Meyer - Straight talk on worry: overcoming emotional battles with the power of Gods word!

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Amplified Bible (AMP). The Amplified Bible, Old Testament, copyright 1965, 1987 by Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified Bible, New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Originally published as Help Me I'm Worried.

Warner Books Edition

Copyright 1998 by Joyce Meyer

Life In The Word, Inc.
P.O. Box 655
Fenton, Missouri 63026
All rights reserved.

Warner Faith

Hachette Book Group

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The Warner Faith name and logo are registered trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

First eBook Edition: February 2003

ISBN: 978-0-446-55411-4

G od wants to make a trade with you. He wants you to give Him all your cares, your problems, your failures your ashes and He will give you beauty. He will take your cares, and for them, He will care for you.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

1 Peter 5:6,7 KJV

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me. to grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes [beauty for ashes KJV].

Isaiah 61:1,3

God wants to take care of us, but in order to let Him, we must stop taking the care. Many people want God to take care of them while they are worrying or trying to figure out an answer instead of waiting for God's direction. They are actually wallowing around in their ashes, but still want God to give them beauty. In order for God to give us the beauty, we must give Him the ashes.

We give Him our cares by trusting that He can and will take care of us. Hebrews 4:3 says: For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest.

We enter into the Lord's rest through believing. Worry is the opposite of faith. Worry steals our peace, physically wears us out and can even make us sick. If we are worrying, we are not trusting God, and we are not entering God's rest.

What a great trade! You give God ashes, and He gives you beauty. You give Him all your worries and concerns, and He gives you protection, stability, a place of refuge and fullness of joy the privilege of being cared for by Him.

DWELLING IN THE
SECRET PLACE

ABIDING IN PROTECTION

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

Psalm 91:1

G od has a secret place where we can dwell in peace and safety.

The secret place is the place of rest in God, a place of peace and comfort in Him. This secret place is a spiritual place where worry vanishes and peace reigns. It is the place of God's presence. When we spend time praying and seeking God and dwelling in His presence, we are in the secret place.

The word dwell means to make one's home; reside; live. When you and I dwell in Christ or dwell in the secret place, we do not just visit there occasionally, we take up permanent residence there.

In the New Testament, one of the Greek words translated dwell is the same Greek word translated abide in John 15:7 NKJV where Jesus says, If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

If you and I abide in God, it is the same thing as dwelling in God. As a matter of fact, The Amplified Bible translates John 15:7, If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

In other words, we need to be firmly planted in God. We need to know the Source of our help in every situation and in every circumstance. We need to have our own secret place of peace and security. We need to rely on God and trust Him completely.

In the Secret Place

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed.

Psalm 91:1

The psalmist says that he who dwells in the secret place will be settled and secure.

The secret place is a hiding place, a private place, or a place of refuge. It is the place we run to when we are hurting, overwhelmed or feeling faint. It is the place we run to when we are being mistreated or persecuted, when we are in great need or when we feel we just cannot take it anymore.

I remember when I was a child we lived in a large, roomy house. (My mother cleaned that house, and that was how we got our rent.) It was a huge, very ornate building with a number of wood carvings, and it had some neat little secret places in it. One day I found one of those little secret places. It was a small bench carved out underneath one of the stairwells with a stained glass window by it.

Even now I can still picture myself sitting on that bench just pondering. I don't know what I was pondering as a small child, but I do know I had quite a few hurts and problems.

My home life was marked by many upsetting and disturbing domestic situations. That carved-out place with a bench in the stairwell was like a hiding place for me. It was where I would go when I was afraid or needed comfort.

This verse tells us that God wants to be our hiding place.

Some people in the world use alcohol as their hiding place. Some use drugs and others television. Some just get depressed and pull the covers up over their head. There are a lot of people out there hiding from a lot of things.

Instead of looking to the world to hide us, God wants us to find our hiding place in Him. That is what is meant by the phrase the secret place of the Most High. When we have problems, when we are in trouble, God wants us to take refuge under the protective shadow of His wings. He wants us to run to Him!

Under the Shadow of the Almighty

under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

Psalm 91:1

If we are in the secret place of the Most High, where will we be found? According to the psalmist, we will be abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. This is the place God wants His people to live.

Our heavenly Father does not want us just to visit Him once in a while or run to Him when we feel overwhelmed, He wants us to dwell under the shadow of His wings, to abide there, to live there. When we do that, we remain stable and fixed because no foe can withstand the power of the Almighty. If we remain in that place, the devil can do us no harm.

There was a time in my life when I just ran in and out of the secret place, but I have since found that when I go there and stay, when I abide there, I don't feel so overwhelmed.

We need the Lord all the time not just occasionally. In John 15:5 Jesus says, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

What exactly does it mean to abide under the shadow of the Almighty? First of all, a