Relax, God’s Got It

Recently I drove past a church that had the following message out front on their sign:

If you worry, then you are not sure God will get it right.

That truth really hit home with me, as I have struggled with worry for most of my life, even as a child.

I believe that many of us could stand to meditate on this church’s message. After all, if we trust God, we really have no need to worry or feel anxious.

There are many verses in the Bible that assure us God is taking care of everything in our lives. One of the best known and often quoted verses is found in Romans:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Rom. 8:28

Here we find that God is working ALL things out—not some, or even most things, but everything—for our good. Every trial, every circumstance falls under His control. There is nothing that He does not use for our eventual good when we seek to serve Him.

Another verse we can rely on when we’re tempted to worry is found in Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 4:6-7

God actually commands us not to worry. Do you think He would tell us to do something that is impossible to do?

If you’re one of the people who says, “Well, I’m just a born worrier. I can’t not worry,” then you need to focus on these verses in Philippians and make them an integral part of your everyday life.

Remember that God has everything under control and there’s nothing that catches Him by surprise. 

Besides, even if you do worry, most of the things you worry about you can’t change anyway. Just leave it up to God to take care of. 

Pray and listen to His instruction. He’ll speak to you through the Holy Spirit in a still, small voice, giving you direction in your life as you focus on Him.

In Luke, once again we’re told not to worry, as God will surely take care of us, just as He does the birds:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on… Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

Luke 12:22,24

Mankind is God’s most prized creation; He even sacrificed His son for our salvation! He will surely take care of all our needs if we will only trust Him.

So, don’t worry. God is more than able to handle anything that’s going on in your life. Just give Him all your cares and focus on serving Him each day.

Kick Worry to the Curb

God doesn’t want you to worry. Really—He doesn’t.

Over and over in the Bible we read where God tells His people not to worry, not to have anxiety. Here is just one of many examples I could name:

Do not be anxious about anything.

Phil. 4:6a

This command is hard for us to accept in the hustle and bustle of our busy lifestyles. If you’re like me, you tend to feel guilty if you’re not worrying about something. 

It seems like you should be worrying, else you’re neglecting your responsibilities.

However, worrying doesn’t change anything—except maybe to make you feel less guilty. 

You don’t need to feel guilty in the first place. Guilt causes you to worry even more—and you can’t do anything about most of the things you worry about anyway.

So, how do we not worry?

First of all, you have to realize that defeating worry is not a one-time thing. Quitting worrying takes daily effort and a resolve to live in freedom in Jesus. 

Although you may feel like you’re in an uphill battle and that you’re not seeing any results—keep at it. 

Eventually, you’ll find yourself worrying less and living with more joy and peace.

On one of his excellent “In Touch” radio broadcasts, Dr. Charles Stanley lays out three steps to eliminating worry in your life

Pray over and meditate on these steps. Really think about them and let them sink into your spirit. 

Doing so will help you beat worry and guilt. 

Step #1 – Realize That God is With You

God knows and sees your situation. He is with you every step of the way. 

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Heb. 13:5b

You are God’s child, and He loves you dearly. Just as you would never leave your own child, God will never leave you.

And how much more He loves you than you are able to love your child!

You don’t need to worry about God’s awareness of your situation. He is omniscient and has known that you would experience whatever trial you’re in even before time itself existed.

He has promised that He will always be with you, so take Him at His word.

Pray to your Heavenly Father and ask Him for help. He won’t let you down.

Step #2 – Maintain Proper Vision

View your situation in context of your faith.

God is Lord of the entire universe and can be fully trusted to help you through any problems you might face.

You can hold on to your faith that God is good and that His will is always in your best interest. As we are told in Romans 8:28:

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

When everything seems to be going wrong and all you have is God to fall back on, that’s when your faith is truly put to the test. 

God is all we need. And when He is all we have, we are presented with the opportunity to stand firm in our faith. God’s will WILL prevail.

Step #3 – Seek God’s Kingdom First

If serving God and following His will for your life are your priorities in life, He will make sure that you have everything you need.

Matthew 6:33 tells us:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

To put it another way, God takes care of His own. If you belong to Jesus and faithfully serve Him, your needs will be met.

Keep in mind, God’s provision might not always look like you think it should, but He will always come through. 

God wants to be your provider. His desire is for you to rely on Him and Him alone—not your job, your bank account, or even your own abilities.

Just Him.

When you know that God will meet your every need, you don’t need to worry about having enough. 

You’ll have what you need, when you need it. And you can count on that.

