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Stop worrying and take control
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Nobody’s life is worry-free, but that doesn’t mean our worries need to ruin our lives. Learning how to manage our worries can make all the difference in our well-being. This is what a busy young father learned. He had a challenging career and was feeling overwhelmed with his many responsibilities.
He would come home from work every night feeling anxious and even physically ill. He found it very difficult to sleep at night. He went to his physician for help; he prayed and pondered about what to do. The man soon realised that he needed to stop worrying so much. But how would he do that?
In time, he was inspired with a simple idea: he got two baskets; one he labelled “worry” and the other “concern.” Then he organised all his challenges and responsibilities into one of the two baskets, even if only mentally. The things he could do nothing about went in the worry basket, and those he had some ability to resolve went in the concern basket.
In this way, he could focus his attention on concerned issues over which he had some power. He could prioritise these issues and do his best to resolve as many of them as possible, without wasting time on worries that were outside his control.
Of course, just putting something in the worry basket didn’t make it go away, but he did find that, if he was patient, solutions emerged very often with divine help or even just the passage of time.
The anxiety didn’t vanish all at once, but whenever he felt it stirring inside him, he stopped what he was doing, prayed for support, and said to himself, “I am not going to do something else until I begin to control my emotions.” Over time, as he learned to put worry in its proper place, his health and well-being improved, and what was once a weakness in his life became one of his strengths.
Worry can be disheartening, leading us to feel overwhelmed or powerless. But when we put our worries in their proper place whether in a basket or simply out of our minds, we can take purposeful action, be resourceful, and tackle the problems within our control. Eventually, instead of being filled with worry, our lives will be filled with patience, perspective, and peace.
Sometimes in our lives we all feel as if the world is spinning out of control and we worry about unnecessary things. Hearing about tragedies and perils near and far can cause us to worry about how things will turn out.
While there is solace in accepting things we cannot control, we also need to feel that there are some things we can control, that will determine, at least to some degree, the direction of our lives.
An unknown author wrote: “The greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of the soul. A victory on the inside of a person’s heart is worth a hundred conquests on the battlefields of life. To be master of yourself is the best guarantee that you will be master of the situation. Know thyself. The crown of character is self-control.”
In the end, self-control is the only real control in life. Efforts to control others or even to control our circumstances usually don’t succeed. But we can become the master of our self. We begin by controlling our thoughts, then our words, and ultimately our actions.
We gain more self-control when we daily strive to choose goodness and kindheartedness, to be honest and trustworthy, to care for our mind, body, and soul. Our self-control deepens as we set worthy goals and achieve them, as we make promises and keep them, and as we simply do our best to live with integrity.
This striving for self-control is rightly called a “battle,” for we all have tendencies we must fight to overcome. But those tendencies don’t represent our real selves. As we begin to take control of our lives, we come to understand who we truly are.
We find that our true identity has less to do with the mistakes we’ve made in the past and more to do with our potential for future growth. We aren’t defined so much by where we’ve been as by where we are going.
There are many battles that need fighting in this world, many wrongs to be righted, many changes to be made. But to win any of them, we must first win the greatest battle of life, the battle most worth fighting: the battle for self-control.
By Samuel Enos Eghan
On Sunday, August 13, 2026, the Church of Pentecost (COP) International, Finland, held an impressive church service in Helsinki in honour of and to welcome Prophet Benjamin Arthur as the new National Head.
The well-attended service formally ushered in Prophet Arthur who takes over from Apostle Francis Owusu Kwaah, who has been the National Head since November 2020 and whose tenure as the National Head ended last month.
Prophet Arthur arrived in Finland from the UK where he has held many positions in the church to replace Apostle Owusu Kwaah who moves back to the UK.
A touching welcome and powerful ministration
The church service was officiated by Apostle Seth Samuel Asante, the National Head of the Church of Pentecost, USA.
It was a touching welcome church service and ministration at a well-attended event. In attendance were many religious leaders from other churches or missions, as well as dignitaries.
Apostle Asante had the honour to introduce Prophet Arthur to the whole congregation as the new National Head in Finland. He was joined by other church leaders and officers from UK, USA, and Finland to pray for Prophet Arthur and handed him over to COP Finland as their new National Head to a huge applause.
