Our minds cannot be full of God and at the same time full of fear!  Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!  (Isa. 26:3 TLB)

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless?  Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty.  I dare you. I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought.  (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV)

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The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do. Fill your mind with thoughts of God.

“He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).

“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

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What will happen if your job disappears? Or your health diminishes? Or the economy takes a nosedive? Does God have a message for his people when calamity strikes?

He certainly had a word for Isaiah. The prophet wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory’” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

God calmed the fears of Isaiah, not by removing the problem, but by revealing his divine power and presence. Rejoice that God is able to do what you cannot do! Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your heavenly father increases.

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Control freaks are easily frustrated. We can’t take control, because control is not ours to take. The Bible has a better idea. Rather than seeking control, relinquish it. Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord.

Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty, as the Apostle Paul did. From prison he wrote, “The things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to the rest, that my chains are in Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13).

In the innermost of his being, Paul was a man who believed in the steady hand of a good God, protected and preserved by God’s love. He lived beneath the shadow of God’s wings. Do you?

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If anyone had a reason to be anxious it was the apostle Paul. Envision an old man as he gazes out the window of a Roman prison. Half-blind, squinting just to read. Awaiting trial before the Roman emperor. His future is as gloomy as his jail cell.

Yet to read his words, you’d think he’d just arrived at a Jamaican beach hotel. His letter to the Philippians bears not a word of fear or complaint. Not one! Instead, he lifts his thanks to God and calls on his readers to do the same. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4)

Paul’s challenge is a decision deeply rooted in the confidence that God exists, that he is in control, and that he is good. Rejoice in the Lord always. You can’t run the world, but you can entrust it to God.

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It is not God’s will that you face every day with dread and trepidation.

I have a childhood memory that I cherish. My father loved corn bread and buttermilk. About ten o’clock each night he would meander into the kitchen and crumble a piece of corn bread into a glass of buttermilk, stand at the counter and drink it. Then he’d make the rounds to the front and back doors, checking the locks. Once everything was secure, he would step into the bedroom I shared with my brother and say something like, “Everything is secure, boys. You can go to sleep now.”

I have no inclination to believe that God loves corn bread and buttermilk, but I do believe he loves his children. He keeps everything secure. He oversees your world. And by his power you will “be anxious for nothing” and discover the “peace…that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7).

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The anxious heart says, “There’s trouble out there!” So you don’t sleep well, you don’t laugh often, misfortune lurks…it’s just a matter of time. As a result, you’re anxious.

How can this be? Our cars are safer than ever. We regulate food and water and electricity. Yet if worry were an Olympic event, we’d win the gold medal. Keep in mind anxiety is not a sin; it’s an emotion. It can, however, lead to sinful behavior.  When we numb our fears with six-packs or food binges, or when we peddle our fears to anyone who’ll buy them, we’re sinning.

Jesus gave this word: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with…the anxieties of life.” (Luke 21:34 NIV). God made you for more than a life of angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life, and he is ready to write it.

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Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs.  The sky is falling, and it’s falling disproportionately on you.  Anxiety ain’t fun!

One would think Christians would be exempt from anxiety.  But we are not.  It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing.”  Is that what he meant?  Not exactly.  He wrote the phrase in the present active tense—implying an ongoing state.  As if to say, “Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.”

The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional. Could you use some calm? Of course you could.  We all could.  We all could use a word of comfort. And God is ready to give it.

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The moment you sense a problem, however large or small, take it to Christ. “Max, if I take my problems to Jesus every time I have one, I’m going to be talking to Jesus all day long.” Now you’re getting the point.

An unprayed for problem is an embedded thorn. It festers and infects the finger, then the hand, then the entire arm. Best to go straight to the person who has the tweezers. We can only wonder how many disasters would be averted if we first go to Jesus. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything.” Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.

Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks, pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

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James 1:17 says, “Every good and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Take this simple pocket prayer for you today: Dear Father, teach me to accept what you’ve given. I may not always understand the circumstances, but show me how they are blessings and give me gratitude for all your gifts. Rain your blessings on my friends and family today. Give them hope whatever they face. Thank you that your blessings never end. In Jesus name, amen.

Here’s my challenge for you: every day for four weeks pray four minutes. Then get ready to connect with God like never before.

Read more Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer

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