Sometimes it can feel like we are drowning in negativity. The world around us, and our own minds, can seem dominated by fear, anger, and depression. But what if we could harness that negativity, and use it to bring us closer to God? We will show how God can turn our problems into solutions. He gives us the very lesson we need each day, if we are open to Him.
Henry McGrath
Day 1
Scriptures: 2 Peter 1:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7
We are made in the image of God
I am going to show you how the Word of God can heal our negative emotions and transform our minds.
Right at the start of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, God says:
“Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness.”
Take a moment to reflect on this powerful insight: we are actually made in the image of God. How can we understand this?
The second century Christian writer Justyn Martyr explained it like this: God has planted a divine spark in each human heart, which allows us to connect with God. As Peter puts it: we are called to be “partakers of the Divine Nature.”
So if this is true, why is the world such a mess? Why do humans behave so badly to each other?
Because we have turned our back on God, rather than putting him at the center of our lives.
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, thinking they could become wise apart from God. This explains the human problem in a nutshell: we think we can achieve our goals by our own efforts. We forget God and try to do it all by ourselves. It is no wonder we have so many problems!
But do not worry. If we only turn to face God, he is ready to receive us in divine love. Christ explained this by the parable of the prodigal son: we are the prodigal children who choose to live apart from our heavenly Father. Just as the prodigal son in the story squanders his wealth, we don’t use the spiritual wealth God has given us. Just as the son earns a living by feeding the pigs, we are wrapped up in the affairs of this world, and in our coarser emotions, instead of staying close to God.
But God is waiting patiently for us. We only have to turn around and face him, and he will come running towards us with open arms. He has prepared a rich banquet for us—his love—which we are called to share for eternity.
So come with me on this exciting and wonderful journey towards God. See how we can begin to transform our minds, simply by learning to place Jesus at the center of our lives.
Day 2
Scriptures: Psalms 118:21-24, Ephesians 5:18-20
Let go of resentment
Maybe you don’t like your boss. Maybe you see many faults in those around you and think you deserve better. Maybe you resent paying so much tax when government seems so wasteful.
You may think your resentment is justified. Maybe it is, on a human level. But here’s the thing: it is not helping you.
Resentment is like carrying a big bag of stones. It stops you soaring upwards towards God. So how to get rid of it? Here’s three ways. Practice them every day, and with God’s help you will make good progress.
- Practice gratitude. Make it part of your daily prayers to reflect on all that God has given you: an incredible mind, which can reflect on the beauty of creation; an intricate and miraculous body; wonderful food to eat, when so many are starving; a place to live, when so many are homeless. When we stop and look at the gifts we have received, how can we be resentful?
- See each person as an image of God. Always look for the best in people. Remember that God made that person, and loves them more than you can know. When God loves them so much, how can you resent them? As God waits patiently for them to grow, why are you so quick to condemn them?
- Reflect on Jesus’ words: “Who are you to judge another man’s servant?” May God allow us to see our own failings and not those of our brothers. Resentment comes from pride . . . from thinking we are better than the other person. But Jesus told us: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
God has showered us with gifts—the best of all being his love. Let us do our best to be worthy of him. Let us ask him to bless our dealings with others so that we may bring his love into the world.
Day 3
Scriptures: Psalms 6:6-9, John 20:20-22
Lift the cloud of depression
When we look at the state of the world it is easy to become depressed. Wars. Hunger. Man’s inhumanity to man. Then we look at our own lives. Perhaps we are in a dead-end job. Perhaps we have relationship problems. Perhaps we look at our life and think how much better it could have been.
The world tells us: “cheer up, go and do something amusing to take your mind off it.” But Jesus gives us the precise opposite of worldly advice: “Blessed are those who mourn.”
So is he telling us to be depressed? No. In the early Church, a crucial distinction was made between depression and Holy Sorrow.
Depression is numbness, despair, lack of direction.
Holy Sorrow is quite different. Yes, we feel the pain of the fallen world. But instead of despair, we have firm hope. We know that however bad things are with God’s help we will weather the storm. Instead of the confusion of depression, we see clearly what we are called to do: strive to put Jesus at the center of our lives each and every day.
Yes, we still feel the darkness. But “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.”
God allows us to feel pain, in order that we realize our separation from him. If we feel happy all the time, we forget God. So God gives us a sense that something is missing. The way of the world is to go and party or take drugs to blot out the pain. The way of Christ is to allow the pain to lead us to God.
If we take this route, something remarkable happens. Our pain turns to joy:
“Blessed are those who mourn… for they shall be comforted.”
Day 4
Scriptures: Psalms 112:1-4, Psalms 23:4
Transform fear
In the course of my medical work I meet many people who live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. God did not mean us to live like this. So why does He allow us to be fearful?
