Preparation and worry

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arapahoepark

Puritan Board Professor
How does one not worry and 'give it to God' so to speak? Where does the intertwine with preparing for something but not overanalyzing or overworking?
 
You might find Dr Lloyd-Jones book "Spiritual Depression" helpful for you. Lloyd-Jones was an esteemed medical doctor as well as a gifted pastor so he blends in both aspects in a very helpful way in the book. He particularly has some helpful comments on ovranalysing problems. The sermons which form the basis of the book are very helpful. You get a double benefit if you read the book and listen to the sermons.
 
You might find Dr Lloyd-Jones book "Spiritual Depression" helpful for you. Lloyd-Jones was an esteemed medical doctor as well as a gifted pastor so he blends in both aspects in a very helpful way in the book. He particularly has some helpful comments on ovranalysing problems. The sermons which form the basis of the book are very helpful. You get a double benefit if you read the book and listen to the sermons.
Just bought the book. What chapter?
 
Trent, I am a worry-er too! Great question.

I look forward to learning and benefiting from this thread. I don't have all the answers. One thing I wish I would put into practice more myself is trusting in the promises of future grace in particular. Piper introduced me to this idea, he has a sermon series on it (and a book, but I think I got more out of the tapes). Claiming particular promises that are put in the future tense; like: "For Your name's sake you will lead me and guide me." I think worry ultimately has its root in not trusting God, like you said. When I actually do this I've found it helpful. PS I'm still praying for you and your teaching and will keep it up.
 
Just bought the book. What chapter?
In one sense this is a difficult question to answer because gems are scattered through the whole book. My best suggestion is read the whole book multiple times and listen to the sermons (the sermons are similar but don't fully match the book).

But if I am pressed to give specifics:
Ch 1 'General consideration' has some analysis of over analyising as does ch 6 on 'vain regrets'.

In terms of worry
Ch 7 'Fear of the future'
Ch 10 'Where is your faith?'
Ch 11 'Looking at the waves'
Ch 12 'The spirit of bondage'

For a deeper study for worry, you might find Ed Welch's book "Running scared" and its study guide "When I Am Afraid: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Fear and Anxiety" also very helpful.
 
One very practical strategy is to be so busy that you can't put more time into something. People who work with teaching/writing and similar areas often have that struggle: how do you know when you are done? How do you know when enough is enough? Wouldn't it be good to check one more commentary? What about another search for relevant journal articles? Is it responsible not to proofread your work for the 10th time? And so on and so forth.

But if there's a lot on your plate to where you know you have to move on to the next thing, it short-circuits some of that.
 
Thanks. I had a midterm evaluation today. No clue how I did.
I was told I should I should prepare everyday like that is happening because, of course, who needs 8 hours of sleep when you can get 3 rehearsing in your sleep??
 
People often like to give that kind of advice, but I am not sure that a nervous breakdown ever makes people better at their job.
 
This may sound simplistic, but do you make time for prayer and a bit of meditation on a portion of God’s word each morning? And then, work to develop the habit to remember to call upon the Lord for help throughout the day. We all really need to do it, more than we often know. It makes a difference.
I feel for you! and prayed for you today.
 
Thanks. I had a midterm evaluation today. No clue how I did.
I was told I should I should prepare everyday like that is happening because, of course, who needs 8 hours of sleep when you can get 3 rehearsing in your sleep??

Some advice from my own grad school days:

Place a priority on sleep. Except for extraordinary situations, my books and studies were getting put away by 10pm. If I didn't feel fully prepared, so be it. Obviously some things like papers can't just be left unfinished, but having that kind of attitude forces you to be more disciplined and get work done throughout the day while also preventing you from overworking yourself. Where my colleagues were staying up late cramming (sometimes on study drugs), I was generally well rested and less stressed. Over the long run that made a positive difference in my performance relative to theirs.

Don't let yourself get overly concerned about marks. If you do poorly on an exam or evaluation, but you put in a solid amount of work and felt like you had a solid grasp of the subject material in general, be content. You can't help it if your professors decided to evaluate you on esoteric details or subjective measures. You know in your own conscience whether you did what you were capable of, or whether poor marks were, in fact, due to laziness on your part.
 
Outside of the the Bible of course, keep the book “The Valley of Vision” with you (since it is smaller) and when you feel the pressure read one of the prayers. You could use your smartphone too, but pages relax me far more than screens. It has been a most sobering tool for me and has helped me keep my perspectives grounded upon Christ.:detective:
 
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