Anxiety comes in many forms and to people of all ages,
races and creeds. Christianity is not an insulation from anxiety. That is why
God's Word exhorts us not to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:5-7).
In today's society, we think that sleeping for less than
eight hours is commendable, we fail to give our soul time to recuperate before
starting yet another project, we overly commit our self, we attempt to divide
our attention between two or more activities at one time, and we set goals that
are too stressful for us to reach.
We are not satisfied with food and clothing, but need
more to make us happy; or so we are told by the consumerism of the world and
the covetousness of our flesh (1 Timothy 6:8-10). However, this only causes us
to drown in stress and anxiety.
Our
failings haunt us, our worries overwhelm us, and our problems attempt to engulf
us. We make a concerted effort to control every aspect of our life, but control
continues to allude us.
Life
tends to control us instead. Our only salvation from this malady comes from
totally surrendering everything to the Lord. This allows us to live in His will
for our life rather than following our own plans.
We
consult Him before we do anything and then we walk by the direction of His
Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6). Trusting God to provide what we need is paramount to
reach stress-free living.
A simple life is much more advantageous than continually
striving for more of this world's goods. If we do not have something in this
life that we think we need, then God does not want us to have it; otherwise, He
would provide it for us.
God will give us what we need, when we need it, and not
before time. If we praise God for what we do have, we see that we do not really
require what we think we need. This realization allows us to live in
contentment rather than in anxiety.
Prayer:
Father God, we do thank You for all that You give to us
and all that You already provided for us. We thank You first and foremost for
our salvation, for the fellowship of other authentic Believers, for our daily
bread, and for all of Your many blessings. We thank You for enabling us to
totally surrender our life, our wants and our dreams to Your perfect will for
us (Philippians 2:12-13).
Trusting in You protects us from the negative
consequences in our body and soul that come from attempting to succeed in this
world, it erases our need for more than what we have, and it gives us Your
peace that surpasses our human understanding (Philippians 4:7). You give us
love and companionship in Your Body and You promise never to leave or forsake
us (Hebrews 13:5).
Thought for the Day:
The Trinity abides within us; and as we trust in His
provision for every aspect of our life, His peace floods our soul and guides us
each moment of every day.
