Forward this blog to at least 14.5 people that are awesome beyond words and you’ll get a unexpected blessing within the hour. I don’t know about you but I always scratch my head when I get forwarded emails containing similar instructions….and promises. Are the people that send them convinced that the simple act of forwarding an email to a pre-described number of people will magically generate the answer to that perplexing life situation they’re facing? Or the failure to send said email will solidify their demise?
source :fun-optical-illusions.blogspot.com
In the end I know that the people forwarding the emails are intelligent and hard working people and they have more logic than to truly believe that an email train is the cause of anything good or bad that happens in their lives. But I think the continued presence of these sort of emails represents the part in all of us that longs for an easy answer, a good luck charm of some sort. If the answer is as easy as hitting the “forward” button then why wouldn’t we take that step? And perhaps forwarding these messages gives us some sense of control over the things that we WANT to have control of. It’s that feeling inside that if there’s anything that might POSSIBLY make a difference that we should do it. This applies to so many more actions than forwarding mass emails. Maybe it’s a rubbing a rabbit’s foot (which, BTW—ewww), wearing a lucky jersey, maintaining a specific routine before a big meeting or a number of other I-know-I-seem-ridiculous-but-I’m-doing-it-anyways activities.
And regardless of the practical results we see (or more often don’t see) because of these actions, we continue to do them. We wish for an easy answer to the issues we face, for something to appear from nowhere to make the sands shift in our favor. Its the feeling of scratching a lottery ticket for the tenth time saying “I have a feeling, THIS one is gonna be a winner!” even though we know the outcome will most likely be just like the previous nine tickets and we will be out ten bucks with no real reward. Our bills are still piling up, our rent is still due and our job still beckons us on Monday morning. The forwarded email and lottery ticket make no impact.
If you have a relationship with Jesus, the Bible tells us that we can rest assured that life will be OK without any forwarded emails, good luck charms or sleepless nights of worry (Matt 6:33-34). It assures us that there is no possible thing that we can do to ruin this security–even when a forwarded email tells us differently. When your pile of bills outgrows your income source. When you are facing a health diagnosis that freaks you out. When you are going through trials in your job (or lack thereof), marriage (or lack thereof), family or community. Do an exercise with me. Look at today’s date on the calendar. Rewind your life six months, one year, five years and ten years. When you mark those previous dates down I need you to do one more thing. Write down the things that you were worried or anxious about on those exact dates. Then write down what good came from those anxious thoughts and emotions.
What did you write down? Can you even remember the things that troubled you then? And if you can show that your worry actually produced positive results I would love to hear about it! (seriously! post it below!) Whenever I’m in the midst of my flavor-of-the-day stress, I remind myself of that in six months or a year I will likely have completely forgotten about whatever seems so important right now. And associated with it, all of the energy I spend on worry, anxiety or trying to prepare for any possible outcome/scenario is completely wasted because it has zero effect on what actually comes to pass. This is profoundly stated in the NLT version of Luke 12:22-32 where it asks “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” The answer is always no, so why do we even bother with the worries?
Instead I remind myself to pray and let it go, like I’m reminded to do in Philipppians 4:5-7 which says that I can exchange anxiousness for peace.
Whatever you find yourself anxious about today, I urge you to let go of the stress and enjoy what you can of your day even though it might feel like you’re doing the opposite of what you should. Challenge yourself to put the worry away and instead pray and let God’s peace wash over you. The only thing you’ll change by stressing out is your ability to experience peace. Not the outcome of that interview, health screening, discussion with your spouse or whatever situation you find yourself in. Let the results of those rest in the hands of the ever faithful God!
Do you have any tips for others that are facing stressful situations? How do you remind yourself to focus on God instead of your trials? What “good luck charms” have you relied on in the past?
PS–Forward this blog to 14.5 people that are awesome beyond words. I don’t promise anything amazing in return—just my gratitude 🙂
Keep It Beautiful 