The Anatomy of Worry

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Hello, and welcome to The Overflow Podcast.
My name is Craig Booker. The title of this

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episode is The Anatomy of Worry. The material
in this episode is inspired by Winning the War

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on Worry by Louie Giglio. Note: I will talk a lot
about mental health, but please note this is not

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a substitute for therapy or mental health care
I am not a counselor or a physician if you need

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help with mental health challenges, please find
a qualified mental health professional, the title

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of this episode is The Anatomy of Worry. In last
week’s episode, we talked about Worry is a Liar. And

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we also talked about Welcome to a New Way of Life
which was kind of the introduction to the book. we

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also talked about the four lies of worry. This
week we’re kind of picking up from there. Louie

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opens this chapter with a story about a time
when him and his wife attended a NASCAR race

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and they were invited because they I
guess his church like owns a record label

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and they have several artists that were going
to NASCAR I think and and singing there or

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maybe performing The National Anthem or something
like that so they got invited to come along and

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while they were there they had the opportunity
to ride in one of the pace cars and so a pace

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car if you’re not familiar with it kind of goes
around the track ahead of all the drivers when

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they’re first starting to kind of get them like
to a certain speed and I think to prevent some

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crashes early on like in the first lap or so and
so they have this opportunity to ride in a pace

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car of course it was before way before the race
where it’s ever going to start but they were going

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to ride in this pace car just as a fun experience
a veteran NASCAR driver that I’ve been driving for

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20 years was was driving them around the track
at well over 100 miles an hour uh Louie’s just

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talking in detail about how he was freaking out
because they were going over 100 mile an hour

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often like a few inches from the wall uh you know
the the curves are really I guess steep angles and

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so he was just talking about how he was freaking
out over the experience initially and so after you

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know he kind of I guess was in the experience a
little bit he realized that this driver had been

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doing this for years and so this driver driving at
100 or so miles per hour was not a big deal to him

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he drives probably at quite a bit faster speeds on
a regular basis you know next to all kinds of cars

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that are inches from each car and so this was not
a big deal for this driver to be driving this fast

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um it basically he was saying this
guy’s an expert and I should trust him

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and so after he realized makes this realization
that this guy is a pro and that he can trust him

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he just kind of lets all those feelings kind of
fade down and he says it was still exciting it

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was still you know he was still trying to reach
for the break uh to kind of slow himself down

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even though he couldn’t uh but he said they ended
up you know finishing the experience and getting

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out of the car and kind of laughing and talking
about how thrilling it was to go through this

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experience he he mentions that they could enjoy
the experience because they weren’t the the person

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in control driving the Nascar driver was this
expert and then he kind of you know transitions

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to talking about like if you’re feeling like
weighed down by feelings of worry it’s most

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likely because you’re trying to control something
or someone that you weren’t designed to control

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uh and he goes on to say this is how or
this is the way worry works it begins with

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a logical thought that we should be concerned
about a certain whatever it is uh and you know

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we think that it’s up to us to be prepared for
whatever might come our way I mean that’s that’s

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our logic when we’re thinking through these things
well it’s reasonable to be concerned about this

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situation it’s reasonable to be prepared or uh
but a lot of times we take it a little too far

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and that’s where we get into worry this is the
introduction to the chapter he then goes into

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talking about how he’s discovered over the years
that there are usually five major themes of worry

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and he said one of these is a dangerous outcome
uh number two would be a threatening confrontation

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three would be some sort of shortage of resources
uh four would be our ability and the five was a

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like a global disaster and so we’ll go into these
a little bit in detail to give some gift some

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context and maybe an example so if we’re looking
at a dangerous outcome you know we may worry about

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a cancer diagnosis maybe for a friend or
family member maybe they get a test done

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and they’re unsure about the results and
they’re going to see the doctor and so

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we’re we’re worried about that situation uh
we may worry about a friend who is traveling