Earlier, Apostle Asante delivered a powerful and touching sermon that highlighted a message of salvation and the importance of knowing, loving and serving God with one’s whole heart. He entreated the audience to love God and do His work to glorify his name.
Stirring up understandings from the hymns: “My faith has found a resting place…” and “Guide me O Thou great Jehovah…,” as well as a number of quotations from the Bible, the Apostle gave a powerful preaching on the need to build one’s faith in God.
Response from the new National Head
In response, Prophet Benjamin Arthur preached the power of prophecies and God’s plan for redemption. He entreated all to believe in God’s power especially through prophecies to save mankind. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, he noted and add: “The blood of Jesus is not shed in vain”.
Surrounded by his beloved wife, Mrs Eugenia Arthur, and their three children, Prophet Arthur expressed gratitude to the members of the church for the resounding welcome they have accorded him as he starts to embark on his role and duty as the National Head.
He recognised the exploits and excellent leadership roles of his predecessors, Apostle Edmund Appiah (who was the first National Head) and Apostle Francis Owusu Kwaah.
COP’s future and growth in Finland
The Church of Pentecost in Finland was established over 25 years ago. It started in September 2000 as a prayer group with a small number of devoted persons in Helsinki (see www.copfinland.fi).
The group grew fast and there was the need to secure a new place of worship in the Helsinki area. The Church has grown and spread to other towns and cities in Finland.
Today, in Helsinki alone there are two branches of the Church. There is the Akan Assembly where worship is done mostly in the Twi language. The other branch is the English Assembly (or the PIWC) which is attended by other nationalities and African immigrants aside Ghanaian immigrants.
The COP Finland has become very formidable in the religious space in the Ghanaian community in Finland.
It has thus played a prominent role in the religious or spiritual existence of its members, as well as in people’s social lives as a key aspect of integration into the Finnish society.
The church continues to grow and, for example, it has been one of the major channels through which the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association for Ghanaian immigrants in Finland, has made more contacts with members of the Ghanaian immigrant community.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
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Features
Responding to religious insults with faith, wisdom and restraint …The Prophetic Model for Muslim–Christian Peace and Coexistence(Part 1)
All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness, and seek refuge in Him from the evil within ourselves and from our evil deeds.
May His Peace and Blessings be Upon the Noble Prophet Mohammed, his household, companions and all righteous people till the Last Day. Ameen
GHANA, WE MUST NOT ALLOW A MOMENT OF ANGER TO DESTROY DECADES OF PEACE
My dear brothers and sisters in Ghana.
Today I speak about something that should concern every Muslim, every Christian and every responsible Ghanaian.
Recent events involving controversial statements about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the arrest of an Islamic cleric accused of making statements advocating violence, and the arrest of a Christian preacher over alleged derogatory comments concerning the Prophet (pbuh) have generated considerable national concern. The Ghana Police Service has said the matters are under investigation and that due process will apply.
And now, reports of an alleged assault on a detained pastor have added another troubling dimension to the matter.
Let us be very clear:
Ghana is not at war.
Muslims are not at war with Christians.
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Christians are not at war with Muslims.
For generations, we have lived together, traded together, worked together, attended the same schools, built communities together and, in many Ghanaian families, even married across religious lines.
Therefore, we must not allow the reckless words or actions of a few individuals to destroy the peace built by generations.
WHEN SOMEONE INSULTS THE PROPHET (PBUH), WHAT DOES ISLAM EXPECT
FROM ME?
This is the question we must answer.
Not: “How angry am I?”
But: “What does Allah require from me?”
Not: “What can I do to my enemy?”
But: “What did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) do when his enemies hurt him?”
This distinction is crucial.
Islam does not teach us to abandon our faith when we are provoked.
Islam teaches us how to behave because we have faith.
Allah says:
“Do not let the hatred of a people cause you to depart from justice. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.” (Qur’an 5:8).
Notice the greatness of Islam.
Allah does not say, “Be just when people respect you.”
He says, be just even when you hate what they have done.
Therefore: An insult does not give me permission to become unjust.
The author is the Chief Imam of Katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Expert
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai
