Gary Chester- Helping men to win

More than a Strategy to Overcome my Fears

GaryChester.org  7/23/09

It seems that fear can swell up within me in an instant.

Over the years, I've had times (perhaps like you) when the fear factor has threatened to paralyze me:

            a.. Losing a marriage after all-out attempts to save it.

            b.. Being separated, several hundred miles, from my two young children for years.

            c.. Going busted in business and losing everything valuable that I owned.

            d.. Owing the federal government several thousands of dollars in back payroll taxes.

            e.. Being fired from what I thought was a primo job, that I thought was secure.

            f.. Having to move in with my Mom at age 38, because of financial ruin.

            g.. Going through two cancer battles, including radiation, brain surgery and heavy chemo.

To ward off fear during times like these, I have a strategy:  I have pressed deeper into the Word of God.  I build the Word into my life and build my life on the Word.

I have set daily appointments with God that I rarely miss.  The appointments have evolved to become my favorite times of the day.  During these times of solitude (weird in a culture of constant noise), God has comforted and re-assured me that He's watching over me (Isaiah 30:15, 18 & 41:10&13).

My appointments with God are more than an effective strategy.  It is about a life that is desperate for the heart of God and His favor.

Read my 7/23/09 newsletter about the reassuring reason behind this strategy and life.

www.menwhowin.com - Strategies to overcome porn and anger strongholds.

The Benefit of Pain through Separation from my Kids

garychester.org  7/09/09

A most profound sense of pain came during a long physical separation from my son and daughter when they were small.  After a divorce, I wound up several hundred miles from them.  This was during a formative time in their lives when they needed an involved dad on the scene, not a father who only was able to be with them four or five times a year. 

Circumstances were beyond my control, at that time, which would enable me to be physically located near them. (I did make it a habit to call them and write to them every week.)  The pain of separation drove me literally to my knees daily to pray for them.  I pleaded with God to take care of them and to protect them. 

God answered my pleas.  My two kids, now adults, are leading decent, productive lives and have good marriages.  I'm convinced this has occurred because of two things:  my bombarding the heavens with loud pleas and cries for them during my separation and following God's instructions in Ephesian 4:2 & Romans12:18, to strive for a good, civil relationship with their Mom, whatever it took on my part.  (I believe our mutually respectful relationship, which my ex also strived for, was instrumental to their well-being today.)

All the while, throughout the pain of separation, God was purifying my faith.  And through it all, He was also proving His great love to me. 

That's the way God works - allowing pain to be a benefit and friend by it driving us closer to Him. 

Read my 7/09/09 menwhowin.com newsletter about how everything learned is from pain while everything else is just information.

www.menwhowin.com - Among other ministries, helping men control anger and kick porn