Be Right; Think Right

Laurence Zirschky, MDiv; MA; LPCC

As the world continues to face the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the news continually warns us here that we have not reached the “apex” of the spread yet. It is also very disheartening to hear of many who have lost all hope and are gripped by anxiety and despair. Sadly, we can allow anxious thinking to take us to catastrophic thinking in a moment. Anxiety yells out, “The sky is falling!” This script of anxiety is written on the pages of subjectivity.

So, what can we do? Well, write a new script on the pages of objectivity (truth) and do what actors do when given a new script, do a “read-through” and X out the doom-filled, catastrophic lines that anxiety tries to slip in. Then, do another read-through. Don’t allow anxiety to write the script where you play the frightened, anxious, hopeless character. How would your life change if you could change the part you play into a character who is relaxed and not anxious, thoughtful and not reactive, seeing the good and not the catastrophic?

When you take control of your own script, you determine the part you want to play. You will find a much brighter place and so will others in your life. So, here are some tips on how to do this and a new script to do multiple “read-throughs.” Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27 tells a little story of two houses and two foundations. Jesus is telling us to examine our foundation. Our foundation determines whether or not we will believe in the shifting sands of feelings and subjective thoughts or the solid truth of God’s objective promises?

Here is your script to do a read-through: Psalm 91:1-6. The Psalmist says in the first six verses that God is our refuge and fortress and will rescue you from deadly pestilence. We can trust him. Listen to God’s promises more than your anxieties. Trust His objective promises and not your anxieties. Anxiety will always scream about the unknown. We all know that the unknown is scary, but what does God say about it? He says, Wait, do a read-through of the promises and trust Him who holds the future. How do we pull off the miracle of not being anxious? We don’t but God does.

The Apostle Paul says to explain to God what concerns you, what you need and why. By prayer we open ourselves up to God’s Spirit and the result of this practice? The peace of God will begins to quiet our mind and hearts and this will happen beyond our comprehension. You will not understand this peace from an earthly point of view.

Anchor yourself to God’s promise of deliverance and His love for you. Allow these promises to help you write your script and remember, do a “read-through” (Deuteronomy 23:5; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 139:1;John 3:16; John 10:28-29; 1 John 3:1).