So, to sum up Dr. Stanley’s advice for overcoming worry:

  1. Trust God.
  2. Have faith in God.
  3. Seek God.

Here’s to a worry-free, joy-filled life pursuing God!

Do Not Be Anxious

In the final 10 verses of Matthew 6, Jesus tells us three different times, “Do not be anxious.”

He must really mean it if He says it that many times. 

Yes, He truly wants His followers to live without anxiety and worry over the circumstances of their lives.

Let’s take a closer look at what Jesus says. The first occurrence of this command says,

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.

Matthew 6:25a

The words are plain and simple—don’t worry. 

However, we need to go back and look at the verses immediately before this one because of the word “Therefore.” Whenever we see this word, we need to see what it is said just before it.

Verse 24 says, 

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

In my opinion, this is one of the most important verses in the Bible, especially for those of us who have been taught that more is better and that having a well-paying career is what defines success. 

This verse shows us that we need to put God in His proper place in our lives. He must be #1—above everything else, including money and career.

When we make God the most important thing in our lives, then we can be assured verse 25 will be true for us—we can live life without worry and anxiety.

God will feed us and clothe us, just as he does the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. We are much more important to Him than they are, so He will surely take care of us, just as He does them. 

The next command not to worry comes just a few verses down:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?

Matt. 6:31

Once again, Jesus tells us not to worry ourselves unnecessarily over having enough to eat or drink. He even goes on to tell us in verse 32 that God already knows we need these things.

He will supply us because He wants us to have the necessities of life. He says that the people who don’t know God spend their time chasing after these things and worrying about them. 

As believers in Christ, we can be assured that God will supply our needs. That’s not to say that things will always be easy, as life is not always fun, but we can trust that God is taking care of us.

Finally, in verse 34 Jesus tells us for the final time not to worry:

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There’s that word “therefore” again, so we must back up a verse to find out what is stated there.

Verse 33 says,

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Each day, God will supply our needs for that day. We must simply live out our faith one day at a time, trusting God for His provision.

So, to ensure that God will look after our needs, we need to work to advance His kingdom and strive to live a righteous life that honors Him. 

Of course, no one can live a completely righteous life. The whole reason that Jesus died for us was to make us righteous in the Father’s eyes—we’re unable to achieve this on our own. 

We’re imperfect humans at best. However, that is a topic for another time.

In this important chapter, we have learned what to do to have our needs met and to live anxiety-free and worry-free lives:

  1. Put God in the highest place in our lives—over money, career, and even our own families.
  2. Seek God’s kingdom first, doing His work here on earth and trying to live our lives according to His commands and guidance.

While some may say this is an oversimplification of a complex theological discussion, I disagree.

I believe the Bible was written so that even a small child can understand it. After all, later on in Matthew, Jesus says,

Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matt. 18:3

It’s up to us to forget about all the “extras” that we tend to add to the Gospel, and approach it with the simple faith of a child. 

Trust God. Obey God. Make Him the most important thing in your life. Then, you’ll have everything you need and you won’t have reason to worry. 

You will have placed your life right where it needs to be—in His strong hands.

Turn Your Life Verse Into an Affirmation

What is your life verse? 

You know, the one that every time you read it or think about it, it just speaks truth to you. If nothing comes to mind, ask God to give you one—a verse that He wants you to hold on to, to make it our own, during the good times and the bad.

I’ve had various verses that have spoken to me personally over the years. For at least 25 years, Proverbs 3:5-6 has been at the top of the list:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Long ago, It felt like God laid this passage on my heart, prompting me to hold it close because I would need it someday.

And, oh, how I’ve needed those words. I’ve had to remind myself over and over to trust God completely and not to rely on my own understanding or beliefs about the situation at hand.

Here lately, God has prompted me to keep in mind a different verse—Romans 8:28: 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

This verse reminds me every day that no matter what challenges I face, it’s all working out for the best in my life. It may not seem like it now, but God has a plan and everything is falling into place.

In fact, lately when I’ve felt stressed or overwhelmed, I just yell out (to myself), “Romans 8:28, baby!” That simple reminder is enough to reset my emotions, help me remember that God is in control, and keep me from spiraling into an abyss of doom, gloom, and depression. 

One technique I’ve used a few times is to take several key passages of scripture that truly speak to me and write them down in a personalized way on either an index card or small piece of paper that I can look at each day.

For example, using the two passages in Proverbs and Romans, I might write the following affirmation:

Today I trust in the Lord with all my heart and will not rely on my own understanding. In all my ways I’m acknowledging Him, and He is making my paths straight. In everything God is working for my good because I love Him and am called according to His purpose.

