Neil Clark Warren - God Said It, Dont Sweat It: How to Keep Lifes Petty Hassles from Overwhelming You

God Said It,
Dont Sweat It

God Said It,
Dont Sweat It

How to Keep Lifes Petty Hassles
from Overwhelming You
NEIL CLARK WARREN

Copyright 1998 by Neil Clark Warren

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Unless otherwise noted the Scripture quotations in this publication are from The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

ISBN 0-7852-8064-2

Printed in the United States of America

01 02 03 04 05 PHX 12 11 10 9 8

Contents

ROLF ZETTERSTEN, former Publisher at Thomas Nelson and my close friend, came up with the idea for this book. Moreover, he has been the driving force behind every stage of its development.

Countless other people have made significant contributions. The most important contribution was made by my editor and friend, Keith Wall. He became my valued partner in every aspect of the writing.

Sue Braden, my administrative assistant, performed magnificently, as usual, in the preparation of the manuscript.

Curtis Lundgren and Cindy Blades at Thomas Nelson have been thoughtful and sensitive partners in this project.

As I read through these writings, I realize how much I owe my family, friends, students, and clients for their stimulating interactions and unique contributions to my thinking and development.

But as you move through the book, you will see that my dad, Otis James Warren, stands at the top of the list. He clearly was my life model, even during those years when I wasnt emotionally secure enough to admit it, and my gratitude to him is immense. I joyfully dedicate this collection of essays to him.

IF YOU ARE searching for effective ways to master the daily challenges of life, look to God. He is committed to helping you experience contentment and joy at the center of yourself. And He tells you how to deal with your everyday concerns so they will become as inconsequential as a little dust on your furniture. If your life needs some friendly guidance and instruction, mixed with plenty of inspiration and encouragement, God is more than willing to provide it.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul is unbelievably proficient and persuasive at communicating Gods deepest thoughts about lifes most perplexing issues.

All of the essays in this book are based upon Pauls four letters to the churches at Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae. In these short epistles, which were probably written between A.D. 58 and 61, Paul deals with matters that range from friendship to marriage, from ways to break free from sins grip to becoming a new and different person. He directly addresses how to tame your temper, control your tongue, and open your mind. He teaches you how to become more like Christ, how to take a big interest in other people, how to overflow with prayer for others, how to be kind and tenderhearted, and, most of all, how to get into a right relationship with Him.

During the years that Paul spent writing these letters, he undoubtedly was in jail. He probably had at least a chain around his wrist or ankle, and the conditions under which he lived were far from optimal. Adding to his difficulties was the necessity that he dictate these letters to someone else. He had to rely on willing but slow transmission of his magnificent ideas.

But in each of the letters, Pauls ideas soar to the heavens. They plumb the very heart of God. They penetrate the deepest and most profound aspects of the Christian faith.

If we integrate these ideas into our lives, we will inevitably manage our problems and challenges more effectively, live our moments more joyfully, handle our marriages more skillfully, raise our children more wisely, and experience a closeness in all of our relationships that will vitalize our days.

I can personally testify to the power of these teachings. For thirty-three years, I have worked with persons in the intimate relationship of psychotherapy. I have observed every kind of problem, and I have tried to help individuals who have suffered from various difficulties and painful experiences. The apostle Pauls answers to these dilemmas taken, as it were, straight from Gods lipshave a thorough and extraordinary way of solving complex and puzzling problems.

What I do in this book is simply select eighty five small and large issues that present themselves to most of us on a daily basisand then let God speak powerfully and convincingly in relation to each of them.

I hope you will experience as much inspiration as I have, and I hope youll find as many solutions for your problems as you read these essays as I discovered for my problems during the writing of them.

I also hope you will feel the bondedness to me that I felt to you as I worked these matters through. And I hope your sense of appreciation for the apostle Paul will become equal to my own. He was a great man of God, and if he were writing this Introduction, he would surely end with something like this: The rich blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon your lives.

1
Dont Worry About Anything,
but Pray About Everything

THE APOSTLE PAUL encourages us not to worry about anything. In one broad stroke, he models a mastery over the small stuff that is backed up by a specific instruction unavailable to those outside the powerful faith he promotes.

Paul says simply, Pray about everything!

Paul teaches us that worry isnt worth the effort. Goodness knows, worry requires a lot of effort. I once heard a person say, A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. And someone else has said that worry is wasting todays time cluttering up tomorrows opportunities with yesterdays troubles.

Most things you worry about never live up to their fear-causing power. One recent survey indicates that 40 percent of the things we worry about never happen, 30 percent are in the past and cant be changed, 12 percent concern the affairs of others that arent our business, 10 percent involve real or imagined sickness, and 8 percent are worth worrying about.

But Paul tells us that even the 8 percent of legitimate worries arent really worth worrying about. Why? Because we have the God of the universe on our side, and He offers to carry our worries for us.

So, Paul says, put your energy where it can really do some good. Pray passionately about whatever it is that concerns you!

As a psychotherapist for the past thirty years, I have watched thousands of men and women go through perilous times. I have noted on many occasions that those who pray passionately end up overcoming the difficulties they face. They bring a mighty power to the issues they confront, and this power does incredible things in and through them.

When I was in high school, I encountered an inspirational man named Dr. Cherry Parker, who wrote a book entitled Prayer Can Change Your Life. Through his encouragement, I began praying about the things that concerned me. For a long time, however, I remained unconvinced that prayer could really change things. I sometimes prayed about minor matters, but nothing unusual seemed to happen. Prayer for me was kind of a ho-hum experience.

But when I later discovered passionate prayer, I realized how powerful the process of prayer can be in the life of a human being. Passionate prayer, or fervent prayer, is very different from mechanical or perfunctory prayer. It almost always pertains to something that is of great importance to you. You pray with tremendous emotional involvement. Whatever it is that you care