I wonder whether everyone has a prayer crisis at some point? Mine occurred when my husband went to a selection conference for ordained ministry for a second time and was turned down. A group of us had prayed fervently that there would be good communication (not that he would get through), and when I read the report I realised that this prayer had been far from answered. The report did not represent the strengths and weaknesses of my husband and had some odd psychobabble thrown in for good measure. I was aware that the selectors would have been praying for good communication too and that my husband had prayerfully been struggling to understand his feeling of call. It seemed crushing that with all this prayer the end result was a rather odd document that no one could explain and a dead end.
I think I worry because I wonder whether I have made the right decision, I worry because I fear I will experience pain, I worry for many reasons. Eventually I realised that believing in God and fervent prayer will not stop any of these bad things happening, but on a good day I trust that whatever happens I will know the love of our heavenly Father. I worry because my trust is partial and I don't like pain. I guess the key to stop worrying is to trust God completely and embrace pain completely, both sound like the work of a lifetime.
9 comments:
Absolutely. I think most Christians are challenged by the sufferings of others, not by their own personal problems.
Montaigne wrote that he listed his worries in his journal. What he noticed as he read through his journal much later in life that the worries, largely, were about events that didn't occur.
I think the point is unless we confront our worries - speak to an "enemy", pay off a credit card, speaking to our GP etc ...etc the worry will control us.
God's role in our suffering is a complex issue. I don't believe God tortures us, I think he allows pain, suffering and evil to exist so that we have the ability to choose our response. In addition, the fall's impact on society means that we live in a world of flawed people which could explain why many people contribute to our pain rather than help.
Good point made by The Grumpy Cleric about confronting worries or the worry will control us. Like Montaigne, most of my worries are about future events which turn out not to happen, or were not as difficult to deal with as I'd feared. So you could say the worry was a complete waste of energy, as well as being something Jesus tells us not to do. On the other hand, a natural worrier like me, who always asks the 'what if' question can offer the gift of being well prepared with the snow shovel, rugs, food and drink just in case of being stranded in the car in heavy snow. Actually now that spring seems to have arrived in the UK I've taken the snow shovel out of the car. Was this wise? Snow is forecast in the Scottish mountains today.
As an atheist, I'm not sure what is meant by "worry is practical atheism." Would you be able to provide an explanation of that?
Dave W
xxAmericanAtheistxx@yahoo.com
A group of us had prayed fervently that there would be good communication (not that he would get through), and when I read the report I realised that this prayer had been far from answered.
God can do only that which is possible, all things considered. When a group of people are involved, and in most situations, there is almost always more than one person involved, each with free will, then God moves the situation to a better place, insofar as is possible.
As one who has a tendency to worry, I've found, with the help of a therapist, that turning away from worry is mostly an act of the will, unless the situation is at a crisis point. The therapist suggested the "turn off that tape" strategy. When you find yourself running the same worries over in your mind hit the off button. If the worries continue to emerge, keep hitting the off button until they don't return. The strategy worked for me but not for at least one other person to whom I've made the suggestion.
I hope I haven't overstepped the bounds with my advice.
Thanks to you all for your comments, and no Grandmere Mimi you haven't overstepped the bounds with your advice. It was all quite a long time ago and I think I had some odd expectations.. :s
Dave, I mean no offence, it was too long to post the response here so I have done it here: http://revdlesley.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-does-practical-atheism-mean.html, hope it answers your question
Hi Lesley,
I thought worry/anxiety was psychological condition that is generally useful, from an evolutionary perspective, but which shows itself in odd ways in humans because we have complex behaviours; and that it is essentially neurobiological in origin, having to do with the surfeit or deficit of particular neurotransmitters in different parts of the brain.
I don't see what it has to do with religious views, or that it means a worrier is a practical atheist, whatever that means; htough I can understand how someone with religious views might use them to cope with unwanted anxiety - basically a form of self-therapy.
I understand your point about fear and evolution, although I think worry/anxiety is a sort of thrashing that is unhelpful.
I think it is a little like you have suggested with the self help, but the other way round. So if someone was anxious you might suggest to them, as a self help therapy, that they imagine they are in the arms of a loving being who cares for their every need and is able to prevent harm coming to them. However, the point of the tweet is that Christians believe the latter, and hence why worry? I have pretty mixed feelings about it though.
Sorry, I'm a bit late to this.
I like this summary and I can relate:
"I worry because my trust is partial and I don't like pain. I guess the key to stop worrying is to trust God completely and embrace pain completely, both sound like the work of a lifetime."
This is what I see in Jesus. He trusted God completely because He loved Him and knew He was loved by Him, and this is what He preached to others. But if anyone had to embrace pain completely as well then I think He did!
Thanks Dan for that observation about Jesus, very pertinent.
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