Philippians 4:4 and 4:6-7 are other powerful passages about God’s goodness and peace that I have often meditated on when life’s challenges feel overwhelming. I could personalize them as well and add them to my daily affirmation.

So, when I’m finished, I have the following written out:

Today I trust in the Lord with all my heart and will not rely on my own understanding. In all my ways I’m acknowledging Him, and He is making my paths straight. In everything God is working for my good because I love Him and am called according to His purpose.

I will rejoice in the Lord today. I will not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving I’ll let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Prov. 3:5-6, Rom. 8:28, Phil. 4:4, 6-7

These are some of the verses that have greatly helped me over the years. Maybe they’re special to you as well. Or maybe you need to search the Bible and find your own verses that resonate with your unique circumstances.

Once you’ve personalized and written out your affirmation, take a moment first thing in the morning to read it, out loud if possible. 

Read it again while you’re eating lunch, and refer to it anytime during the day that you feel stress, anxiety, or depression creeping up on you. 

Bedtime is another fantastic time to read your affirmation and set your mind on God as you drift off to sleep.

Let God’s word soak into your spirit and drive out all the negative feelings and emotions that are trying to take root in your mind. Focus on God and His promises.

You’ll feel more joyful and hopeful if you do.

Try This Simple Trick to Free Yourself From the Shackles of Depression

Would you like to feel more alive and in control of your life?

You can do so by separating yourself from your depression.

The first thing to keep in mind is that unwanted, negative emotions— depression, worry, fear, and anxiety—are not you. You don’t have to live under a cloud of these burdensome emotions. 

The key is to mentally compartmentalize your depression so that it’s not a part of you. 

Try this exercise the next time depression, anxiety, or another negative emotion tries to take over your mind. 

Picture yourself from outside your body, looking at yourself as if you were another person. You see yourself and notice that you’re visibly happy with a pleasant smile on your face. 

Then, imagine taking any negative emotions that have been plaguing you and physically pulling them out of your body. 

You then stuff them securely into a neat little box. Make sure in your mind that this box is separate from you.

You are you, and your depression and anxiety are not part of your mind or your body.

You can even personify the depression for more impact. Picture it with a face, but put a quizzical look on the face as if the depression is suddenly stunned it’s no longer part of you. 

Notice we’re not calling it “your” depression, but simply depression.

Depression has been relegated as it were to the peanut gallery of your life. All it can do is just watch—with awe and envy—as you continue happily living your life out from under its control. 

You’re happy now because you’re free from the shackles of depression, worry, anxiety, and fear.

Anytime any of those emotions start to creep their way back into your mind, stop what you’re doing and mentally divorce yourself from them again. 

Firmly place them back into that box, the one that occupies space that is completely outside of your body

Remember—depression and worry are not you. You are you, and you are choosing to live free, not under the control of those emotions. 

Today is All You Have

“The fool, with all his other faults, has this also, he is always getting ready to live.”

– Seneca quoting Epicurus

Today is your life. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Today is the only day that you have.

Many of us fall into the trap of living in a day other than today. We’re either stuck in the past, wallowing in regret over our mistakes (guilty, I’ll admit), or we’re frozen in fear with worry about the future (what if?).

Years ago, there was an Ann Landers article that extolled the virtues of living in the present. While the details are a little fuzzy, I’ll always remember its message.

We’ll never be content so long as we’re waiting for the next big thing in life. “I’ll be happy when I get that promotion,” or “I’ll be happy when I get married,” or “I’ll be happy when I can finally afford a Mercedes.”

No matter what goal you set for yourself as to when you’ll be satisfied in life, there will always be something else on the horizon, waiting to steal your joy.

As the old saying goes, “Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the present.”

When we devote all our mental energy to the past or the future, we can’t focus on the present. We don’t give our full time and energy to it. And the present (today, right now) is all we have.

By the time you read this sentence, it’s already the past. You can never actually live in the past or the future. Only this very moment.

What can you do right now to further your life? Take a moment to relish the present. Here. Now. Before it’s gone.


Here’s the Perfect Solution If You Want a Worry-Free Life

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matt. 6:24-25

How many of us are guilty of the sin of worrying about our finances? (Yes, it’s a sin to worry—whether it’s about money or anything else.)

It’s so easy to slip into the old familiar pattern of fretting while looking over our monthly bills, or of getting discouraged when we’re trying to balance our household budget. 

However, God doesn’t want us to worry—at all. Over and over in the Bible, we find that truth.

In fact, right in this passage, He tells us how to avoid worry and anxiety about our everyday needs. 

You see, if money is what drives us, we’re naturally going to worry. If money is your chief goal, then there will never be enough of it to satisfy you. 

