Some time ago, a man came to Norman Vincent Peale to share with him the problems of his life. The man was the manager of a hotel. He had a nervous breakdown early in his life, and he was afraid that he was about to have another one. He began to share all of his problems and his burdens with Dr. Peale. The more he shared those problems and burdens, the more uptight he became. After a while, Dr. Peale said to the man, “I tell you what we should do. Let’s stop talking about this and that and so, and instead, I want you to think about God for a few moments. I want you to tell me what you think God is like.”
Bit by bit the man shifted his thinking from all of his problems, from all of his anxieties, all of his worries to God. He began to talk about the kind of...