A Lightweight Heart
Today’s scripture selection: Proverbs 11-12
Key verse: Proverbs 12:25
Do you ever feel “weighed down” – like you just can’t find the energy to do even the smallest thing, much less anything important?
If so, you may want to see if anxiety is the culprit.
The Bible says,
“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”
When that scripture refers to the heart it means more than just the beating organ in your body, or for that matter, mere “feelings.” It refers to the very center and source of your life energy and vitality.
Anxiety can wreak havoc on that.
No wonder that so many run to drugs, alcohol, over-spending, over-eating, work, porn, and a hundred other “diversions” to deal with the problem.
Faith is the better way.
Jesus, in the New Testament, has this to say about the vexing, heavy problem of anxiety:
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? . . . . Seek first the kingdom of God and all (your needs) will be (taken care of) as well.”
Is it easy? No. Does it mean you won’t ever feel that pang in your gut or feel “weighed down” by life’s hassles? No.
But, with faith, you’ll find the weight a little easier to bear.
Prayer: Lord, when I feel burdened by the weight of anxiety, lift me up, with your love and your guidance. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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