God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions: Principles for Successful Living (Living with Purpose) - Hardcover

Warren, Rick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310340756 ISBN 13: 9780310340751

Verlag: Zondervan, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

When we have difficult questions, the Bible has answers. Join Rick Warren, pastor and New York Times bestselling author, as he invites us to take a closer look at key biblical figures and the ways in which they faced difficult questions and challenges in their daily lives.

In God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions, Warren uses stories from scripture to teach us that the Bible is filled with examples of real people who faced the same dilemmas we're facing today. By demonstrating the ways in which God chooses to use ordinary people to accomplish his plans--despite their weaknesses and failures--Warren gives us hope as we take on life's countless challenges. Better yet, Warren provides us with realistic solutions that we can start putting into practice today.

Taking us inside the lives of biblical characters including Moses, Paul, and Jesus himself, Warren gives us a chance to see the up-close-and-personal ways they navigated their own circumstances.

Although God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions is anchored in timeless stories from scripture, Warren also weaves in modern examples that address the twelve questions he's asked the most as a spiritual leader, including:

• How can I learn to handle discouragement?
• How can I respond better in a crisis?
• How do I become more resilient when I feel like a failure?
• How can I fight my loneliness?
• How is change possible for me?
• How can I lead a more peaceful life?

 

The concrete, practical insights that Warren shares in God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions will give you the tools you need to build up your resilience, strengthen your relationship with God, and finally enjoy a life full of lasting purpose, peace, and significance.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

A Time magazine cover article named Rick Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Tens of millions of copies of Pastor Rick’s books have been published in 200 languages. His best-known books, The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, were named three times in national surveys of pastors (by Gallup, Barna, and Lifeway) as the two most helpful books in print.

Rick and his wife, Kay, founded Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He is the cofounder of Celebrate Recovery with John Baker.

Pastor Rick has spoken in 165 nations. He has spoken at the United Nations, US Congress, numerous parliaments, the World Economic Forum, TED, Aspen Institute, and lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and other universities.

Rick is executive director of Finishing the Task, a global movement of denominations, organizations, churches, and individuals working together on the Great Commission goals of ensuring that everyone everywhere has access to a Bible, a believer, and a local body of Christ.

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How can I ... cope with stress? rebound from failure? defeat depression? have peace of mind? Life's difficult questions have answers. Answers from the Bible that can change your outlook---and your life. Rick Warren writes, 'In each of these studies, you will discover simple ways to apply God's truth to your personal life, your family, and your job. The way to get the most out of this book is to act on it.' Rick Warren takes you inside the Scriptures to see what they reveal about twelve of the most pressing questions people ask. They are questions you yourself either have asked or most likely will ask. This book provides simple, straightforward answers you can begin to apply right away to move past your worst sticking points and enjoy a life of purpose, peace, and significance.

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God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions

By Rick Warren

ZONDERVAN

Copyright © 2006 Rick Warren
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-310-34075-1

Contents

Preface, 9, 
1. How Can I Cope with Stress?, 13, 
2. How Can I Rebound from Failure?, 29, 
3. How Can I Defeat Depression?, 43, 
4. How Can I Live above Average?, 63, 
5. How Can I Have Peace of Mind?, 77, 
6. How Can I Handle Discouragement?, 93, 
7. How Can I Overcome My Problems?, 109, 
8. How Can I Be Confident in a Crisis?, 121, 
9. How Can I Ever Change?, 137, 
10. How Did I Get Myself into This Mess?, 153, 
11. How Can I Overcome Loneliness?, 165, 
12. Why Is This Happening to Me?, 181, 

CHAPTER 1

How Can I Cope with Stress?

Jesus Christ was constantly under pressure. There were grueling demands on his time; he rarely had any personal privacy; he was constantly interrupted. People repeatedly misunderstood him, criticized him, and ridiculed him. He had enormous stress, which would have caused any of us to cave in.

But as we look at the life of Christ, we quickly discover that he remained at peace under pressure. He was never in a hurry. He was always at ease. He had a calmness about his life that enabled him to handle enormous amounts of stress. How did he do this so successfully? The answer can be simply stated: he based his life on sound principles of stress management. If we understand and apply these eight principles in our lives, we will experience less pressure and more peace of mind.

