Let the day begin!
Unfortunately all too often we wake up in the morning and instead of looking forward to seizing the day, we begin to think of our troubles. We think about the heavy burdens the day will hold, the person we had conflict with recently, the worries of an upcoming possible conflict, health and the world. We often complicate our thoughts even further by judging others and embracing negativity. At times these thoughts can weigh us down. We have the, “I have to do” mentality and not the “I get to do” perspective. Science has proven that stress negatively effects our lives and yet it is the treadmill we hop on and we don’t seem to be able to get off.
Scripture gives us us many teachings on not living in stress. Some believe that not to be true because Jesus said we must pick up our cross daily. They reason that means life is meant to be hard. While it is true that we must daily pick up our cross, we forget that the cross is love. It is a self-giving love. It is being other oriented. Some crosses are extremely hard, but most of the daily ones are not extreme. They are just our opportunity for us to grow in love.
In the midst of our days when we judge, complain and think negatively, we forget that St Paul said, “Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.” (1Thes 5:16-18). It is much harder to feel stressed if we are grateful.
Jesus said, “When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.” (Mark 11:24) He didn’t say to worry about the problem. He said to think of the future and not the past when He said to believe it has been answered. Wouldn’t it be much better for the health of our body, mind and soul if we lived in the joy of having received the things we were praying for rather than living in the fear of the present situation and basing a presumed outcome on past experiences? How often do we pray for one thing and yet contradict our prayers by living in fear because of the past?
Living in the present fear that one doesn’t have a job, for instance, doesn’t help the situation. It only makes you feel worse. Living in hope by believing your prayer has already been answered is living the prayer of hope and “hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). Some may argue that one who acts like this is living in a dreamworld and not reality. I would argue that Jesus said to live in that world. He say to pray as if we have received, be thankful, have joy, have hope and not to despair. He did not say to live a life with an attitude of whoa is me.
It is hard to live like this. It means breaking years of bad habits of thinking negatively. We need to strive in trusting in God‘s word when He said, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We must trust what God said when He went on to further say. “You will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-14).
With a loving, thankful, believing, hope-filled heart, we can be filled with joy. These virtues will help us to be less stressed and less stress means a happier and healthier person. These virtues will also help us to handle the heavier crosses better when it is harder or even impossible to have anything other than great sorrow. In the midst of the great sorrow, we have a heart that has been formed to be loving, thankful, believing and hope filled. That makes a difference in the midst of sorrow. Perhaps it was that heart that caused Jesus to minister to others and forgive them on the cross. He kept His self-giving attitude of love, believing and hoping for the future He trusted His Father would bring about. He wanted the cross to be lifted from Him, but knew the plans for His future would be answered because He spent His life living that way and knowing the outcome was always filled with His Heavenly Father’s perfect plan of love. In the midst of His sorrow, His strongly formed heart got Him through and enabled Him to stay focused on His Father’s word. He knew the crucifixion was not the end of the story. Resurrection was coming. Now, in the ordinary times and difficult times, He asks us to do the same. Can we?
PRAYERFULLY RELECT ON:
Each of the five scripture passages highlighted above. Talk to Jesus about them.
Reflect on your day. Did you live in the positive hope for your future or did you live in the negativity and fear of the past? If you were negative and fearful, think of your discovery not as a defeat, but as a victory because you discovered it.
Try practicing meditation where you simply sit in the presence of God. Close your eyes and strive to be in a silent atmosphere. Rest in the quiet moment with God. When thoughts come in, you will better recognize them if you are ignoring the senses of sight and sound. All you will have left is your thoughts, which you should push aside so as to simply be with God. If you strive to practice the presence of God during the day, this meditation practice will help you to become aware of the times you lose His presence during the day. You will better be able to realize when thoughts enter that are contrary to God…judgment, despair, worry, negativity, etc. These thoughts separate you from God. This awareness can help you get back on track as you reject the stress of worry and negativity and stay in the presence of God with all His love and positivity.