The Cure For Worry
“and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Matthew 28:20
If there has been one topic people have sought my counsel on this past year more than all others combined it is anxiety and how they can find peace in their present uncertainty. Uncertainty breeds fear and God’s solution to our fear is His presence, its our gift. The answer I give when people ask me how to deal with the fear and the worry that their present situation in life is causing them is pretty much always the same, “No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace.” It was something pastor Chuck Smith would remind senior pastors at our annual conference. Pastor Chuck would say, “Never trade what you do know for what you don’t know.” In other words, live and walk by faith in God and stand on and rest in the promise of His word. There are a few thoughts that come to mind this morning regarding God’s peace and how to find it. There was an old bumper sticker that said, “God said it, that settles it” and its true. The only thing missing from that equation regarding anxiety and peace is, “do we believe it.”
The word “believe” in the Bible literally means, “to believe in, to trust in, to rely upon, and to act upon.” When the Bible speaks of believing it’s far more than just believing something in our mind, as the word believe in scripture always speaks of action. I share with our church family often, “I may not know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow” and that brings me peace for two reasons. First, I know what the Bible says about the future. God is in control and everything in this life is happening exactly according to a grand plan. Second, I know that one day the Lord Himself will descend from heaven back to this earth just as He promised and when He does He will establish His kingdom here on earth and the world will know true peace once again. Thats why we can say, “the best is yet to be” because it is!
So, how does someone find peace today whose life is troubled by fear, anxiety and worrying not so much about the future but on every little detail of today? The Bible teaches us that we have to do something not just know something. “The key to peace today is to replace the anxiety of the present with the certainty of the future.” Why is knowing the future so important if we want to enjoy peace now? Knowing how the story ends for the believer is what gives us peace now. When the Bible says, “all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose” it isn’t saying that everything you and I go through is necessarily good but in the end when you do the math the end result will always add up to our good, we will come out on the plus side and not the minus side. We have God’s word on it. The future promise of glory is what dilutes the present circumstances and trials down to nothing.
So, if you are feeling anxious today or find yourself worrying about your present situation look towards the future in Jesus. Pick up your bible and read the rest of the story. Understand that Jesus is coming back for us and when He does, He will wipe away every tear from our eye and He will make all things new. Most people like an adventure movie and they all tend to follow the same plot. In the movie someone finds themselves in an impossible situation with no seemingly way out and just when all hope seems but lost, somebody comes to the rescue. The worse the circumstances are the greater the joy in the end.
What is true in the movies is even more true with God. Jesus is going to return one day and rescue you. Until then, keep looking to Him and crying out for Him in prayer. Cast your burdens on His shoulders and don’t try to carry them all alone. Receive the peace that only Jesus can give. When your heart and mind are overwhelmed let them lead you to the rock that is higher than you or I. When the enemy of your soul seeks to plant thoughts of hopelessness and despair in your mind, replace those thoughts with things that are pure, that are true and are lovely. Imagine the world as it will be one day when Jesus returns. Look through the eyes of your faith. Remember, believing is an action word. True peace isn’t in our circumstances, true peace is found in a person, in Jesus. The old bumper sticker said it best, “No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace.”
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
I LOVE YOU!
Matthew 28:20
If there has been one topic people have sought my counsel on this past year more than all others combined it is anxiety and how they can find peace in their present uncertainty. Uncertainty breeds fear and God’s solution to our fear is His presence, its our gift. The answer I give when people ask me how to deal with the fear and the worry that their present situation in life is causing them is pretty much always the same, “No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace.” It was something pastor Chuck Smith would remind senior pastors at our annual conference. Pastor Chuck would say, “Never trade what you do know for what you don’t know.” In other words, live and walk by faith in God and stand on and rest in the promise of His word. There are a few thoughts that come to mind this morning regarding God’s peace and how to find it. There was an old bumper sticker that said, “God said it, that settles it” and its true. The only thing missing from that equation regarding anxiety and peace is, “do we believe it.”
The word “believe” in the Bible literally means, “to believe in, to trust in, to rely upon, and to act upon.” When the Bible speaks of believing it’s far more than just believing something in our mind, as the word believe in scripture always speaks of action. I share with our church family often, “I may not know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow” and that brings me peace for two reasons. First, I know what the Bible says about the future. God is in control and everything in this life is happening exactly according to a grand plan. Second, I know that one day the Lord Himself will descend from heaven back to this earth just as He promised and when He does He will establish His kingdom here on earth and the world will know true peace once again. Thats why we can say, “the best is yet to be” because it is!
So, how does someone find peace today whose life is troubled by fear, anxiety and worrying not so much about the future but on every little detail of today? The Bible teaches us that we have to do something not just know something. “The key to peace today is to replace the anxiety of the present with the certainty of the future.” Why is knowing the future so important if we want to enjoy peace now? Knowing how the story ends for the believer is what gives us peace now. When the Bible says, “all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose” it isn’t saying that everything you and I go through is necessarily good but in the end when you do the math the end result will always add up to our good, we will come out on the plus side and not the minus side. We have God’s word on it. The future promise of glory is what dilutes the present circumstances and trials down to nothing.
So, if you are feeling anxious today or find yourself worrying about your present situation look towards the future in Jesus. Pick up your bible and read the rest of the story. Understand that Jesus is coming back for us and when He does, He will wipe away every tear from our eye and He will make all things new. Most people like an adventure movie and they all tend to follow the same plot. In the movie someone finds themselves in an impossible situation with no seemingly way out and just when all hope seems but lost, somebody comes to the rescue. The worse the circumstances are the greater the joy in the end.
What is true in the movies is even more true with God. Jesus is going to return one day and rescue you. Until then, keep looking to Him and crying out for Him in prayer. Cast your burdens on His shoulders and don’t try to carry them all alone. Receive the peace that only Jesus can give. When your heart and mind are overwhelmed let them lead you to the rock that is higher than you or I. When the enemy of your soul seeks to plant thoughts of hopelessness and despair in your mind, replace those thoughts with things that are pure, that are true and are lovely. Imagine the world as it will be one day when Jesus returns. Look through the eyes of your faith. Remember, believing is an action word. True peace isn’t in our circumstances, true peace is found in a person, in Jesus. The old bumper sticker said it best, “No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace.”
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
I LOVE YOU!
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