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and we kind of worry about them having an
accident or getting into some kind of accident

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in other areas you know we as kids we may worry
about our parents getting a divorce um so that’s

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what a dangerous outcome is how he describes it so
then the next one is a threatening confrontation

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and maybe you’ve you’ve been in something similar
to this uh maybe you need to talk to your boss

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about a situation and you worry about getting into
argument with your boss it could be that you worry

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about a conversation with your parents turning uh
confrontational like getting aggressive and heated

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um the third area is a shortage of resources and
you know for me this I really relate to this maybe

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you’re worried about losing your job not having
enough being able to provide for your family

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uh you could be concerned about running out of
time on a project maybe at work the next one is

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yeah you worry about our own ability um such as
will I make the cut do they like me do I do good

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enough maybe it’s on a project at work maybe it’s
participating in a softball team and you’re just

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worried that you’re not going to be good enough
for the team or they’re not going to be happy with

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you uh the last area is a global disaster and I
think pretty much the whole world can relate to

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this one because of recent events and it you know
you may be thinking will there be another pandemic

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so we can really relate to that
we know that situation really well

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um we may worry about going to war or will
there be another you know economic crisis

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so these are these five typical areas that he
that he sees that has major themes of worry

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and so he tells this story about when he was a kid
that in school they were going to dissect a worm

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and um probably in a biology class or or similar
class and he was really nervous about dissecting

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this worm and so after this story he he goes into
transitions to how we can dissect our own worry

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and actually put it on the on the table and
really open it up and see what it’s all about

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a story that he goes into is you know if we
look at the story of Adam and Eve in the garden

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and they believed the lies of the enemy which
encapsulated questions like is God good can he

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be trusted uh Louis goes on to say when they
held the fruit in their hands they wanted

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to control their fate they wanted to make
sure that they were in charge or at least

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they had as much Authority and ability as The
God Who had formed them and given them purpose

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then he goes on to say it turned out God wasn’t
trying to keep anything from them with his command

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in fact God was seeking to protect their peaceful
state so what they perceived as God trying to

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control and keep things from them actually was
for their own good uh Louis goes on to say it’s

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one thing to try to make someone doubt God’s
goodness in the midst of the pain and death

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we face on a broken planet but how do you get
someone who lives in Paradise to fall for a lie

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so there’s just this idea that Adam and Eve
were in the best situation possible this is

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how God designed it was the garden where he had
a relationship with them you know there there’s

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basically one rule which was not eating of the
tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil that was

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it that was symbolic in many ways and they wanted
control of their situation he goes on to say it

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says so you should be convinced that he says Hill
he’s speaking of the enemy he’ll be bold enough

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to come after you so if he came after Adam and Eve
in the perfect situation in the garden he’s gonna

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come after us and he goes on to talk about his
plan the enemy’s plan he says this plan will be

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involved a two-pronged attack so first he’ll
attempt to get you to doubt God’s character

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and motives uh second he’ll try to convince you
that life will be better when you are in control

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so if we look at the first lie that God about
God’s character and motives um and we asked

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the question how do we fight the enemy when
he tries to get us to doubt God’s character

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uh so Louis says when we look back at the
cross we see that there’s no doubting the

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fact that God is good and that he can be
trusted says in John 15 13 in the New Living

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Translation it says there is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends

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so prime example of when we’re struggling to trust
God’s character and motives is look to the cross

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looked at he he didn’t have to do that whatsoever
um we as humans screwed things up and God Made A

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Way and left Heaven Sent Jesus to us Jesus left
heaven to come here to Earth to die on our behalf

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so that we could have a way to have a relationship
with him and so when we’re doubting God’s motives

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in our life and our personal situations when it
gets rough we we need to look back at the cross

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and take an honest look back at what Jesus did for
us and that will be our kind of our our guiding

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um event that can really re-center us a second
lie is life will be better when you’re in control

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and Louis again points us back to the cross

