Category: Devotions

Posted on

Daily Devotion #2

Find the Source of Your Anxiety

 

“Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.”  Proverbs 12:25

 

I have been a faithful knuckle-cracker since the tender age of 8 years old.  Today I read that knuckle-cracking is a nervous behavior, a sign of anxiety. We all suffer from anxiety at some point or another, but we should not let it cripple us, we should try to do everything we can to remove it. I bet you wonder, what could I have been anxious or nervous about at 8, right?  I think I had just moved to a new school, with new people, and I did not know anyone.  In fact, it was in eighth grade that I met my best friend, Courtney.  I was always a sensitive girl, very sensitive to others thoughts and feelings about me.  I went to that new school because I had tested into the AAP program and it wasn’t at the school near my house.  So I figure now that the source of all that knuckle-cracking was the need to be accepted, making friends, being different, going somewhere new—a whole lot of stress for an 8 year old!  Do you realize how much pressure it is to go into a new environment where you don't know anyone!!!  That's almost as bad as public speaking…I'm getting better at that as well!

 

I randomly decided today that I wanted to stop.  Not because of all the unproven literature about arthritis, but because I just decided I want to stop.  Maybe it was my mentee telling me that it was bad, and me telling her that I’ve been cracking them for that long.  Cracking your knuckles for nearly 20 years for no apparent reason other than it being a bad habit does something to you.  Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Obviously now I recognize the need to get to the source of my problem, and to deal with any and all of my nervous habits; the best way to do this is to bring it to God so that He can reveal the way to get rid of it.  Anxiety causes stress and stress can “make you dead”, lol.  I don’t want to shorten my life span by being a knuckle-cracker, harboring pinned-up anxiety!  Are you anxious about something?  Do you recognize it?  What are you gonna do to get rid of it?  PRAY!

 

“Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”  Matthew 6:25
 
P.S.  I eventually found some rubber bands and put them on my arms to snap back every time I crack my knuckles or think about it…forces me to really think about why I'm doing it…getting to the source thank you God!
Posted on

Daily Devotion

Return On Investment

 

‘He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."’  Matthew 9:37-38

 

The finance concept ROI, return on investment, or ROR, rate of return, measures the percentage of money gained or lost versus the money invested.  I did not fully learn this until last year when I was preparing for my Security+ certification.  I know you say what relevance does it have?  Well, as a government employee, and any information security professional for that matter, we must determine all sorts of situations and the likelihood of them happening.  That also takes into consideration procurement of systems.  This mainly applies to the maintenance and use of those systems; i.e. how long before it breaks down and will we get past that initial investment based on the use we got out of the system.  But anyway, that made me think about the global area of return on investment, and as a Christian, am I reaping a good return?  Am I investing all the time I can in my relationship with God and am I living up to His standards in this walk?

 

Are there any stocks out there that are mutually beneficial?  Meaning, does it benefit you the investor initially and for the long haul, and the creator of the stock?

 

Being that God is our creator, the stock we invest in is our salvation. God invested Christ to give us that salvation. This is the only thing that is mutually beneficial because both parties are getting something out of it–God redeems us from the curse and we are saved from eternal damnation.  Yes in business there are some stocks where the creator of the stock and the investor both benefit, but there is no direct connection.(And business folks please correct me if I'm wrong)  Most times an investor goes through a stock broker to procure stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.  The broker and the stock creator make money off the purchase of new shares; the investor only hopes to do so.  Often, the investor does not see a return immediately, and most times takes a loss if he is not careful.  It is something that has to be cultivated over time, sometimes many years of being watched, adjusted and reallocated at times to provide a nice profit.  Sometimes the stocks go belly-up and everybody loses.

 

Trusting in God, and holding on to His promises even through the most tumultuous of “stock periods” will always give us a good return.  In the darkest hour, when most turn to God, He still reigns supreme.  He still provides, still protects, still conquers, and He is still on the throne.  Just like you invest your money, time, and patience in your financial future, try do the same with God.  Tithe and give offerings (Malachi 3:8-10), spend time praying (James 5:13), reading (1 Timothy 4:13), and sometimes you have to be patient to see what God has in store and until He has brought His will to pass (Romans 12:12).