For example, if you’re short on money, you’ll worry about how to get more. And if you’ve got plenty of money to pay your bills, you’ll worry about losing your income and your standard of living. 

It’s a NO WIN situation when you serve money. 

On the other hand, if we’re serving God, we can relax free and easy. That’s right—we can go through life without money worries. He will provide us with everything we need—food, clothes, and shelter. 

As we’re told a few verses down the page, God already knows what we need anyway. By the time we get around to asking for help, He has already put His plan into action for our provision. 

But the key is to seek His kingdom first—you’ve got to give Him 100%. Not 90%…not even 99%…but all of you.

We have to put serving God and His purposes at the very top of our list. Everything we do must be geared toward living with God as the #1 priority in our lives. 

I, for one, have too often been guilty of trying to serve both God and money. I mean, surely it can be done, right? 

I’ve thought, I can put in these extra hours at work and still keep my focus on God. I can squeeze a little time in for God here and there during the day or just before bed. That will be fine, won’t it?

WRONG. There is no person on the planet who has the means to put both God and money at the top of their list of priorities. It will always be one of the two, to the exclusion of the other. 

It’s much wiser to take God at His word and make Him the priority, as you’ll receive all the rewards of serving Him AND have your needs met at the same time. 

However, try to make money the object of desire in your life and you’ll miss out on a fulfilling, enriching relationship with God, as well as many of the blessings He has in mind for you.

Our Father wants us to make the wise choice, so He lays it all out for us in these two wonderful verses. 

He tells us flat out that it’s impossible to serve both Him and money, so don’t even try. “Therefore…” He says (and this is a big “therefore”), we can live without worry and anxiety.

He’s saying first of all that it’s pointless to try to put Him and money at the head of our lives, AND as a result of this truth, we don’t have to worry about “things” because He will take care of all that—so long as we seek His kingdom first.

So, if you want a life that’s free from worry, anxiety, and stress, seek God first. Everything else will fall into place. 

He’s waiting for you to make the right choice.

Trust in God No Matter What

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all your heart? And to not rely on your own understanding?

These are deep words for certain. I believe we need to go beyond just a surface explanation of what it means to trust in God, as the verse includes the words, “with all your heart.”

That means we are to trust, rely on, depend on, and put all our weight on God. With every fiber of our being. No matter what we’re doing, we’re called to trust in Him.

That’s hard to do because we’re human. As mere humans, we tend to focus on what our senses reveal to us. We look at what we can see, hear, and touch.

Relying on God requires more than that. It’s a deep dependence of surviving on God and Him alone.

It’s knowing that God is our provider for everything that we need to sustain us. He wants us to rely on Him—that’s why He tells us to do just that.

If we obey God, adopting and maintaining the mindset that everything comes from Him, we can take it a step further and comfortably give Him all our cares and worries—which He commands us to do: “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

However, if we don’t first accept the fact that everything in our lives comes from Him, there’s no way we can ever hand over our cares to Him.

Just as God wants us to lean into Him and rely on Him, He also wants us to be free from the worry and anxiety that everyday life can produce. Philippians 4:6a tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

These are fantastic, life-changing words! God literally commands us to live a worry-free life!

He doesn’t want us weighed down by our circumstances, but rather, He wants us to rely on Him, lean into Him, and give Him any burdens we’ve been carrying.

This is the freedom that so many of us desperately need each day. I know I do. Just the thought that God wants my mind to rest free and easy gives me hope that I don’t have to worry and fret about finances, my career, my relationships, and a host of other things.

And it should give you hope, too.

Why Is It So Hard to Cast Our Anxieties on God?

“…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

1 Pet. 5:7

Take a moment to really think about what this verse is telling us to do. It is literally commanding us to give our anxieties and cares to God our Father because He loves us deeply and doesn’t want us weighed down with the burdens of life. 

You might wonder exactly how we’re supposed to do that, given that every person reading this is bombarded with anxiety after anxiety daily. There’s no escape from it in our hurried, frantic way of life. 

Even in slower, more laid-back cultures, there are still ample opportunities for anxiety to creep in. Anxiety and stress are a fact of life on this fallen planet we call home.

I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand how we’re supposed to give God our anxieties. I believe that you have to take this verse (plus the ones immediately before and after it) and read it along with other similar passages such as Philippians 4:4-9, Matthew 6:25-34, and Luke 12:22-31 before you can really start to get a good feel for what God is telling us. 

I’ve been reading and rereading all these verses for years, but I have yet to reach the point where I don’t struggle with anxiety and depression. All too often, I find myself worrying about finances, health, relationships, my career, or any number of other things. 

