Jon Gordon - The Garden - A Spiritual Fable About Ways to Overcome Fear, Anxiety, and Stress

“What's that?” asked Jay, who was hanging on every word. He desperately needed a way to counter the negative thoughts in his head.

“Speak truth to the lies,” said Mr. Erwin. “Talk to yourself and speak words of truth and encouragement to counter the lies.”

“What is truth?” asked Kay. She had believed the lies for so long that she had come to believe the lies were her truth.

“Truth is what God says about you,” answered Mr. Erwin. “Truth is who you truly are. As I told you the other day, you are a child of God. That's truth. You are loved by God. That's truth. You were born with greatness inside of you, to do great things. That's truth. The power within you is more powerful than the circumstances around you. That's truth.”

Mr. Erwin grabbed two pads of paper he had sitting on the bench and gave one to Kay and one to Jay. “What I want you to do is write down on the left side of the paper all the lies that often fill your mind. Then on the right side I want you to write down a truth that you will speak to the lie.”

“Can you give an example?” asked Kay.

“Sure,” said Mr. Erwin. “On the left side you might write down the lie that ‘I have to perform well in cheering in order to be worthy and receive love and recognition from others.’ On the right side you would write, ‘I'm worthy because God says I'm worthy. I'm already loved. I'm free to give my all to be my best without tying my self-worth to the outcome.”

“That feels good,” said Kay. “I did something like this at practice this morning and it worked.”

“It should,” said Mr. Erwin. “When truth exposes and replaces a lie, you always feel better and perform better.”

“What about me?” asked Jay.

“For you, Jay,” said Mr. Erwin, “a lie you would write down is that your future as a filmmaker is hopeless. The truth you would write on the right-hand side of the paper is that God has a plan for your life and career, and the future is always full of hope.”

The twins then proceeded to write down their lies and truths on the paper. When they finished Mr. Erwin said, “Make sure you keep that and look at it often until you have memorized them. Then whenever those lies come in, speak truth to the lie, especially when you start to get discouraged. Remember the enemy distorts truth with lies in order to discourage you. The third D is Discourage, and when you get discouraged you are more likely to give up and be defeated. That's why you must encourage yourself and others.

“Instead of feeling discouraged, you must continually encourage. Encouragement is like oxygen for your mind, heart, and soul. You need to consistently encourage yourself and others with God's truth in order to win the battle. It's what Jesus did when he was in the wilderness and he gives us the blueprint to win the battle.”

Mr. Erwin walked over to a bronze statue that was behind the two trees. It was a statue of Jesus washing the feet of one of his disciples. He pointed to it and said,“I didn't know much about Jesus until after my wife passed away but when I learned how he overcame the enemy in the wilderness, I knew he had a message I needed to hear.

“You see, in the wilderness the enemy lied to and tempted him. And each time the enemy did that, Jesus quoted scripture from the Old Testament and spoke truth to the lie. Each time the enemy tried to distort the truth and create doubt and discourage him, Jesus responded with God's truth. Thousands of years ago he was showing us how to win the battle today. It wasn't some ethereal teaching to get us to escape the reality of life on earth. He gave us a practical application on how to win the battle everyone is facing right here, right now. It’s not just meant for Christians. It's meant for everyone. In the Garden Adam and Eve believed the lie and lost. In the wilderness Jesus spoke truth to the lie and won. And we can do the same.”

“How come Adam and Eve got distracted and Jesus didn't?” asked Kay.

“Because Adam and Eve didn't focus on what mattered most and Jesus did,” answered Mr. Erwin. “That's how you overcome the fourth D of Distraction. You focus on what matters most, and as I told you the other day, what matters most is your relationship with God, becoming all God created you to be and your relationship with others. And when we talk about relationships, what are we really talking about?” He paused and waited for the answer as Jay and Kay tapped their heads as if that would make the answer come quicker.

Then the answer came. It was as if Jay heard the word in his head. “Love,” he shouted. “Relationships are all about love.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Erwin. “It's so simple and powerful that we forget what really matters most. Thankfully Jesus made it simple and gave us a practical application once again. When he was asked about which of all the laws and commandments were the most important, he distilled it down to two commandments and one message. Love. Jesus said, Love your Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength . Then he said, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these .”

“All you need is love,” said Jay, who loved his grandparents favorite music as much as he did modern music.

“Jesus and the Beatles were right,” chuckled Mr. Erwin. “When the enemy tries to distract you with things that are bad, remember what matters most: Your relationship with God. Loving, honoring, and obeying Him and becoming all you are meant to be. When you are filled with fear, remember to focus on God's love. In the Bible, Jesus said Fear not over 300 times because He knew our focus needed to be on God's love, not our fear. God's perfect love casts out fear. So when you are focused on love, fear has no power over you. When the enemy tries to distract you with fear and things that don't matter, remember it all comes down to love. Love God, love yourself, love people. If you focus on loving God and loving others, you will become a powerful force that not only overcomes the Five D's but you will make a greater difference in the world.

“As I told you the other day, so many things seem bright and shiny and appealing, but the only thing that will fill you up, the only thing your soul longs for is a relationship with God and a loving relationship with others. That's what matters the most above all things. If God is filling you up, you don't need any other artificial source to feel good. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love is what connects you and God. It connects you to each other. It connects you to yourself. This leads us to the way you overcome the fifth D of Divide and win the battle. It is to unite.”

Chapter 11

Love Wins

“You said love wins,” Jay reminded him.

“Yes, it does,” said Mr. Erwin. “Love wins because Love unites. Evil's main goal is to divide you and separate you from God. Yet we know God loves you and created you to be one with and united with Him. When you are united, you can't be divided. When you are united, you are strong.”

“How do we become united with God?” asked Kay as she tapped her foot nervously. “I don't feel united very often. I often feel separate from God.”

“I feel the same way,” said Jay as he sighed and took a deep breath. “I often feel depressed and worried about everything. I hate worrying but I can't stop it.”

“I know the feeling,” said Mr. Erwin. “After my wife passed away, I was carrying a heavy burden. I felt very anxious and divided. I was angry at God and wasn't sure I wanted to even live anymore. I didn't care about life and yet felt anxious about life. I was like, why am I anxious if I don't care?”