The Cure for Worry

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength - carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ― Corrie ten Boom


How right Corrie is. Anyone who knows her life story can respect her advice. If anyone had reason to worry about tomorrow, it was Corrie.


Approximately thirty people were arrested in the ten Boom home by the Gestapo in 1944. Although Corrie's family were sheltering six Jews and resistance workers in their home, their presence remained undiscovered while the ten Boom family and others were taken to a penitentiary. Subsequently, all but three of them were released. Corrie, her father and her older sister Betsie remained in prison. Her father died there only ten days after their arrest. Corrie and Betsie were later transferred to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany where they encountered unimaginable persecution. 


Betsie, who died in the camp, always encouraged Corrie to see God's hand in their circumstances, no matter how hard those circumstances were. Betsie's calm assurance of God's love and presence in their lives, as well as Corrie's strength and courage, got them through some horrific experiences in the camp.


After the war, Corrie's telling of their story through books and speaking engagements made their experience well known. Her infectious joy as she spoke to large groups - many of them young people - about God's love and forgiveness led many to became Christians.


Corrie was a very courageous woman. She was not willing to relinquish any of the strength God gave her to worry. In every picture I have seen of Corrie, she has a huge smile on her face.


In the Old Testament, Nehemiah took on a seemingly impossible job with incredible opposition. He refused to be anxious about the trials. He stayed true to his task and declared that his strength for doing so came from the joy of the Lord. Just like Nehemiah, Corrie's trust in God and her joy in serving Him gave her the strength she needed for each day.


As someone who has struggled with worry, I have learned a lot from people like Nehemiah, Corrie ten Boom and others. Worry is a true handicap. It can lead to depression. Many times the things you worry about never happen, but your anxious feelings can stifle your productivity. 


Resisting worry is hard, but necessary. The only real cure is to replace worry with the joy of the Lord. When you substitute His strength and His joy for your imaginations, He is able to do what He desires to do through you. 


Corrie says that worry carries tomorrow's load with today's strength. It is interesting to me that when Jesus invites us to come to Him with our burdens, He doesn't offer to take the load off of our shoulders, but instead invites us to take His yoke upon us. It is sharing His yoke that teaches us humility and gives us rest for our souls. It is His joy that makes our joy full. He has overcome anything that we could possibly worry about. The joy of knowing Him is the cure for worry.


"So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34 Amplified). Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance (James 1:2-3 NIV).

Stamps in My Passport

My passport fills up pretty fast. In fact, I ran out of room in the last one I had. Obtaining extra pages that would last until my passport expired entailed a trip to the American Embassy in Germany.

The stamps in my passport are reminders of where my husband and I have been to serve as missionaries throughout the globe. I am not aware of any stamp in my passports in the last ten years that had to do with vacation. The passport gives me entry into the country, it is usually stamped by the officials and then we are off to complete the assignment God has given us in that country.

Since we are missionaries, our stay in each country gives us a fairly good view of what is going on. We seldom stay in a hotel. We stay where the people live, so we see all sorts of behavior, hear all kinds of sounds and learn to get around the way the locals do. We eat the same food they eat, ride the public transportation just like they do, spend the local currency. In many of the transactions we make, we must show our passport.

For various reasons, the officials may not stamp my passport upon entry and exit. Even when it is not stamped, though, it is absolutely essential that I have it with me at all times. Sometimes a religious visa is just as important. It must be protected as well.

Security in international travel has become a very high priority. Passports are issued for the protection of the individual as well as the security of the country to which they are traveling. I am sometimes questioned about the other stamps in my passport. The officials want to know why I travel so often.

While traveling, I carry my passport with me at all times. I know that if something were to happen to me, that is the document that would link me to my family and my country. Without it, police or emergency personnel would have a difficult time providing aid for me or getting me home if I were to die abroad.

My passport has my picture, my name and my signature in it; however, I cannot issue a passport for myself. The U.S. Department of State does that. They issue all American passports and without their approval, my passport would not be valid. It would be a fake.

Occasionally, entering another country can be a little nerve-racking. I know of missionary friends who have been denied entry on a technicality even when they have their passports and visas. I am always more comfortable with the countries that allow both my husband and me to enter together. He then shows them both passports and we are good to go.

I treasure my passport and protect it because of what it represents: the ability to do what I need to do and then get back home again. I love our mission work and long to see my international brothers and sisters, but I am always ready to go home.

My deepest longing is not for my earthly home, but my heavenly one. There is a sense in which I feel like a foreigner on earth, for I know that my true home is in Heaven with Jesus. When my work on earth is done, I get to go home. In a way, because Jesus is my Savior, He has already put His stamp on my passport.

