Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

It can’t be that simple, can it? The good news, which I have learned from experience, is that it is!

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

If you make the effort to grow close to the Lord, he will definitely respond. The best part is that he will not be outdone in generosity. Every minute spent in prayer will yield tremendous blessings. You may not be able to see the grace that you receive, but it is undoubtedly there. Time spent in prayer is never wasted. If you make the effort to draw close to the Lord, he will draw even closer to you.

In order to stop worrying, spending time with Jesus is a must. What should you say? I recommend you start by telling Him all those things that are stressing you out right now. Not only does He love to listen, but He can actually help you.

Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart. (Jeremiah 15:16)

For the past two weeks we have been letting the Lord speak to us every day through the Bible. And, judging from the emails I’ve been receiving, it is already starting to bear some fruit. Know what else is really cool? Even though I wrote the book and chose the Bible verses for each day, I’m benefiting from our retreat too!

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

For many years, I ignored God’s voice in sacred scripture. I thought it was too difficult to understand and that it wouldn’t make a big difference in my life. I was wrong. Like Jeremiah, I now understand that God’s words in the Bible bring me great joy. When I’m having a bad day and feel the temptation to worry, opening his book brings me comfort. It may take some time and a little practice, but his words will comfort you too—yet only if you read them. Open it up, and feast upon his Word. Let him speak to you today.

We still have over five weeks to go in our Give Up Worry For Good retreat. And I am totally confident that hearing God’s voice every day through Sacred Scripture is going to have a positive effect on each of us. With the Lord’s help, we really will be able to give up worry for good.

When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”(John 2:3)

Everything was going great at the wedding in Cana until the wine ran out. The only person who can fix the immediate problem is Jesus, and Mary knows it. As a result, she brings the problem to his attention. She doesn’t tell him what to do or how to do it. All she does is let him know of the need: that there is no more wine. Jesus responds by turning water into wine, thus sparing the bride and groom from potential embarrassment.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

You have an advantage over the guests at the wedding in Cana. Jesus had not yet performed any miracles so nobody (besides Mary) thought to turn to him for help. The idea of appealing to Mary would have been even more farfetched. The fact that this incident is documented in the Bible is a game changer. Mary’s intercessory power is evident.

This week is all about learning to ask for supernatural help with our problems. Mary is a good person to include on your list of intercessors. Why? Because as can be seen at Cana, she’ll take your problem right to Jesus.He has a hard time saying “no” to His Mom.

Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Now that we’ve spent a week focusing on God’s ability to handle our problems, we’re about to spend the next week concentrating on the next logical step – asking Him for help.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

This week’s theme focuses on sound advice from St. Peter as he reminds us to turn our cares over to a caring God. This very popular and oft-cited Bible verse is a great reminder and “call to action,” but it’s also somewhat incomplete. In several Bible translations, this verse is the second part of a longer sentence. Looking at the complete message provides insight as to why we sometimes fail to turn our problems over to the Lord: ‘Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you’ (1 Pt 5:6–7, NKJV).

Because I am a proud control-freak, turning to God for help can be difficult for me. I’ve learned, however, that it’s something I must do. For the next seven days, we’ll learn to fight the urge to take control and discover how to ask God for help. It might be difficult at first, but it will get easier. Once you stop trying to fix everything yourself and start “casting your cares” on him, you’ll realize just how great God really is.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

Some Bible translations use the word “power” and others (as indicated above) use the word “authority”, but a common theme emerges from this verse – Jesus is able to back up His words. Therefore, we should listen when He tells us to not worry. We should listen when He tells us to trust our Heavenly Father to provide for our needs. And, as we learned this week, we should listen when He tells us that nothing is impossible for God.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

This week, we have focused on the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As he prepared to ascend into heaven, Jesus assured his followers that he did indeed have power over heaven and earth. My prayer is that his words will give you confidence as you continue your journey.

The Lord can easily handle whatever problem you’re dealing with, but He typically waits for you to ask Him for help. That will be our focus next week. I look forward to continuing our journey tomorrow. Keep up the good work.

Let not your heart be troubled!

~Gary

And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39)

No doubt about it, there will be times in life when you feel that Jesus has abandoned you. More often than not, this feeling occurs when you’re going through some kind of crisis. The Apostles understood what this felt like as they were overcome by a large storm. Even though many of them were experienced fishermen, however, they somehow knew that the sleeping carpenter’s son could help them. So they woke him up.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

Feelings aren’t facts. You may feel Jesus has abandoned you, but he hasn’t. He might be sleeping, but he is still with you. Go ahead and wake him up. Tell him exactly how you feel. Be honest and don’t hold back. Above all, ask him to help you with the storm that’s swamping your boat. Jesus might be able to sleep through a storm, but he can’t sleep through the cries of his beloved disciples. Oh, and by the way, about that “not caring” accusation . . . looks as if he really did care about them after all. That’s why he saved them from the storm.

