by Max Lucado
Tragedy wages an all-out war on faith, so take some practical steps to grab hold of God’s goodness.
First, invite God to use your suffering for his glory. Most Christians ask God to remove the pain, not use the pain. The apostle Paul prayed for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Later, he made this resolution: “I want to join [Christ] in his sufferings.” (Philippians 3:10 NIRV). Paul’s prayer changed from “remove this” to “use this.”
Also, resist the urge to demand a reason. If God gave one, would we understand it? Most important, guard your thoughts. Disallow any notion that runs counter to God’s truth. We may not understand the reasoning of God, but can we not trust the character of God? If he permits pain, it is for a higher purpose.
God Made Our Brains. He Can Retrain Our Brains.
Stuck in your head? Hounded by regrets? Weighed down by worry? Change is possible! The thoughts that have characterized your past need not characterize the rest of your life.
In Tame Your Thoughts, Max explores three key thought-management tools and then applies them to the most common thought problems: worry, guilt, anxiety, and other types of mental quicksand that threaten to trap us. God loves us too much to let us lead a life marked by poor thinking. He has not left us alone in this battle of the mind.
shared with permission
