by: Bill A. Gaspard, Life Recovery Coach, Biblical Counselor
I’m sure you have heard it said, “Defense wins games!” Why? Well, if the other team can’t score, then they can’t win. The same is true with our enemy. I remember when I was separated from my wife for a while, and I needed something to hold onto, I had my bible which I held every night, in fact I clutched it until I fell asleep each night. I also went down to the local Christian bookstore and found a military coin with the Armor of God on it and I carry that coin around in my pocket every day since. Each day as I grab it and place it in my pocket, I remember that only God can protect me and that all but one piece of this armor is meant for defense. I ask Christ and the Holy Spirit to be my defense daily and to completely shield me from the enemy. On one side of the coin it gives the six pieces of armor needed to get up and suit up each day, and on the other side it says, “Put on the whole armor of God, and pray always.” I keep it with me to remind me where I was, how far God has taken me, and where I am today. The Armor of God is one of my favorite scriptures and was written to the Ephesians by Paul while in a jail cell, we find it starting in Ephesians 6:10. This armor means so much to those of us in recovery and if we forget to put it on, we will be vulnerable to all attacks. When put on daily we have a fighting chance to let the defense take over and prevent the enemy from scoring.
Think about your defensive line for a moment, we have the Belt of Truth, one of the first things we put on spiritually. Just like putting on pants in the morning and holding them up with a belt, hard to start your day without it. The Breastplate of Righteousness, and the Gospel of Peace on your feet, you’ve got to protect your heart with something and better put something on those sensitive tootsies. These three are non-negotiable, they must be on at all times spiritually, when you walk in the house from work, when your hanging out with the boys watching football or out with the ladies at a spa. Always on! This is ready mode, ready set hike! The defense is in place and ready to stop that ball, stop that player, stop that thought, at any moment. All three of these pieces of armor are Christ himself, we are putting on Christ and when we take Him off the enemy can and will score. Truth, Righteousness and Peace, that is your D-Line, allow them, or Him to defend you.
In addition Paul states, take up The Shield of Faith. Where is your faith? It needs to be strong, strong enough to stop the fiery arrows. Put on the Helmet of Salvation. There is only one who can give us salvation and this helmet guards more than the mass that sits on our shoulders, it guards our mind, our thoughts and must be on when there is an attack. Christ is our defensive line in our mind and this analogy takes on a whole new meaning when we think of taking our thoughts captive. When we put this helmet on and keep it on while in recovery we are saying, “Not today, you are not scoring today, I am protected by the defensive line which is Christ.”
How can the enemy score on a defense like that?
Paul was trying to teach us that Christ is the way, the only way, put Him on and let Him protect us.
About the author: Bill A. Gaspard is a Certified Christian Life Coach and Biblical Counselor, dedicated to helping God RECOVER His children through relapse prevention coaching. He is the Founder of Christian Recovery Coaching- http://christianrecoverycoaching.com/
Recovery Coaching is one of the most effective ways to prevent relapse and get results in your life. A Christian Life Recovery Coach will come along side you to help you find your purpose and passion in life. We partner with our clients to unlock their God given talents and motivate them towards Christian leadership.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Worry Warden
by: Bill A. Gaspard, Christian Life Coach~
I was introduced to him a few months back and playfully nick named him the Worry Warden. Each day he gets up and begrudgingly goes to work. He believes he is in charge of his life and until recently he found out that he was not only the Warden of his own life, but a prisoner as well. He has an important job as a Warden; he has so many prisoners to take care of. He has to get them up, feed and exercise them each day. These prisoners were his worries, his daily worries that he watched over and his job was to be the Warden of this ‘prison of worries’. There were times when he could think of nothing else but these prisoners, they affected his productivity, his sleep and his family life. In fact, these prisoners blocked him from God.
“Worry is an attempt to control the future.” Ron Blue
Worry is defined by Webster, “mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.” In other words, worry is about something that has not occurred yet. It is not an emotion, but more like an exercise in your mind.
I tried to talk with the Warden about his problem with worry and shared with him what God’s word says about this. He proclaimed to be a Christian and was working a solid recovery program; I suggested that he work his worry through the same steps that have helped him with his addiction. I asked him if he trusted God, and he replied, “Of course I do.” “Not when you worry the way you do, that is a complete lack of trust in God. These worries consume you and block you from God,” I replied. He agreed and admitted that he had a problem with worry. Once he was able to admit his problem, he made a commitment to change. He began to give his worries over to God each day and he gave the prison keys over and resigned as the Warden. He inventoried his worries and discussed each one with God and his Recovery Coach. He made the decision to change his thoughts and not exercise his mind this way anymore. He decided to stop feeding these prisoners, but to pray for the prisoners when he began to worry. The following verse was beginning to make much more sense, it used to sound like a cliché, but now this passage in Philippians hit home.
