Are you at peace right now? I am. Are you concerned about things that are going on around you in the world? I am. But, Are you anxious or worried about them? I am not. If you are worried about what is going on around you, is there anything that you can do to stop the worry? I believe there is. Would you like to learn about what helps me not to worry? Let us find out.
When I had not yet learned how to at peace, I would carry my burdens and concern around with me. I would worry or be anxious a lot of the time about what if this were to happen or what if that were to happen, how would I survive? I had these feelings a lot when my wife Laura was struggling with her mental health issues. God led me to a familiar passage in the Holy Bible that I was not using in my life. I was trying to make it through these struggles on my own. Jesus promised to us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (ESV) I learned that if I did what Jesus asked, I would be at peace.
I also needed to learn something else. I needed to learn that God wants to give us peace. This was a little more difficult for me because it meant that I must be thankful in all things. I tell you I did not want to be thankful in Laura’s illness. I did not want to be thankful in the death of Laura. I misunderstood what it meant to be thankful in something. I made the mistake that I had to be thankful for it. That is not what it means. It means that I need to be thankful no matter my circumstances. I need to be thankful as I go through difficult times not necessarily for the difficulties but in spite of them. Philippians 4: 4-7 says “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV) However I also found that I actually can be thankful for bad things happening to me because God is using those things to make me perfect complete and lacking in nothing. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”James 1:2-4 (ESV) I know that because of the end result I can be at peace with what is happening to me because I am joyful and because of my state of peace I have hope.
So, join me in turning your worries and concerns over to the only one who can truly calm them. Cast you your cares upon Jesus and you will have peace and with that peace you will have hope for the future. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (ESV) He promises us, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV) Then you will be prepared for anything which gives hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
