Acts 27:33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.
Raul Perez-Vazquez, MD, says that some people also lose their appetite due to the increase in cortisol (the stress hormone) that can happen during times of high anxiety. There are others who have the opposite reaction which is called stress-eating or binge-eating. A sudden influx of stress hormones can make the stomach knot, heart pound and the brain fog. Meditation on the Word of God transcends us into “worship” but mulling over the problem suppresses us into anxiety, fear and worry. Chronic worrying swirls us into eating disorders, insomnia, cognitive imbalance, mood swings and depressive thought patterns. Hence what we choose to meditate on will determine our psychological and physiological health.
Did you know that worry is more exhausting than a full day’s work? Worry is wasted energy. Worry will cause mental and physical fatigue. Worrying can deplete our mental resources and energy. Negative, stressful and anxious thoughts consume more mental energy than positive and encouraging thoughts. So, it is important to channelize our emotional energy to constructive and not destructive thought patterns.
Apostle Paul was with about 276 prisoners in a ship on the way to Rome when they were caught in a hurricane and were dragged into the storm. Fear of death had caught everyone on board and they had lost their appetite. Having been forewarned by an angel about the shipwreck, Paul encouraged them to eat. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head” (Acts 27:34). They had gone without food for about a fortnight. Affirmative and hopeful words from Paul reduced the stress level of the crew and brought back their appetite.
Three keys to overcome symptoms of chronic worrying:
1. Sleep: If a problem keeps you awake at night, most certainly you are plunging into the cycle of chronic worry. To stop pondering over the problem we must replace it with the Word of God. Recollect a promise and replace your problem with the promise. Repeating and ruminating over the promise on the bed is a good medicine to sound sleep.
2. Strength: Anxiety causes loss of appetite and drains our physical and emotional strength. Worry can cause exhaustion and fatigue as it consumes a large proportion of our memory space and chews avariciously on our energy level. But David found strength in the LORD his God (1 Samuel 30:6). David didn’t allow worry to masticate his strength but instead he drew strength from worship.
3. Sanity: Anxiety causes our brain to fog and lose our sanity. We make silly choices and decisions when we are stressed. Researchers have found that worship increases BPNF, which is a neurotransmitter that helps us grow healthy brain cells. On the contrary, stress depletes brainpower.
“Be a warrior not a worrier”
Acts 27:36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, help me to overcome worry with worship. Let me never lose sleep over my problem but help me to meditate on your promises and not the peril. Amen.
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