AT THE RIGHT MOMENT ONE DAY AT A TIME

AT THE RIGHT MOMENT ONE DAY AT A TIME

We live in a fast paced, hurried, noisy, and stressful world.

I met a friend who came from the big city, relocating his work and family in a rural town. The first thing he observed was the laid back tempo which, he found hard to adjust because he was used to the pressure loaded, edgy, and time conscious frenetic activity. 

I remember reading about a Christian missionary who visited the Bedouin nomads and lived with them for a few days. The tribe did not have the modern conveniences. They live in tents. They did not have electricity. They follow the natural rhythm of nature. They tend their flocks by day, and sleep soundly at night. They get plenty of sun, fresh air, and burn up calories  through physical work. They simply flow with the natural cycle of rest, sleep, eat, work, and fellowship.

The missionary noted the absence of debilitating stress in their way of life. 

Modern society doesn’t operate that way, anymore. It is not surprising that we have become a generation of stressed out,  irritable, high strung, impatient, unkind, and  anxious people. 

Surely there must be more to life than this. 

There is no better guide to life than God’s Word, revealed in the Bible. 

Before modern Psychology and Psychiatry, became special disciplines the Bible has already laid out the principles which could help us cope with life’s stressors.   

God designed the mind to be a very powerful force, which could bring healing and balance, if it is fully focused on the right virtues.

In his exhortation to the Christians in Philippi, St. Paul taught them to think or meditate on the things which are true, noble, just pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8)

Every day we have no control over the circumstances that come in our way. We are likely to be exposed to negative and depressing people or situations, even distressing or hurting life events.

St. Paul reveals to us this nugget of divine teaching. He says we should not allow these things to overwhelm our thoughts. To let our thoughts helplessly dwell on  life’s unwholesome stressors, would only mean a troubled, fearful mind. 

The Saintly Apostle tells us take control of our thoughts, by directing the mind to dwell outwardly on the good and godly virtues. This is the best prescription to take when we suffer from the  ill effects of seemingly unbearable stress. A mind that thinks of pure, noble, true, lovely and praiseworthy thoughts, has no place to entertain negative, fearful and harmful thoughts.

Most people are too proud to accept help in times of trouble. They are the best candidates headed for emotional and mental breakdown if they are not careful in dealing with stress.

It is not God’s will for our lives to take more than we could ever carry. When the load is too heavy, cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7). The problem for most hard driving people is they often plunge and get ahead adding the worries of tomorrow to the cares of today, in a telescopic effort to be in control.

The problem is, no one can ever claim to be in absolute control, even with the best laid out plan. Only God Almighty is in control. We don’t need to get ahead of Him, because the Lord Himself goes before us. He dispenses His mercy and grace at the right moment one day at a time.