There's this brother in my church, in a group that i belong to. He's "respected" and thought of as a "spiritual heavy". Unfortunately, and God forgive me, i don't see it that way. Don't get me wrong - he definitely has great love for the Lord, but his speechifying can be a little misleading (and a bit much).

He's the kind of guy whose said "only pray for it once and leave it alone" and something similar to "pray and you'll walk on water" (massive paraphrasing here...) You can see how dangerous that can be, especially to young christians. In my mind, i feel like i've developed a discernment on what to believe in, and what might be dangerous (like this guy's advice & words). But with a new, eager disciple, this type of thinking will lead to inevitable letdown. And more likely than not, baby christians may not be ready for such "disappointment" and probably walk away from God because "He let them down".

(I've shared this with him & the group, and him, that this type of thinking, although biblical, is irresponsible as you really need to know your audience...)

Pls understand that I love the Lord... not for what He gives me, but because of what He's done with me so far. How he's changed me so I can lean upon Him even more, how He has put aside a lot of worry and thoughts that have distracted me from Him... And by helping me grow, He has given me back so much time & energy, where I gladly give it back to Him.

This new job is a blessing. Only God can make a better paying job, with an even better future with a company (and for my career), happen in 7 days!

And yet, there is a part of me that doesn't want to rejoice until I start the job. It's weird - i got the job... and yet, the rejection responses for all of the other jobs I had previously applied to bother me to the bone as they are now showing up... I hate rejection, and yet i'm letting "this" affect the better "blessing" that God has provided me.

This is a scripture that I can trust because it doesn't offer "100% resolution"... it leaves the opportunity to imply that if this fails, it's because of me - the weakest link in the chain. It also leaves room that anxiety won't stop, unlike the advice the above-brother might give (with a generic "the Lord will cure you of all things").

I lost my mom 1.5yrs ago, and if I had followed this guy's advice in regards to "the power of prayer", I would've ended up disappointed & upset because my prayers to bring my mom back would have 99.99% gone unanswered. God is capable of so many things, and has proven that death is not an obstacle for Him... but death is a part of life for all of us. It's in that finality where we are questioned with "what are you going to do with your time?" Are you going to live it for yourself, or for something greater?

When i was praying for a job, i kept sharing that I love the Lord, and know that He will pull something amazing out from His Hat... but that i also felt horrible because i was still worried. My excuse was "at least i'm not freaking out, like when i lost my job 21yrs ago!"... but that's because of what He has done for me (through a relationship & therapy). And it's thru the maturity of that relationship, and the witnessing of His miracles & gifts, that I remained (somewhat) calm. So why did I worry?

A couple of friends with whom i was praying with during this time, simply shared that we're human and imperfect. And even with my imperfections, the Lord knows that I love Him. And altho I have a hard time seeing that, much less remembering that, I do. It's evident wherever I am.

Another scripture that I love is:

Another one that's not a "one-n-done" type of prayer, even tho it may seem like it. Yes, it's simple steps to an answer, but leaves it open to performing this as many times as needed. God is All-Powerful, and can make it so we only need to do this once... but how does that develop our faith in Him? Yes, we would definitely trust Him, but we'd also be spoiled children.

This scripture does not tell us how many times we need to\should do for relief from anxiety - If you're familiar with "giving your anxiety to God", sometimes we feel relief immediately, but is usually short-lived (and that's ok - that's because of our heart). What's great about this scripture is, we can do this as many times as needed for that relief. And unlike our friends (or therapists), God does not mind hearing us pray to Him over a worry for the millionth time! How awesome is that? How great is our God?

And along with consistent prayer to God, putting my quiet time to "paper" helps me to relieve me from worry. It offers a chance to re-focus my mind on where it should be - upon Him. He has answered on of the most important requests of 2022 to date - a job! A job that is exactly what I do, but with more coding (which excites me even more!!) And to sweeten this blessing even more, it's for more money! More money than I have ever made in my entire life! (think about it - how is it that i can do what I love, and make the money that i'll be making, without a college degree or certifications? No extra education on my part (which is a serious detriment)!? This is possible because of Him. the job, the skill, the timing... This is a testimony to Him.

And how do I show God my gratitude? By worrying over the fingerprint results, and any other things they might find from my background (which is nothing since i've been blessed to having a clean record). I also pay God back by worry if i'm good enough for this job, since i am self-taught.

God laughs at us sometimes... But not in a mocking way. He is most certainly not an all-powerful child with a magnifying glass, or some disinterested figure that could care less if we live or die. His perfect heart carries love for all of us, especially His disciples. And (i feel that) He laughs at us some times, when we "cast our anxieties onto Him". I think it's because He's trying to tell us

I'm amazed at how often He tells us this. I'm amazed at how we still worry (present company included). And (unfortunately) i am amazed at how the world rejects Him, His existence & power. (but i'll save that for another post).