You may feel that your problem is unsolvable, but that isn’t true. Jesus can still the storm in your life, but you may have to wake Him up. Do it! Pretending to be asleep is one of the ways He helps us to grow in faith. When Jesus woke up and stilled the storm, the men in the boat were “filled with awe, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?'” (Mark 4:41) They learned a lesson about His power that day. We can learn the same lesson if we give Him a chance to still our storms too.

Let not your heart be troubled!

~Gary

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. (Daniel 3:17–18)

The God we serve IS ABLE to deliver us from it…

Having enraged King Nebuchadnezzar by refusing to bow down to his golden idol, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were given an ultimatum. They could either worship the false god or be cast into a fiery hot furnace. Refusing to worship the king’s false god, the three men boldly proclaimed their belief in God’s power.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good...

Not only did they believe God could save them, but also they were willing to trust him even if he chose not to! How in the world do you get to the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego level of faith? As we discussed yesterday, the first step is believing that God can fix your hopeless situation. The second step is to look at a crucifix and think about the love that it represents. You’ll soon be on your way to trusting him even if he doesn’t give you exactly what you want.

All this week, we’ve been focusing on God’s power. He is bigger than whatever crisis you’re facing right now. He will either take it away or bring good out of it. Are you willing to choose to trust Him?

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27)

At first glance, it almost seems pointless to answer this question. We all know that nothing is too hard for God. But how about if we make it more personal by changing the word “anything” to “healing my cancer”, “taking away my loneliness”, “restoring my finances”, “granting me peace in the midst of my current storm”? When we find ourselves wrestling with a difficult problem, believing that nothing is too hard for God becomes a bit more complicated.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

How can you learn to truly believe this? Start by spending some time thinking about how he created the world and led the Israelites out of slavery. Then become familiar with the miracles performed by Jesus and read about the spread of the Early Church in the Acts of the Apostles. He has routinely done the impossible time and time again. Don’t stop there, however. Look at the miracle you need right now. Is it more difficult than creating the universe out of nothing or rising from the dead?

All this week we’re focusing on the power of God. It might not feel like it, but He can handle whatever problem you are facing right now. The more time you spend focusing on Him and what He’s done, the more you’re gonna believe it.

And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:52–53)

With this Bible passage, the Gospel of Luke draws to a close. Unfortunately, after reading about all the miracles and events in the life of Jesus, it’s easy to skim over these final two verses and move on to John’s gospel. Not so fast! There’s a reason I decided to include this passage in my book and it has to do with power – the kind of power that you need to give up worry and place your trust in God.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

Forty days earlier, Jesus’ disciples had been trying to save their lives by hiding from the authorities. As the gospel closes, they are rejoicing and seemingly unafraid to die. What caused this radical transformation? It’s hard to believe that this is the same group of men. They went from being cowardly to courageous in a very short amount of time. Obviously, something happened to cause this change. Let’s explore it more deeply. If we begin to understand what took place in their lives, we can better put it to work in our own.

The transformation of the cowardly apostles can be attributed to many things – their relationship with Jesus, His Resurrection, the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the blessing they received before He ascended into Heaven. Ultimately, however, it comes down to power. Because of the supernatural power they received, these men were filled with joy at a time when they should have been terrified. You and I have access to that same power in the Holy Spirit. If you’re not already doing so, start tapping into that power by inviting the Spirit to work in you on a daily basis. It can be done in three simple words – “Come, Holy Spirit!”

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, two of His disciples were traveling on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). They were saddened by His death, having “hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” They were so grief stricken, however, that they didn’t realize that the risen Jesus was walking with them. They should have been ecstatic, but instead they were sad. Why? Because they didn’t recognize the presence of the risen Jesus in their lives.

Here’s what I wrote in Give Up Worry For Good…

The same Jesus who walked with these disciples is with you today and ready to perform miracles in your life. The fact that you don’t feel his presence doesn’t change anything. He is with you. You can’t see or feel electricity, but you express your belief in it every time you flip a light switch. Do the same thing with Jesus today. Put aside the thoughts that he doesn’t feel real to you.

Jesus is real. He is with you. He is bigger than whatever you’re facing. Don’t lose hope.