Fear is not bad in itself; it is just disordered. The good news is that with the help of Jesus we can transform fear into a tool to bring us closer to God. There are two stages:
Stage 1: transform the fears of this world into the fear of God. Do not fear for your possessions: Jesus had none. Do not fear for your reputation: Jesus cared nothing for his. He told us: “do not be afraid of those who can kill only the body . . . rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”
Buy why would we fear God? When I first started reading the Bible this puzzled me. Wasn’t God supposed to be about love, rather than fear? Then I was taught the meaning of the words: “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The fear of God is where we start as beginners on the spiritual path. But this fear soon becomes a sense of awe at God’s power and majesty.
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, what is the end of wisdom?
Stage 2: the Apostle John tells us the answer: “perfect love drives out fear, because fear is about punishment. If we still fear, we have not been perfected in love.”
We start by fearing God. But as we learn to put Jesus at the center of our lives, we come to experience God’s love. Jesus’ words to the Apostles can also apply to us: “no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because all things I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you.”
So, when we find ourselves anxious or fearful, let us focus instead on God. Let us walk in nature and marvel at God’s handiwork. Let us pick up our Bibles and grow to love God’s Word. Let us sing praises to him. And let us pray always that he will transform our fear into love for him.
Day 5
Scriptures: Luke 12:22-31, Mark 4:35-41
No need to stress: God is in control
The American Medical Association has stated that stress causes 60% of human illness. It causes chaotic heart rhythms, blood circulation problems, digestive disorders, and chronic pain. It is a major contributor to cancer and diabetes—two of our biggest killers. So how can we ask Jesus to help?
Let’s look at three ways:
- Realize that God is in control of everything, no matter how small: “even the hairs on your head are numbered.” Everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t see that reason. It is a tremendous relief to see that God does not expect us to solve all the world’s problems by imposing our will: but we can always help matters by seeking his will. Let us pray in all situations: “Thy will be done.”
- God is the master teacher: whatever is happening to you right now is the precise lesson you need. Don’t think: “I’ll get this stuff out of the way; then later I will say my prayers.” Think: “Lord, what is the lesson here? Please stay close to me, and everything will resolve.” If everyone around you is rushing around panicking, be still, like the eye of the hurricane. Remember Jesus’ words to the man who would follow him: “let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Meaning: let those who are spiritually dead go about their business, but you stay close to God. When we remain calm, we give witness to our trust in God.
- See every “problem” as an opportunity to come closer to God. God does not allow us to have problems in order to punish us, but so that we might turn to him for help. Our problems can take us away from God if we let them. But they can also take us towards him.
The more we learn to trust in Jesus, the less we need to stress.
Day 6
Scriptures: Luke 22:39-44, Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus will transform your anger, if you let him
Anger comes from an explosive power. This power is not necessarily a bad thing: like fire, it can be used for good or for ill.
When Jesus overturned the tables of the traders outside the temple, he was showing some of this explosive power.
But how do we make sure we use our explosive power in harmony with God’s will and avoid destructive anger?
Here are three things we can do every day:
- Balance our explosive power with humility. Moderate the explosive fire with cooling waters. When we are proud, our anger is dangerous. When we are sure we are in the right, we think we can tell others what to do. But Christ reminded us to remove the log from our own eye before offering to remove the speck of dust in our brother’s eye. Let us first listen carefully to others before firing off at them.
- Anger is often an attempt to control another person. But instead of rushing to impose our own will, can we take a step back and try to discern God’s will? We can ask: how would Jesus deal with this situation? What would be the outcome most pleasing to God rather than the outcome which works only for us? “Thy Will be done.”
- St Paul said: “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Sure, we may blow a fuse sometimes. But later, when we have cooled down, God gives us the chance to put it right. We can apologize to the other person. And we can apologize in prayer to God. The other person will probably forgive us. God certainly forgives us. It is so important to let go of anger. If we store it up, it becomes a poison to our souls. It smothers the divine spark. It drives a wedge between us and God. The longer it goes on, the deeper its roots go, and the harder it is to dig out. So at the end of each day, let us make sure to ask God to remove it.
If we practice these three simple things each day, we will begin to notice that anger is losing its power over us.
Day 7
Scriptures: Matthew 13:15-17, 1 Peter 5:6-11
Conclusion
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. It is a great joy to share God’s Word!
The human being is essentially good. God has made us in his image: free, creative, and loving. He has planted in each one of us his divine seed through which we can come to recognize and love him.
But we forget God. We think, like Adam and Eve, we can become wise and happy without him. God stands ready with his life raft, but we insist on trying to swim the Atlantic solo.
We are spiritually asleep. One of the ways God tries to awaken us is through our emotions. But instead of heeding the call, we throw the alarm clock out of the window. We blot out any uncomfortable feelings with drugs and entertainment.
But what would happen if we learned to train our emotions from wild horses into stallions which speed us towards God? What if it turned out the “problem” was part of the solution?
It may seem an impossible task to control our emotions. But with God “the impossible becomes possible.” The key is always to turn to God in each and every situation. This is what St. Paul means when he tells the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing.”
Please keep checking in with these lessons until you start to put them into practice each day.
May Jesus Christ our God bless us on our journey towards him!