Charles Stanley writes this about worry, “Our natural reaction is either too hastily solve our own problems or to sit around and worry about them. And yet, from a Roman prison, the Apostle Paul instructs us to face our worries with prayer.”
Do you have a prison system in place?
Are you ready to hand over the keys to this prison?
It’s as easy as ABC
Admit- that you have captives and that you are tired of feeding and supporting them. You can’t continue this way and grow spiritually. Give a proper inventory of all your prisoners so that the new Warden will know what he is dealing with. Also share this with your coach or mentor. “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything”
Believe- that the keys must be turned over to God. He is in charge now and when we worry we do not trust Him. Don’t take the keys back. “Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”
Commit- to this new system and discipline your thought life. To break the habit of worry we must develop the habit of prayer and meditation. “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”
About the author: Bill A. Gaspard is a Certified Christian Life Coach and Biblical Counselor, dedicated to helping God RECOVER His children through relapse prevention coaching. He is the Founder of Christian Recovery Coaching- http://christianrecoverycoaching.com/
Recovery Coaching is one of the most effective ways to prevent relapse and get results in your life. A Christian Life Recovery Coach will come along side you to help you find your purpose and passion in life. We partner with our clients to unlock their God given talents and motivate them towards Christian leadership.
I was introduced to him a few months back and playfully nick named him the Worry Warden. Each day he gets up and begrudgingly goes to work. He believes he is in charge of his life and until recently he found out that he was not only the Warden of his own life, but a prisoner as well. He has an important job as a Warden; he has so many prisoners to take care of. He has to get them up, feed and exercise them each day. These prisoners were his worries, his daily worries that he watched over and his job was to be the Warden of this ‘prison of worries’. There were times when he could think of nothing else but these prisoners, they affected his productivity, his sleep and his family life. In fact, these prisoners blocked him from God.
“Worry is an attempt to control the future.” Ron Blue
Worry is defined by Webster, “mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.” In other words, worry is about something that has not occurred yet. It is not an emotion, but more like an exercise in your mind.
I tried to talk with the Warden about his problem with worry and shared with him what God’s word says about this. He proclaimed to be a Christian and was working a solid recovery program; I suggested that he work his worry through the same steps that have helped him with his addiction. I asked him if he trusted God, and he replied, “Of course I do.” “Not when you worry the way you do, that is a complete lack of trust in God. These worries consume you and block you from God,” I replied. He agreed and admitted that he had a problem with worry. Once he was able to admit his problem, he made a commitment to change. He began to give his worries over to God each day and he gave the prison keys over and resigned as the Warden. He inventoried his worries and discussed each one with God and his Recovery Coach. He made the decision to change his thoughts and not exercise his mind this way anymore. He decided to stop feeding these prisoners, but to pray for the prisoners when he began to worry. The following verse was beginning to make much more sense, it used to sound like a cliché, but now this passage in Philippians hit home.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Charles Stanley writes this about worry, “Our natural reaction is either too hastily solve our own problems or to sit around and worry about them. And yet, from a Roman prison, the Apostle Paul instructs us to face our worries with prayer.”
Do you have a prison system in place?
Are you ready to hand over the keys to this prison?
It’s as easy as ABC
Admit- that you have captives and that you are tired of feeding and supporting them. You can’t continue this way and grow spiritually. Give a proper inventory of all your prisoners so that the new Warden will know what he is dealing with. Also share this with your coach or mentor. “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything”
Believe- that the keys must be turned over to God. He is in charge now and when we worry we do not trust Him. Don’t take the keys back. “Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”
Commit- to this new system and discipline your thought life. To break the habit of worry we must develop the habit of prayer and meditation. “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”
About the author: Bill A. Gaspard is a Certified Christian Life Coach and Biblical Counselor, dedicated to helping God RECOVER His children through relapse prevention coaching. He is the Founder of Christian Recovery Coaching- http://christianrecoverycoaching.com/
Recovery Coaching is one of the most effective ways to prevent relapse and get results in your life. A Christian Life Recovery Coach will come along side you to help you find your purpose and passion in life. We partner with our clients to unlock their God given talents and motivate them towards Christian leadership.
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