A Stress-Free Life

 

Prior to finding salvation through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self, with a little help from our friends and family.

Life was hard, and every little bump in the road threw us off course, causing us to fight with all of our strength to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily living.

Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense mechanisms into our new Christian walk. We continue to overreact to life from our own energy and the reserve, which we build up within us.

Living life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through our own efforts.

Life is always hard as long we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want to please God with our life; but even when we feel like we are doing His will, we often fail.

We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up in Heaven.

This separation is actually caused by our independence and self-reliance. God is always in us through Christ by His Spirit; however, we do not acknowledge His existence unless we get into trouble and turn to Him.

We get the optimal results from life when we seek the Lord with our whole soul - mind, will and emotions, we acknowledge Him before we do anything, we do not depend on our human resources, and we trust Him as He directs each step of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, when we are safely tucked under the shadow of Your wings, life is no longer a challenge, because it is now an adventure! Remind us that we are united with Christ in salvation and perfected by Your Spirit in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life from our lack, because You face life through us with all of Your power as the triune God.

You do not call us to live life for You, but to step aside and allow You to live life in and through us. You did not give us a faint, fearful spirit, because Your love, strength and self-discipline reside within us by Your Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Help us to recognize the moments of Your pure joy in our day and to focus on Your love and peace to guide us.  

Thought for the Day:

As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened; once we realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us. - Colossians 3:3 

Not My Will, but Yours

 

Life often requires a balancing act. We find ourselves thrown off center by confusion or a catastrophe, which comes when we least expect it. Our normal peaceful life spins out of control. Each compartment of our life, which we meticulously created to provide us with security and a safe haven, suddenly tilts to one side.

We feel disoriented, insecure and fearful. Reacting with negative emotions can create even more problems. We panic and make poor decisions. We hectically, yet unsuccessfully, try to manage the disruptive people and events in our life in an attempt to make us feel safe again, but this never helps. In fact, it usually increases our anxiety, when these people react to the frustration we create in their lives.

Part of the problem occurs when we acquire more possessions than we need. Our life slowly sinks under a burden of stress created by trying to pay for this accumulation. Another factor comes if we lean toward making sinful decisions, because we end up reaping what we sow. A third aspect transpires when we tip under the weight of the demands, which others place on us.

So, let’s simplify our life. We can sell unnecessary possessions and discipline our spending habits, make wiser choices in the future and maintain a life of purity and serenity. We can also simplify time and energy, which other people demand from us, by doing on that which God’s Spirit directs us to do for them. Peace comes when we trust God to order our lives (James 1:2-4).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, as we walk the tightrope of life, help us to focus on the equilibrium You provide for us within each moment that we live, rather than focusing on the spinning details of our negative circumstances (Hebrews 12:2). Life wavers like the ocean, with a continuous ebb and flow, but You give us the words of the prayer, which never fails: "Father, not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42-43)

Thought for the Day:

When we trust God more and strive less, serenity seeps into every area of our life, no matter how the circumstances play out around us.

Our Focus during the Disheartening Uncertainty of Life

Life has a way of throwing at us some unexpected, and sometimes horrific circumstances. We go to the doctor and the last thing we expect to hear is cancer. We call our parents and we find out one of them does not have long to live. The school calls and our child never arrived from the bus. At times like these, we feel insecure and fearful. We find our self thrown off center by this confusion and the looming catastrophe.

Our normal peaceful existence spins out of control. Each compartment of our life, which we meticulously created to provide us with security and a safe haven, suddenly tilts out of control. We hectically, yet unsuccessfully, try to manage the disruptive people and events in our life in an attempt to make us feel safe again. But this never helps. In fact, it usually increases our anxiety, when these people react to the turmoil our panic creates in their lives.

The only true help for us comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). He spent considerable time each day in prayer (Mark 1:35). He did only what He saw our Father do (John 5:19). He lived in the moment and did not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:33-35). He made sure to center his goals on the will of God for His life. He walked in the Spirit. This is how we too withstand the disheartening uncertainty of life.

 

God already clothed us with garments of salvation and arrayed us in robes of righteousness, which are even finer than those worn at a wedding (Isaiah 61:10). He gave us the words of the prayer that never fails: "Father, not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42-43). When we surrender our will to His, then God can provide us with everything we need, even things we did not even realize that we wanted.

 

Prayer:

Father God, we are never comfortable when the fishbowl of our life gets turned upside down. We despise all of the demands and expectations other people have for us. We take one precarious step after another on the tightrope of life. Help us to focus on the equilibrium You give us to live each moment that we live, rather than focusing on the spinning details of our negative circumstances.

Thought for the Day:

When we trust God more and strive less, serenity seeps into every area of our life, no matter how the circumstances play out around us.

A Stress-Free Life

Prior to finding salvation through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self, with a little help from our friends and family. Life was hard, and every little bump in the road threw us off course. We had to fight with all of our strength to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily living. Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense mechanisms into our new Christian walk.

We continue to overreact to life from our own energy and the reserve, which we built up within us. Living life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through our own efforts. We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up in Heaven.

Life is always hard as long we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want to please God with our life; but when we feel like we are doing His will, we often fail. At some point, however, we start to realize that we are struggling for no reason. As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened. Once we realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us (Colossians 3:3). 

