By Pastor Greg Byman
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PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
 
MATTHEW 6:28-30 28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
 
1 PETER 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
 
LUKE 12:22-23 22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.
 
EXODUS 33:14 The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.”
 
HEBREWS 13:5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
 
JOSHUA 1:9 “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
 
MATTHEW 11:28-29 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
 
PSALM 29:11 The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
 
PSALM 73:26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
 
ROMANS 5:3-5 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Tips to Handle Anxiety During the COVID-19 Virus

1. Create a schedule - continue your work schedule at home just like going to work. Write down the night before what your schedule would be for the next day.  Do this for the family also.
2. Limit time spent on media regarding the virus.  Choose one time frame or news source that you would find credible to keep you informed.
3. Choose what media you will watch, especially one that gives healthy information to stay well.  Avoid multiple newscasts with negative information, such as the number of illnesses or deaths.
4. Exercise, which will relieve anxiety, such as taking walks while monitoring social distancing.  Doing strength training alleviates anxiety, such as dumbbells or weightlifting.
5. Label your emotions - choose a word that describes your feeling, such as anxious, confused, overwhelmed, fearful.  Saying the name of your feeling out loud makes things less scary.  Do this several times a day to identify the feeling.
6. Balance emotions with logic.  It is normal to have these feelings, but also state the facts:  that this pandemic will go away, the economy will rebound, and people survive.
7. Argue the opposite.  When you think, “My business will not get through this”,  argue that you will come out stronger than before.  Allow yourself to think positive and that you will emerge from this and things will be better than before.  Find a middle ground option for your situation.
8. Maintain social support.  Keep in contact with family, friends, church family to keep your relationships and social support moving forward.  Even support groups online can help you maintain positive thoughts. 
9. Focus on things you can control versus things you cannot.  You can manage your health, social distancing, how you spend your money.  This will bring some peace to your situation.
10. Externalize your anxiety.  Rather than saying,  “Anxiety makes me feel awful”, think and say,  “Anxiety tries to make feel like I cannot handle things”, or “It makes me pace.”  You can also relieve your anxiety by sleep, exercise or verbally saying out loud how anxiety is trying to take control of your situation.
11. Schedule time to worry.  Set a time aside, maybe 15 minutes, to think and feel all the worry.  When your time is up, move on to something positive.
12. Lastly, take time each day to read your Bible, pray and talk to the Lord!

 

A note from Chris Mann:

St Joe family, Pastor Greg asked me to convey that the St Joe leadership is closely monitoring and studying the counsel and directives that are being handed down regarding the Coronavirus/Covid-19. St Joe will convey an update on its ongoing ministry activities by this Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Please continue to pray for our leadership, our health and that of our community, and for God to use this time to bring people to a saving knowledge of the One who offers true Peace. This pandemic may have surprised us, but God was not caught off guard. Let's be a church that liberally and generously shares that Peace.