I have head knowledge about what these verses are saying—that God loves us and doesn’t want us fretting about our basic needs because He’s got it all covered. But somehow that doesn’t always translate into belief in my heart. Yes, I know that’s pathetic. I feel like I should be able to just take God at His word and not let anxiety gain a foothold in my life. 

Maybe it’s just guilt on my part. You know, I feel guilty about being such a lousy example of a Christian that I don’t feel like God’s grace could possibly work for me. 

But feeling this way is actually an insult to God. I’m essentially saying that His grace and forgiveness are not strong enough or good enough to penetrate my sin and make me clean in His eyes. 

However, I know that’s not the case—He sees me as redeemed, thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection and my belief in these two events. 

Maybe it’s hard for me to give my anxiety to God because of lingering questions. I mean, why do we have to cast our anxiety on Him? Why can’t He just swoop down with His big hand and snatch them all away from us once and for all?

That is a question for which I definitely do not have an answer. I can only guess. Perhaps it’s once again because we live in a fallen world and He chooses to abide by the effects of sin upon us humans. 

There are many evils and ills that He could rescue us from on a daily basis, but he doesn’t because our sentence is to live in a world full of sin and decay. Anxiety and depression are just two of those results of our fallen nature. 

He does, however, give us the means to lift ourselves out of the pit of despair by telling us over and over in the Bible not to be anxious, worried, and fearful. 

Perhaps the more sinful we are as individuals, the harder it is for us to remain anxiety-free. The more we lean on God and strive to obey Him, the easier it becomes to live a life brimming over with joy and happiness.

These are all just guesses—I’m no theologian; this is just me putting my thoughts into coherent words. 

Does anybody else have any thoughts on these issues?

God’s Built-in Blessings

If you’re tied into God each day, you’re way ahead of the game when compared to people who don’t recognize God in their everyday lives.

Throughout His word, God promises us provision, blessings, joy, and peace if we’ll only trust in Him and follow His commandments.

If you’re like me and your mind tends to dwell on the negative aspects of life, then it may be helpful to think of each day as already having “built-in” blessings based on the promises of God found in the scriptures.

Picture your life and each day as full of promises for good things that God wants for you. You’re not alone, left fighting each day through this jungle we call life. Rather, you’re on a fantastic journey that God designed just for you before time began. 

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16).

Sure, there will be challenges and perils along the way—there is no way to avoid those as inhabitants of this fallen planet. However, each day holds mystery, meaning, and purpose if only we’ll lean into God, trust and obey Him, and look for His blessings.

Upon reading through the Bible, it is obvious that God wants the best for us. He even tells us that all things will work together for our good if we love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

So what are these blessings anyway? Following are just a few of them we’ll find in His word. I encourage you to read the Bible for yourself and discover more of them, perhaps ones that speak to you personally and are particularly applicable to your life and individual circumstances. If you seek God, He will make himself known to you (Deut. 4:29).

Psalm 103 is packed with many promises and provisions. It tells us that we worship a God “who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (v. 5).

We also learn that, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (v. 13).

Also, He will never stop loving us. “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts” (vv. 17-18).

Philippians 4 is a passage that I have often referred to in this blog. It has been so helpful to me, and I’m sure to countless others, in trying to overcome anxiety and depression. 

In this chapter, we’re told that if we take everything to God in prayer—trusting Him with our problems instead of worrying about them (v. 6)—then “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7).

This is an incredible promise if we can just wrap our minds around it!

He literally commands us not to worry about anything. Have you ever thought about what that really means? If we’re worrying, we’re sinning—it’s as simple as that. 

He promises to flood us with His peace and comfort if we’ll just rejoice in Him (v. 4), pray about everything, and worry about nothing.

Matthew 6 is another powerful passage that truly speaks to those who suffer from depression and anxiety. Besides reiterating that we shouldn’t worry (v. 34), this chapter tells us that God will provide for us. 

“Your heavenly Father knows that you need them [everyday needs like food and clothing]. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 32b-33).

Think about it…God already knows exactly what we need and has made provision for it without us even having to ask Him for it. 

All we need to do is commit our daily lives to following His will and doing His work here on earth. He promises to take care of the rest.

These three passages represent only a small sample of all the many blessings that God has promised for His children. Take some time to search the scriptures for more nuggets of gold that can help you manage the stresses, strains, and challenges of your everyday life. 

Read them over and over, meditate on them, and commit them to memory. Doing so will pay huge dividends in your outlook on your life and your circumstances.