Are You Hurting

ANXIETY / WORRY  DEPRESSION OR GRIEF

DO YOU SUFFER FROM ANY OF THESE?                                               

                                                             WE CAN HELP.

ANXIETY

 We live in an age that seems to demand that we worry.  Worry is not only an emotional problem, but uncontrolled worry can lead to many physical illnesses.  In His famous teaching often referred to as the "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus taught fourn truths about worry:

      First,  Worry is Unreasonable  ( Matthew 6:25 )

      Second,  Worry is Unnatural  ( Matthew 6:26 )

      Third,  Worry is Unhelpful  ( Matthew 6:27 )

      Fourth,  Worry is Unnecessary  ( Matthew 6:30 )

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is your life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying  can add a single hour to his life?"  (Matthew 6: 25-27) NIV

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  (Matthew 6:30) NIV

Simple help for anxiety and worry based on the acronym:

R.E.C.O.V.E.R.

R - Realize that I'm not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to

     worry and my life is unmanageable.

E - Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the

     power to free me from the bondage of fear / worry.

C - Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control.

O - Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I

      trust.

V - Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbl

      ask Him to remove my character defects.

E - Earnestly examine all my relationships and offer forgiveness to those who

      have hurt me and make amends for harm that I have done to others

      except, when to do so would harm them or others.

R - Remain faithful to these principles.

DEPRESSION

"Life is difficult," writes one writer, a fact that we have all found to be true.  The difficulty of life leads Chuck Swindoll to conclude that, "short-term depression is as common as the common cold."  The following discussion is meant to assist those going through short-term, non-complicated depression.  If you are experiencing 5 or more of the following symptoms, you should consult a professional for assessment; feeling sad or numb, most of the day nearly every day; loss of interest in activities that were generally enjoyable; difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much; loss of appetite; eating too much; difficulty concentration; feeling tired most of the time; loss of interest in maritial intimacy; feeling overwhelmed by life; loss of hope for the future; feelings of guilt or worthlessness; or, thoughts of death and dying.

Simple help for dealing with depression:

A. Get you thought life under control:

      1. Stop asking why;

      2.  Look for good and expect to find it;

      3.  List things in your life for which you are thankful;

      4.  Realize that there is hope;

      5.  Change the way you talk to your self, from negative to positive.

B.  Get your behaviors under control:

      1.  Do not consume alcohol;

      2.  Get out of bed and out of the house;

      3.  See family and friends;

      4.  Research the word "hope" in Scripture;

      5.  Establish a daily routine;

      6.  Journal your thoughts and moods.

GRIEF

The phrase "good grief" seems oxymoronic to most of us.  However, grief does help us recover from the inevitable losses encountered in life.  Medical researcher, Dr. Kubler-Ross, proposes five stages that people progress through following a catastrophic event.  It is very important to remember that these stages can occur in any order, and there is not a "right" time to progress through the stages:

      Denial            (this isn't happening to me!)

      Anger             (why is this happening to me?)

      Bargaining     (I promise I'll be a better person if . . .)

      Depression     (I don't care anymore)

      Acceptance    (I'm ready for whatever comes)

Grieving only begins where the 5 Stages of "Grief" leave off.  Grief professionals often use the concept of "Grief Work" to help the bereaved through grief resolution.  One common definition of Grief Work is summarized by the acronym TEAR:

      T = To accept the reality of the loss

      E = Experience the pain of the loss

      A = Adjust to the new environment without the lost object

      R = Reinvest in the new reality

Simple help for dealing with grief:

A.  Focus your thoughts on what healthy grieving does and does not mean:

      1.  Healthy grieving does not mean that you forget your loved one, rather, it

           allows for the formation of new relationships;

      2.  Healthy grieving allows us to keep our cherished memories and

           develop new memories.

      3.  Healthy grieving does not mean that we will instantly heal from our loss;

      4.  Healthy grieving serves a vital purpose by allowing us to say good-by.

B. Focus your behaviors:

      1.  Keep as normal of a routine as possible;

      2.  Say good-by.  Attend the funeral, visit the cemetery, consider writing a

           letter to your loved one, sharing your pain and thoughts.

      3.  Be truthful about your needs, concerns, and hurts with friends and family;

      4.  Meditate on the following:

When Science Is Silent

Said Dr. Joseph A. Parker:  "Some have found fault with me.  They say I am old-fashioned and out of date; I am always quoting the Bible; why not turn to science this morning?  "There is a poor widow here who has lost her only son.  She wants to know if she will see him again.  Science shall give the answer, and I will put the Book away."  So he took the Book and put it on the seat behind.  "Will this woman see her son again?  Where is he?  Does death end all?  What has science to say?"  Here a long pause.  "We are waiting for an answer, the woman is anxious."  Another long pause.  "The woman's heart is breaking.  Science must speak.  Nothing to say?  Then we must take the Book," and here he reverently replaced it, and with great deliberation opened it and read:  "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me . . . The dead shall arise . . . for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  O death, where is thy sting? . . . I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God."  Then, closing the Book, and patting it affectionately, he said, "We will stick to the Book!

Called! Held! Kept!

Frances Havergal, the songwriter, lived and moved in the Word of God.  His Word was her constant companion.  On the last day of her life, she asked a friend to read to her the second chapter of Isaiah.  When the friend read the sixth verse, "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee," Miss Havergal stopped her.  She whispered, "Called-held-kept.  I can go home on that!"  And she did go home on that.  She found His promises unfailing.

Death Frees the Soul

(A letter written to one's physical body.) 1 Colossians 15:44  "You and I have been together for a long time in a most intimate and valuable relationship.  Now you have grown old.  Your hearing and strength are failing.  Your resistance to cold is diminishing.  You cannot climb and run as you once did.  In a word, you are running down.  In a short time you will cease to breathe and your heart will stop beating.  When you can go no further, you will be returned to the substance of which you were made, and I shall continue on in that life where you are not needed.  A Power greater than you and I started us on this journey together.  Now I recognize that you are aware of the fact that your journey is nearing tis end, while my journey has scarcely begun.  I know this to be true, for while you are feeble.  I have never been more alive.  Our separation, therefore, cannot be one of  sadness, but wil be one of joy.  You are weary and want to stop.  I am longing to alight from this slowing vehicle and go on without you.  Death will mean that your desire to stop is granted, and my longing is satisfied."

Death for a Believer Is Sleep in Jesus' Arms

A farmer took his little son on a visit to a distant village.  Along the way they came to a swift stream spanned by a rickety old bridge which frightened the little lad even though it was daylight.  Returning at dusk, the boy recalled the stream and old bridge and became panicky.  How would they cross that turbulent stream in the dark?  Noting his anxiety, the father lifted the boy and carried him in his arms.  Before they reached the bridge, he was fast asleep against his father's shoulder.  As the next morning's sun streamed in his bedroom window, the boy awoke to discover he was safe at home.  At death the believer falls asleep in the Saviour's arms to awaken in His bright land of no night and no fear.

Death Is Not Neccessarily Loss

A little gril whose baby brother had just died asked her mother where Baby had gone.  "To be with Jesus," replied the mother.  A few days later, talking to a friend, the mother said, "I am so grieved to have lost my baby."  The little girl heard her, and remembering what her mother had told her, looked up into her face and asked, "Mother, is a thing lost when you know where it is?"  "No, of course not."  Well, then how can Baby be lost when he has gone to be with Jesus?"  Her mother never forgot this.  It was the truth.