More thoughts from Max Lucado’s Anxious for Nothing study follow for this week’s blog article.
Starting with Chapter #3 for this week, the following quotes impressed me.
“Guilt frenzies the soul. Grace calms it.” First, there’s a
difference between guilt and shame. Guilt says, “I did bad, and I can do
something differently next time.” Shame says, “I am bad and nothing can change
that; I’m always bad to the bone.” I learned that the hard way and over a
period of years. I had my doubts that they were different things. Now I see
just how different they are. I would amend this quote to say, “Guilt and/or
shame frenzies the soul . . .” When I feel guilt, doing what I can to make the
situation better and make appropriate amends to those I have harmed does
lighten the turmoil in my soul. It involves making things as right as possible,
but it also involves extending grace to myself. God has forgiven me through His
great mercy. I need to also do the same for myself.
“Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary,
angry, stressed-out, fretful mess.” This goes right along with the quote above.
I lived for many years with a frenzied soul. I was miserable, weary, angry and
fretful. I can still get that way if I don’t deal quickly and appropriately
with my guilt. In AA we have a saying, “It’s better to eat crow warm.” The
quicker we make amends and let God’s forgiveness wash over us, the more we can
feel better about ourselves (and the quicker we can rejoice in the mercy and
compassion of God).
“A happy saint is one who at the same time is aware of the
severity of sin and the immensity of grace.” We wouldn’t need grace if there were
no sin. And sin, I’ve found, separates me from God. My personal spiritual
journey is enmeshed with severe sins and grievous missteps. I recognize I’ve
been forgiven much – but all of us has regardless of the level of sin we’ve
been involved in. As a result I love much. In Luke 7:47, Jesus says of the
woman who anointed His feet with perfume: "For this reason I say to you,
her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is
forgiven little, loves little." When we realize the nature of our sins –
whether “great” or “small” – we cannot but help but love God for His grace toward
us.
“Rejoicing doesn’t always look like what we may think. It
doesn’t have to be a smiling face and an upbeat personality.” Thank God! There
have been many times in my life when others, and myself, would not consider my
personality “upbeat.” Words that have been used to describe my personality
include things like “intense” and “serious.” I thought for a long time that
meant I wasn’t spiritual enough. I somehow got the wrong message that all
Christians should be upbeat and happy – all the time. There is a difference
between our personalities and the inner peace and joy we can have in Christ.
Saying that does not excuse my pessimism or grumpiness. I need to keep Christ
first and foremost in mind at all times. When I do that, I can praise God and
be thankful in the midst of trials and suffering. We have a hope no one can
take away from us. Rejoice in that. That kind of joy may show others there is
hope no matter what our circumstances may be.
I suspect as my Bible study partner and I finish up the
study of Philippians 4:4-9 next week, I will have more thoughts based on
various quotes. Actually, this may go on for a few more weeks, as there is much
that got my attention as we summarize the lessons in this study.
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