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God's stock-in-trade is humour-enveloped love - as can later be seen by us. But not before we experience the humiliating pain of a lesson hard learnt. God proves impartiality in that, because every person is destined for the same trials. We see the purpose later on; afterwards we can laugh at ourselves.
How do we get to the point where God says, "Okay, have it your way"?
Dissatisfied with what we have and ever pining over what we don't have summons the incongruous calamity. Disenchantment is a slippery slide into the worsening of our problems.
IMBALANCE - THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR PROBLEMS
Yearning climbs from within us from the moment our conscious clocks spark into tick. That longing, when balanced, provides inertia that ignites and fuels purpose. Too often, though, the centrifuge of life throws us into imbalance; the desire becomes an ache, unsatisfiable.
That feeling can be summarised in one word: anxiety.
Like yearning, anxiety can be healthy or unhealthy; it can drive us to contend and problem-solve or it can condemn us in a profusion of grating, perplexing thought.
Everyone has a touch of both forms of anxiety driving them. If we will nurture the good anxiety we can achieve great things. However, if we are betwixt in a hopeless longing anxiety will take us to dark places. Everything surrounds thinking.
CONVERTING ANXIETY TO PEACE BY HUMILITY, TRUTH, AND THANKFULNESS
There are many things that can amend negatively charged anxiety - that which we all have - so as to rejuvenate the bright life.
Selected, above, are three virtues gracing the existence of the shores of our wellbeing; the waves of life lapping at the beach in the presence of these, but not overwhelming it as in a tsunami.
Humility sees to it that we question our imbalance so we don't become so self-conceited as to miss the truth, entirely. It warns us in perspective. It may be the siren of the surf lifesaver alerting of an imminent threat regarding breaking dumpers, tidal waves, or sharks - those inevitable sweeping anxieties that take us off to an oblivion of helpless hopelessness in a moment.
Humility's first officer, scanning the shores, is Truth. Next in command, and close by, is reliable Thankfulness. The beach patrol is complete with these three. Threats of non-clinical anxiety can be assuaged.
***
Life is consumed with forethought for what might be. Wishing is an indicator of anxiety; one cloaked in the secrecy of a nemesis. Dissatisfaction is the contempt of our Maker. Anxiety rises against Divinity, for it chooses against virtue that could alleviate it.
Against everyday anxiety, a team of three contends: Humility, Truth, and Thankfulness combine to draw us into an accepting peace - the only faithful combatant. Ever more powerfully employed are these three by prayer.
© 2011 S. J. Wickham.
Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner (BSc, FSIA, RSP[Australia]) and a qualified, unordained Christian minister (GradDipBib&Min). His blogs are at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com/ and http://inspiringbetterlife.blogspot.com/
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