I don't have to be concerned about losing any documentation to enter the gates of heaven. I can't lose what I don't need. I cannot enter Heaven on my own. Jesus has already gone ahead of me and secured a place for me there. He is with me now, He has my entry day planned and He will walk me through. I will not go through the gates of heaven alone. Just as my husband can walk me through the entry ports of a country, Jesus, the Bridegroom, will be there for His bride.

"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, you may be also..." (John 14:2-3). For our citizenship is in heaven, for which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

Tired from the Journey

It's a little after 6 AM on a Saturday morning. My husband and I just returned from a mission trip arriving at our home a little less than five hours ago - 1 AM. My mind is filled with the people and events from the trip, but I still admit to being a little tired from the journey.

No matter where we go, it seems our journeys are long and hard. There is often a "hurry up and wait" factor involved. We seldom have a direct flight to our destination. Travel often entails a mad run through the airport to make a connecting flight. Sometimes even getting to the airport seems a little uncertain. We are often in a place where we don't speak the language and others have to make arrangements for us.

Traveling often takes up a great deal of time when we go to conduct international conferences. Just as on this trip, there are many journeys within our journey. Every day, we traveled from one city to another, sometimes several hours apart. I wondered aloud to a ministry partner as to why traveling is so tiring. We are often sitting in a car or a horse drawn carriage or in some countries a train. Why is sitting so tiring?

When I reflect on the fact that I get weary from travel, the circumstances in which our friends we left behind live make me realize that I have it very easy. I am able to make advance arrangements and plan for the trip. Often they don't know how they are going to get somewhere until the last minute. They may have to catch a ride. If one is not available, they may have to ride a bus - a very crowded old bus with no air conditioning, no shock absorbers and not enough seats for every passenger.

Life is very hard for my friends. Transportation, as well as everything else, is very difficult. Some of them walk for miles or ride bicycles for many miles in order to get to the conferences we teach. In every case, I know that they must be weary from their journeys, but they never complain. They smile and say that's just the way it is.

Often we need translators. This time we had a young man who traveled with us. One day I asked him if he had rested well the night before and he said he was rested even though he had only slept two hours. He said the Lord was able to make two hours seem like the eight he really needed. He insisted he had more than enough energy to do the work required for the day.

Jesus could certainly identify with the challenges of travel. When He lived among us, with few exceptions, He walked everywhere. He must have felt the stones on the path through His sandals. He must have had to stop many times and shake out the dust and small rocks. He felt the heat of the day as He traveled. He got tired.

Like my friends, although Jesus got weary from travel, He did not complain. He moved on. He had a job to do.

One particular time, Jesus got weary from His journey and sat down at a well to rest while His disciples went into town to find food. His tiredness led to a divine appointment arranged by His Father. While He was resting, He revealed Himself to a woman at that well - possibly the first woman who met Him face to face and heard Him declare that He was the Messiah.

When His disciples returned with food, they found Him refreshed - not by physical food or by water to drink (although His physical thirst started the conversation with the woman). The woman was more important to Him than His exhaustion or His thirst. The encounter that began because Jesus was so tired He needed to stop and rest led to her salvation and many others in her town.

He had to travel through Samaria...Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well...A woman of Samaria came to draw water...Then the woman left her water jar, went into town and told the men, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?


In the meantime, the disciples kept urging Him to eat. But He said, "I have food to eat that you don't know about...My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work" (John 4 HCSB).

Orphans No More

Have you ever noticed once something becomes part of your life that you start observing others with similar things or relationships?

When we had children, I started noticing other mothers with children, strollers and diaper bags - more than I had ever done before. Years ago we bought a black truck. As soon as we bought that truck, I started seeing black trucks everywhere - many of them just like mine. Now that I have an adopted granddaughter (who has just turned three), I keep discovering someone who has an adopted family member or someone who is considering adoption - or is involved in a ministry involving orphans.

Practically everyone has a soft spot for orphans. It is heart wrenching to imagine a child who has lost both parents or who has been abandoned by her parents. Orphans have a life, but not a home. They may live in an orphanage with other children, but they need a family to call their own.

The fortunate children in such a situation are adopted. A family who wants a child is matched with a child that needs a home. God did not ask my husband and me to adopt a child, but I praise Him that He did ask my son, his wife and their two sons to do so. All of our lives have been incredibly enriched.

God is the creator of all men and He gave them life. However, He created mankind with the ability to choose. Adam and Eve chose to sin. Death and separation from God was the result of their choice. We are no different. Our sin separates us from an intimate relationship with God.

The concept of adoption originated with God. Jesus Christ paid for our sin. Those who have accepted His gift of grace and have a relationship with Him are adopted by God the Father. He has provided an eternal home for His adopted children. We are orphans no more.