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uh he says sin brought death and when we lived
under the banner of death we felt compelled to

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try to control every outcome because if we didn’t
who would one or our need for control was rooted

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in a fear or In Fear And it fueled our anxiety
Romans 8 15. I think he’s just saying that’s

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what he’s referencing there it wasn’t like a
direct quote uh it says we were fed the lie

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that we could become masters of our own fate all
the while our in destination was determined death

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all right Louis goes on to say think of it this
way we are trying to control life that inevitably

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ends in death yet God has stepped into the story
with stunning Grace and upended the power of

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this up into the power of dead maybe it’s supposed
to be death so uh and again that’s referencing

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First Corinthians 15 26-28 it says it was his
plan from the beginning of time acts 4 26-28 uh

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Jesus resurrection put the brakes on our need for
control because he can fully or we can fully trust

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that the one who overcame death hell and the grave
loves us and gives us his Victorious Life to us

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through Jesus Christ he promised to care
for us guide us protect us then he says

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one of the most sobering descriptions of the
victory of Jesus is found in Isaiah 53 4-5

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he says here we read that surely Jesus Took up our
pain and bore our suffering yet we considered him

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punished by God stricken by him and Afflicted
but he was pierced for our transgressions he

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was crushed for our iniquities the punishment
that brought us peace was on him and by his

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wounds we are healed he says Jesus can carry what
is worrying worrying you because he has already

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carried what was meant to kill you so if the heart
of worry is a desire for control how do you change

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and he says you find Peace by surrendering
your need for control to the one who is

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actually in control so you know when we go
through life and we experience rough times

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um we experience loss maybe that’s the loss of an
opportunity a relationship maybe that’s the loss

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of a loved one that passes away um we go through
several experiences like this where we experience

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loss or um some other things in her life and
that leaves us trying to grasp for control

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uh it’s it’s kind of like getting hit by several
punches uh in a boxing match and we’re just trying

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to grasp at the ropes to try to pull ourselves
back up except we tend to go a little bit further

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than that a lot of times all right so it says
scripture says before the mountains were born or

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you brought forth the whole world from Everlasting
to Everlasting you are God Psalms 90 verses 2. in

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Isaiah 46 God’s word reminds us of just how in
control God is it says I am God and there is no

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other I am God and there is no or there is none
like me I make known the end from the beginning

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from ancient times what is still to come I say my
purpose will stand and I will do all that I please

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then Louis goes on to say Surrender Your need to
be in charge trust that his heart for you is good

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place in his hand whatever is causing you to worry
right now believe God is good at being in control

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he also says there is a benefit to being concerned
or preparing for something but the answer lies in

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separating concern or Preparation from worry
because as we’ll find out in the next chapter

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they are two very different things so he
he goes into saying like isn’t there any

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value into being in control in some sort and
he talks about like planning and preparation

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and certainly there is value in being prepared
and having a plan but typically like when we get

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to the stage of worry we’ve taken that way further
than preparation and planning uh we are worrying

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about things that we can’t change that we can have
no impact on um that are out of our control and so

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making a plan is one thing it’s it’s Godly it is
biblical but you know it’s taking that a little

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further uh he shares a prayer here and uh he says
father I Surrender my need to con for control to

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you I humble myself under your kind and righteous
hand believing and trusting that you are able to

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work all things out in ways that glorify you and
that bring me the fruit of the spirit I release

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my heavy burden of needing to be in charge and I
take the freedom your son accomplished for me amen

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discussion question number one was what
are you trying to control right now

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what do you need to relinquish to God number
two write out what is currently worrying you

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then write out a corresponding truth about
the character of God for each concern

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how can you frequently remind yourself
of these truths of God’s character

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number three when you think about the cross
of Jesus what comes to your mind or stirs in

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your heart and four read Isaiah 46 and write out
four truths about the nature and character of God

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that’s all for this episode thank you for
watching if you like the video give us a

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