests and it was just a panic attack because I worry about things I have no need to worry about.


Short interlude (Squirrel!)……Syl just sent me a comic frame of “Steve the Otter”.  He’s a character on facebook she follows (I think it’s because it’s “Steve” the Otter.  I think “Frank” the Otter would not have been quite as much fun).  Steve the Otter says, “Everything happens for a reason.  But sometimes the reason is that you’re Steve and you make bad decisions!”  


Doesn’t that fit what we are talking about?  Truth is, some of the predicaments we find ourselves in are self-inflicted, especially the money ones.  Thanks “Steve the Otter.”



The prophet Isaiah talks about Jesus at one point in our reading today.  He says “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.  He who believes in it will not be disturbed.  I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level…”  


Then I read in Matthew 22:37-40, the greatest commandments from Jesus' lips, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…and you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”


What I need to do in these times of worry is to refocus.  I need to refocus a lot!  Later today I expect I’ll need to refocus again and it may be as soon as 10 minutes from now.


We remember from a couple days ago’s scripture reading: Jesus is the cornerstone talked about in Isaiah.  “He who believes in it (the cornerstone) will not be disturbed.”


Sylvia will often talk about a woman in the US who is a dynamic bible teacher. One of the teaching segments many years ago, she talked about a conversation she had with a woman who was worried about a potential bad outcome of a decision she had to make. So, the teacher started responding to every worry by asking the woman “then what?” for every potential resulting consequence of her projected outcomes.” An example goes something like this:  


If I slip on the driveway, then what?  If I bang my head on a stone when I slip, then what?  If it causes a brain haemorrhage, then what?  If an ambulance doesn’t arrive for 45 minutes, then what?  If when the ambulance arrives, I’ve passed out, then what?  If I arrive at the hospital and they determine they need to operate immediately, then what?  If they operate and find the swelling is too great to repair, then what?  If an hour later, I pass away, then what?  I look into the face of Jesus and He says welcome home!  Syl wanted to see Jesus first but she’ll grieve but have peace in knowing where I am and that she will see me again at some point. 



This has been a tough one to write, and I’m being open about a lot in my life.  I pray that in some way it connects with you and somehow it will help you refocus or focus for the first time on Jesus.


Steve


Genesis 48 - 49:27 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2048-49%3A27&version=NASB1995

Isaiah 28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2028&version=NASB1995

Matthew 22:23-46 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022%3A23-46&version=NASB1995


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