Identification: Know Who You Are

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). "I am the door" (10:9 KJV); "I am the way and the truth and the life" (14:6); "I am the good shepherd" (10:11); "I am God's Son" (10:36). Christ knew who he was!

The first principle for handling stress in your life is this: Know who you are. It is the principle of identification. Jesus said, "I know who I am. I testify for myself" (see John 8:18). This is critically important in stress management because if you don't know who you are, someone else may try to tell you who they think you are. If you don't know who you are, you will subconsciously let other people manipulate you and pressure you into believing you are somebody you aren't.

A lot of stress in life results from our hiding behind masks, living double lives, being unreal with others, or trying to be somebody we're not. Insecurity always produces pressure in our lives, and when we are insecure, we feel coerced to perform and conform. We set unrealistic standards for our lives, and even though we work, work, work, we still can't meet those unrealistic standards. Tension and pressure naturally occur as a result.

The first way to balance stress in my life is to get an internal balance of who I am. And I know who I am by knowing whose I am. I am a child of God. I was put on earth not by accident, but for a purpose. I am deeply loved by God. I am accepted by him. He has a plan for my life, and because he put me here, I am significant.

And because he put you here, you are significant. To handle stress you must know who you are. Until you handle this issue, you will be hindered by insecurity.

Dedication: Know Whom You're Trying to Please

The second principle of stress management in the life of Christ is found in John 5:30: "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."

The principle is this: Know whom you're trying to please. You can't please everybody, because by the time one group becomes pleased with you, another group gets upset with you. Even God doesn't please everybody, so it's foolish to try to do something that even God doesn't do!

Jesus knew whom he was trying to please; it was a settled issue with him: "I'm going to please God the Father." And the Father replied, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17 KJV).

When you don't know whom you're trying to please, you cave in to three things: criticism (because you are concerned about what others will think of you), competition (because you worry about whether somebody else is getting ahead of you), and conflict (because you're threatened when anyone disagrees with you). If I "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," then all the other necessary things of life will be added unto me (Matt. 6:33 KJV). This means that if I focus on pleasing God, it will simplify my life. I will always be doing the right thing—the thing that pleases God—regardless of what anybody else thinks.

We love to blame our stress on other people and obligations: "You made me ... I have to ... I've got to." Actually, there are few things in life (apart from our jobs) that we must do. When we say, "I have to, I must, I've got to," we may really be saying, "I choose to, because I don't want to pay the consequences." Hardly anybody makes us do anything, so usually we can't blame other people for our stress. When we feel pressure, we are choosing to allow other people to put us under pressure. We are not victims unless we allow ourselves to be pressured by other people's demands.

Organization: Know What You're Trying to Accomplish

Here is Christ's clue to the third principle for dealing with stress: "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going" (John 8:14). The principle is this: Know what you want to accomplish. Christ said, "I know where I came from, and I know where I'm going." Unless you plan your life and set priorities, you will be pressured by other people to do what they think is important.

Every day, either you live by priorities or you live by pressures. There is no other option. Either you decide what is important in your life, or you let other people decide what is important in your life.

It is easy to operate under the tyranny of the urgent, to come to the end of your day and think, "Have I really accomplished anything? I used a lot of energy and did a lot of things, but did I accomplish anything important?" Busyness is not necessarily productivity. You may be spinning in circles, but you're not accomplishing anything.

Preparation causes you to be at ease. To put it another way, preparation prevents pressure but procrastination produces it. Good organization and good preparation reduce stress because you know who you are, whom you're trying to please, and what you want to accomplish. Having clear goals greatly simplifies life. Spend a few minutes each day talking with God in prayer. Look at your schedule for the day and decide, "Is this really the way I want to spend a day of my life? Am I willing to exchange twenty-four hours of my life for these activities?"

Concentration: Focus on One Thing at a Time

Do you sometimes find yourself pulled in different directions? Several people tried to detour Jesus from his planned schedule. They tried to distract him from his goal in life. "At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them" (Luke 4:42). Jesus was going to leave, but they tried to make him stay.

Jesus responded, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (v. 43)....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Zondervan
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0310340756
• ISBN 13: 9780310340751
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: ?????????; https://europe.yamaha.com/index.html; ; Siemensstrasse 22-34; Rellingen; Schleswig-Holstein; 25462; Deutschland