About Manifestations of Faith
March 20, 2024
Sixth Sunday of Lent – Holy Week begins
March 20, 2024
By Daniel Francis
I believe that as people, no matter how good things are, we tend to still find something to stress about. It may just be human nature.
For instance, I am currently in a busy season. I am planning to launch my third book in April and to say I am stressed out would be an understatement. I thought I had a very solid plan laid out but as with most plans, things go awry. When things do not go as planned, I worry and get stressed but what I want to explore in this article is that first reflex when worry or stress hits.
What do you typically do when things start going wrong? Is your first reflex to complain? I would not blame you if it were.
I was a big-time complainer so that was my first reflex. Maybe your first reflex is to revert to a nervous tick. You bite your nails, begin pacing, or go into a mental spiral where you imagine how bad things could get if you don’t fix things now.
Maybe you take a more positive approach and immediately begin thinking of solutions to your current problem. You brainstorm ideas, you talk to someone who can be of assistance, or you step away from the problem for a moment to think.
With the current stress of my new book coming out, I found myself thinking of the worst-case scenarios which is not my typical way of operating. I began asking myself “What if?”
What if I do not hit my target and I flop? What if no one supports me and I lose a bunch of money? That negative ‘what-if’ way of thinking creates more stress, doubt, and fear. The problem then worsens.
Thankfully, God had a gentle reminder for me that He made sure that I share here with you in this article.
As I have mentioned in previous articles, God tends to speak to me through other people. He recently placed a new person in my life and every time I speak with this person, the topic of prayer always comes up, so much so that I started to realise God was sending a message to me through them.
I could not refute the message any longer when the person told me about a sermon that they heard recently. The topic of that sermon was our immediate reflex to a bad situation should be faith. All I could do was smile and say, “Okay God, I understand.”
He clearly was trying to let me know that when the stresses start piling up, my immediate reflex should not be negative thinking, complaining, doubt, or fear but faith.
This a simple reminder that when these moments arise, start praying. My immediate reflex in those moments before I do anything else should be prayer. It’s such a simple and effective strategy but so easily missed.
How many of us revert immediately to prayer when things go wrong? I want to hope that the majority of us do. But for those that do not have this reflex like I did not, take this as a reminder to create a reflex of prayer when things start going awry.
It should become so comfortable to talk to God that we do it throughout our day for the small and big things. I took the signs that God was trying to alert me to and began praying through this new busy season I am in.
I spoke to Him and in response, He said, “I got you.” I do not know what that means just yet but just knowing that I have God on my side takes all the worry away. It boosts my confidence and gives me focus.
There is no better way to get back on track. So next time you are worried, stressed or things are not going as planned, revert immediately to your faith. Begin praying and asking God for guidance. Do this first before you do anything else, and you will be so much better for it.
Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.
LinkedIn: Daniel Francis
IG: o.m.publishing
Website: www.ompublishing.org