I have been adopted by God the Father. I am part of God's family. My granddaughter has been adopted by my son's family. She is part of my family. These facts have created in me a new understanding and urgency for evangelism.

I now see spiritual orphans everywhere - people who live but do not yet have an eternal home with God. Those who refuse the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ will forever be separated from Him. They will remain orphans - existing outside of God's family and His home.

I pray that as God gives me opportunity, I will pay the price to introduce those who do not yet know Christ as Savior - the orphans of the world - to my Father and my family. Will you join me?

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also" (John 14: 16-19).

Diagnosing Connection Problems

I travel a lot. In order to keep working while on the road, access to the internet is a necessity. Thankfully, most places it is no problem. However, there are times when a connection is very difficult. There are even occasions when the network diagnostic assures me my internet connection appears to be working properly but my email does not load nor can I access any website. The message that appears while attempting to view a website states that I am not connected to the internet and network diagnostics can help solve my connection problems. I feel like I am going in circles. 

One thing I know about this problem is that I need help solving it. Usually the issue is not resolved until I ask for aid (usually from my husband). When I am unable to connect to a network because (as the network diagnostic indicates) I have entered an incorrect password or network name, chosen the wrong type of wireless security or am out of range of the base station, I need help in deciding how to correct the problem.

It is somewhat frustrating to be intelligently handicapped in this way since all of my work is done on my laptop. I would prefer to figure things out on my own and not have to disturb my husband, but I am seldom able to do so. I need his help. He understands the network diagnostic language.

There are times when Christians develop a problem communicating with the heavenly Father. Often, the problem is not apparent to others. Appearances may make it seem as if the connection has never been broken and everything is working properly, but there is an adjustment that needs to be made so that communication is unhindered.

When that happens, we need help in restoring our connection. The problem is never on God’s side. It is always on our side and our lack of paying attention to the issues that are so critical in keeping the communication flowing. We need the Holy Spirit’s help in diagnosing the problem.

Sometimes we are unable to connect because we are not using the proper name. God knows our thoughts and our hearts, but in order to reach Him, we must come through Jesus. Jesus told His disciples to come to the Father in His name. That has not changed.

Sometimes we are unable to connect because we are looking in the wrong place for security. Prayer is not simply meditation as the world defines it. Emptying our minds in meditation opens the door for Satan to fill our minds with his agenda. Prayer is always God focused -  through Jesus.

Sometimes we get out of range of the base station (God’s presence) by allowing sin to take control. When that happens, we are the ones who have moved out of range. 

Most of us resist asking for help. We want to control our own lives, not submit to God’s direction. In every case, however, that compounds the problem and delays open channels of communication. We need His help. He is readily available to diagnose any communication problems and leads us through steps to correct them.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT).

Joseph, The Man in the Background in the Nativity

When unpacking my Christmas decorations, I love pulling out and setting up my collection of nativity scenes. It is the picture of the real Christmas story: the gift of the Son of God to the world.

Jesus is the central figure in the nativity scene. It would not mean anything without Him. When I am placing the other figures around Him, I usually place Mary behind His right and Joseph behind Him on the left.

The placing of Joseph in the nativity scene is somewhat symbolic of his life. He is the man in the background. Many stories have been written about how Mary was chosen to be the mother of our Savior, but little has been said about the man who was chosen by God to raise His son.

Matthew tells us more about Joseph than anyone else. Like me, I think Matthew must have been impressed with this humble man who loved God, loved the mother of His Son and loved His Son in a way that no one else could.

After Mary told him she had been chosen to bear the Christ child, Joseph had the first of his dreams that included instructions from God. The angel in the dream told Joseph not to be afraid but to wed Mary as he had planned.

Joseph was visited by an angel of the Lord in his dreams at least twice more. After the visit of the wise men, he was instructed in a dream to take his family to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill the child. He was told to stay until he was visited again. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to go to the land of Israel.  Joseph settled in the city called Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy about Jesus that He would be a Nazarene.

Joseph is mentioned again when he and Mary found Jesus conversing with the teachers in the temple. When Mary questioned Jesus as to why He had not come with them when they left the city, Jesus said, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). This is the last time Joseph is mentioned, so he must have died between the time Jesus was twelve and the beginning of His ministry.

Although Jesus' brothers resented Him and for a long time did not believe in Him, that was not true of Joseph. He did not resent raising a Son that was not his own. He accepted that assignment from God without question.

Joseph was an unusual man, humble and obedient. What Jesus learned about carpentry, he learned from Joseph. Joseph must have also taught Jesus much about His Father's word as well, for we know that Jesus learned the Scripture as a child.

I am looking forward to meeting Joseph in heaven, the man in the background in the nativity.

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25).