John 14:6
Jesus is Truth
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Genesis 3:1-13
The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Isaiah 59:2
Our Sins Separate Us from God
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Paul Prays Three Times for God to Remove His Thorn
7 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
1 Peter 5:7
Give Your Anxiety to Him
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Philippians 4:6-7
Pray When You are Anxious
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Luke 10:26-27
Love God With All Your Heart, Your Soul, Your Mind, and Your Strength
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Pray Continually
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
John 16:33
The Holy Spirit Guides Us to Truth
33 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
John 14:27
Jesus Gives Us Peace, But Not of This World
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have had anxiety for over forty four years, and have many times wondered if that is part of God's plan for me and why...I have prayed many more times than three (the number of times St. Paul prayed to God to remove his thorn) to remove this thorn from my flesh and mostly my mind...I have had many days and weeks when my moods are low, my feelings, and my thoughts have been up and have been down, but mostly down...Racing, negative thoughts have dominated many days...There have been many days when I haven't felt good at all during the day, and have felt anxious about and over the littlest of things...Anxiety for years has been a part of my day, each and everyday...I have felt the need to cry and have cried at times...From these past several years, I sometimes wonder if God has been with me, as my feelings and my many, many thoughts have been negative...I have thought a lot about God in my anxiousness...From my past experiences I have learned different things about my feelings and thoughts and body sensations...I have learned that my negative thoughts are often the cause of my anxiety...Old habits, old memories, negative thoughts keep my anxiety going...And fear plays a role in mood disorders, as well...So my own thoughts are causing me to be anxious...But even knowing these things, I am still anxious...I wonder if the Fall of Man is the reason for anxiety being in the world and with me...
And sadly these fears take away many things...They even take away dreams...They are negative thoughts that come and persist, and last, and cling, and stick in my mind...
Yet, in all this anxiousness Something still gives me hope...What could this be, that there is always hope out there for my suffering?...My days have been up and many days have been down...Days fall and days rise with my mood...Thoughts come, and many negative thoughts stay longer than others...Thoughts get adhesive and sticky and stay...And I continue to pray...St. Paul wrote to the Philippians and said do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God...And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus...There is hope in Jesus...
It has taken me many, many years to realize that thoughts are just thoughts -and this is a continuing learning process for me...John Zinn, author of many mindfulness books says thoughts are just mental events, thoughts are discreet events, much like the sounds we hear...For years I thought people were a function of their thoughts and the feelings they were having...I had always viewed thoughts as real and very personal...And through the years, I have learned we sometimes reason with our feelings...But we are not our only our thoughts and our emotions, we are more...Our thoughts and emotions do not have to define us...But when thought are racing they do try to...Thoughts are these mental events along the path of life...God has made us more than our thoughts and our feelings...And He has given us the ability to have faith...I also used to think that feelings and the idea of feeling good was a very important part of life...But there are other things to life than trying to be feeling good and being happy...Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount doesn't make feeling comfortable a priority at all...He says blessed are those who mourn...I used to think when one felt good, they probably were close to God...Jesus does not teach us this, so I do not think this way any more...I also thought that those filled with the Holy Spirit were probably feeling very good, and probably had feelings of elation...Now, I am not so sure of relating only our feelings to our LORD or the Holy Spirit that God has indwelt in us...I am no longer sure of how one feels and how close one's personal feelings relate to the Holy Spirit...I feel the Holy Spirit is aware of your feelings and is with you...But sometimes He does not change your feelings as you want them quickly changed for the better or to feel better...
Another way now that I look at feelings and thoughts are when I read about the fall of man...When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, we are not told if they enjoyed the fruit, after they tasted and ate it...But we are told that the fruit was pleasing to the eye and was good for food...The forbidden fruit was after all there in the garden and was good for food...The forbidden fruit was pleasing and good to the eye...But let us guess, Adam and Eve both enjoyed very much the taste of the fruit...Which if they did, then they both enjoyed the temptation and the sin they had just committed...I think some temptations and some sins committed are like this...They look good, they look pleasing, and they taste good, and can make us temporarily feel good...But they were only passing feelings for Adam and Eve...And they had to leave Eden, which is sad...So when I read about the Fall of Man, any enjoyment in thought and the feelings of "feeling good" do not actually make things true or good...The end sin probably made Adam and Eve feel bad after they had thought about it, and had to leave Eden and their original home...Once they reflected on these things, they surely had feelings of sadness and unhappiness...
This has led me to believe and to think more about feeling good and how we look at Truths...The old expression if it feels good do it, can cause us harm...Or if it looks good, eat it...Adam and Eve after eating the fruit had to leave Paradise...As very pleasing to the eye as the fruit was, it was harmful to us...So good feelings and pleasant thoughts are not necessarily the Truth, as we can tell by the forbidden fruit that was eaten...And when we sin, we know we are further are separated from God, than when we do not sin...
Feeling good about something and the way things look are not how we should do our reasoning...Reasoning, in my opinion, has to do with the Truth, how logical it is, and it involves the Spirit...But good reasoning has the elements of the heart in it...Jesus teaches us that the Law of Moses involves the love of the emotional heart, the Spiritual soul, our body's strength, and our reasoning minds...LOVE is much more about life than feeling good...Thus life is much more than just feeling good...It makes sense to me, that we must go beyond our feelings and beyond just feeling good to discover Truth, logic, and reasoning...There is Something Bigger surrounding us and in us...And the more we believe in God and do the will of God and follow God, the better the indwelt Holy Spirit can guide us to these Truths...So, if we stay focused on God and we pray regularly and continually, then we can be better guided into all Truth...We can better seek and find the Truth, and our reasoning becomes better if we listen better to the Holy Spirit...Because if we are listening to the indwelt Holy Spirit with not only our minds, the feelings of our hearts, and also our souls -we are listening to Someone who is beyond thought and feeling...And not only this, but with this better use of our reasoning with the guiding indwelt Spirit, our minds, and our hearts, we can better thwart many of the temptations we face...
I had often thought of feeling good, was a constant and daily goal, and was a part of what life was about walking with God...After all, why wouldn't He want us happy and smiling and always feeling good...He created us, and created us in His Image...One of the lessons in Eden is, we should not just be guided by the things that look good and are pleasurable...We see that even some temptations can look pleasing and make us feel good, but last only a short while...And our moods are not facts or Truths...Our moods and our feelings are just reactions to our thoughts...Our good, bad, or indifferent thoughts, our good, bad, and indifferent feelings, and our good, bad, and indifferent moods pass on...They are just regular daily mental events passing in our minds...My mood today is not the same as it was last year...Moods come and go...Moods are literally here today, and gone tomorrow, or the next week, or the next month...Our feelings change, our moods change, and each and every day our thoughts change...But Truth does not change...Truth is forever...Our indwelt Holy Spirit does not change...The Holy Spirit is always there searching for the Truth and guiding us to the Truth...Jesus gives us a peace in our day today, but also the hope of tomorrow -and it is not of this world...And only He can do this...He is this hope we hold on to...
I have for a long time been inspired by Job...Job endured...I often read and think about Job, when I feel threatened and feel fear, when I am anxious...
God is hope, but much, much more than hope...God is more than non-answers and answers...God is more than words...Job found that out...The Christian Julian of Norwich said this hundreds of years ago, “If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me...But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.”...
There is hope in His Sermon on the Mount...A Better Place, a Better Kingdom...