Today’s Haiku

I feel so nervous

I don't feel ready for this

Class starts tomorrow

Growing Together

Tomorrow is the day! I am very anxious about going back to class. I am still recuperating from surgery. I also have a medical procedure coming up later this month. I had two bad dreams about school today, adding to my anxiety.

What would you do if you were me?

What did I do?

I did not take a “chill pill.” I took a GosPill (Gospel) and cried out to the LORD.

The Apostle Peter gives instructions to the Elders and the laity in I Peter Chapter 5. The remedy is found in verse 7: 

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” (Contemporary English Version)

I still have some apprehension, but it is not as strong now. Matthew 6:25-34 is a popular Scripture passage pertaining to worries. Jesus is telling us to not worry and he explains why.

I want to speak on Matthew 6:31. The King James Version (KJV) says

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink: or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

Other translations do not say, “Therefore take no thought, saying, […]” When I did some comparisons, I saw phrases such as, “Therefore do not be anxious (or do not worry, or do not START to worry), saying […]”

What is this about? 

I can see Jesus giving us examples of things we should not be saying when we are anxious. I can see Jesus giving us examples of things we do not need to worry about.

However, I notice the Good News Translation says, “do not start to worry.” Other translations say, “do NOT worry” (emphasis mine). I could interpret this to mean we have the right to be concerned about things, but we should not worry over them. But what about the people who suffer from anxiety disorders or who tend to practice catastrophic thinking? I believe the Lord would never ask us to do something we are not capable of doing. So, either the Lord is asking some people to do something they cannot possibly do without divine intervention or something else is being said here.

I was taught that when we speak our anxieties, we are giving life to them because the power of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). My Old Testament Hebrew professor taught me that the King James Translators did a good job with the New Testament Greek (the Hebrew is another matter). Let’s look at the words of Jesus as translated in the KJV in Matthew 6:31 again:

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink: or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

I want to focus on “Therefore take no thought, saying[.]”

1. Jesus told us not to take thoughts.
2. How do you take a thought?
3. Jesus enhances his instructions by showing us how we take thoughts.
4. We take thoughts by speaking them out loud.

I believe that when we speak thoughts and feelings out loud, we make them more concrete and give them life and power.

Consider this, let’s say I prayed that God would give me a better job. I go out with some friends who ask me about my job search, and I say, “It’s hopeless. There are no jobs out there and I am trapped.”

Don’t you think God heard me say that? I asked Him to help me and then I say there are no jobs and the situation is hopeless. Could it be that God heard me and says, “She believes there are no jobs and the situation is hopeless. Okay then. She will have what she has faith for – nothing.”

The takeaways for me today are:

1. Ask God for help.
2. Do not become angry when I do not get the full manifestation of the help right away.
3. Be more mindful of what I say. 
4. The words I speak show what I believe.
5. The words I speak give life to my thoughts.
6. My spoken words can negate my prayers.

What have you learned today?

Will you think twice before you speak?