Life is no longer a challenge, because it is now an adventure! We are united with Christ in salvation and perfected in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life from our lack, because He faces life through us with all of the power of the triune God. We are not called by God to live life for Him, but to step aside and allow Him to live life in and through us. God did not give us a faint, fearful spirit, because His love, strength and self-discipline reside within us by His Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Recognize the moments of His joy in your day and focus on Him as His Spirit directs your steps.  

When we realize Christ dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, then we succeed at living in serenity and fulfillment all of the time (John 17:23). It is useless to dream of or to wish for a problem-free life. In this world, we are guaranteed to have problems (John 16:33). However, they are not our problems to handle. They are God's problem, and He has all the wisdom and resources needed to meet these opportunities through us during each moment of our day. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to control your spirit, body and soul – your mind, choices and emotions, and you will live in abundant life, strength and peace (Romans 8:6; Psalm 29:11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, all that You require from us is that we obey Your Spirit's direction, and that we allow You to work in and through us. You desire for to take a step back and view the issues of life through Your eyes. We hide under the shelter of Your wings and live with joy in our heart and a smile on our face, no matter how disturbing or challenging life becomes. The more we allow You to live through us, the easier we walk in this realm of faith and Spirit. We center our mind and emotions on You and we walk in complete peace (Isaiah 26:3-4; John 14:27). You deal with the temporal aspects in our life, as we focus on the eternal aspects moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians 5:16,25; Isaiah 41:10-13).

Thought for the Day:
“The love of Christ controls us.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14

Overcoming Stress

 

If we ignore the signs of stress, we end up with:

·cognitive problems such as lapses in memory and concentration, worry or poor judgment;

·emotional indications such as moodiness, agitation, isolation and depression;

·physical issues such as aches, pains, bowel issues, chest pain, frequent colds and sexual dysfunction;

·behavioral symptoms such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness, procrastination, addictions and nervous habits.

When I was 40 years old, my former husband divorced me. I thank God that He used a potentially crippling event in my life to teach me valuable spiritual lessons that improved every area of my life. I worked four jobs at one time in order to pay my bills and to start a savings for those unexpected issues in life that demand payment. After keeping up this schedule for over a year, I almost killed myself! I got sicker than I have ever been in my whole life before or since that time. I was trusting in myself to provide for my needs, rather than to trust God to continue to meet them.

Past and current circumstances not only affect our health, but also our emotional, mental, behavioral and spiritual equilibrium. The unexpected situations in our life expose our deepest fears. When our workplace, home life or community involvement start developing into a pressure-packed existence, and the demands on our life prove unrealistic, this calls for prayer to submit them to the Lord. God calls us to live a life totally surrendered to Him and led by His Spirit, rather than one driven by the expectations of people or events in our life.

The opposite of surrender is control. We try with all of our might to hang on, to fix it, to change it, to manage it or to try to make it better. Trying to maintain control of life is impossible, frustrating and ineffective. We attempt, by the sheer power of our will, to hold everything together. We think we have to handle our problems on our own. Controlling usually produces the opposite effect of what we want. Our dependency on anything other than God: addictions, people, places, jobs, things, animals, etc. - puts us into bondage to them. Only God’s love and Spirit produce true liberty.

God’s Spirit will lead us through our day at work, home, community, church and at play as long as we take the time to seek His will. God wants us to let go of trying to control everything, and to admit that we are powerless and we need His power in our life. This is the first step toward healing. God pleads with us to LET GOD BE GOD in our life. When we surrender to God, He always works out everything, even the negative things, for our good (Romans 8:28). We cannot change people or all of our circumstances, but God can.

Surrender is the doorway to freedom. It is a state of brokenness, of total dependence upon God, of receiving God’s forgiveness and of having a personal, daily relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to surrender, God calls us to believe that His power truly can overcome any person or circumstance in our life. God wants us to completely surrender our will to His and to be vulnerable before Him. This is called “dying to self”.

This concept does not mean that we diminish our God given identity, personality, needs or giftedness. It simply means allowing God to replace our old, carnal, sinful nature with His holy, compassionate, spiritual nature. We allow God to call the shots and to direct us according to His will instead of living according to our own goals, plans and ambitions. Job tells us that if we submit to God and live at peace in Him, He brings prosperity to us in every area of life (Job 22:21).

Prayer:

Father God, you told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Then he decided that from then on that he would boast all the more gladly about his weaknesses, so that Christ’s power would grow stronger in him. That is why, for Christ’s sake, he started to delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. He discovered the secret of the Christian life: When we are weak, then we are strong (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10). Thank You for being our one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Thought for the Day:

If Jesus is on the throne of our life, and we live in full surrender to Him every moment of every day, we live and walk in true Serenity. 

True Hope in Time of Grief

Sometimes our grief over the loss of a loved one, a profitable job, a cherished home, etc is so strong that we can actually taste it. We have unexplained aches and pains, difficulty sleeping, poor appetite or overeating the wrong foods, uncontrollable shaking and trembling, listlessness, disorientation, headaches, dizziness, dry mouth, uncontrollable crying, numbness or tingling, shortness of breath and exhaustion. Thankfully, these symptoms will pass as we work through our grief. If you find any symptom to be overwhelming or unbearable, contact a professional immediately.

Clinical depression can be a very real problem. Times of grief mangle our emotions. We bounce from unbearable depression, to rage, to a euphoric high or to debilitating hopelessness. Coping with the routine of our day is exhausting because our mind is full of confusion and grief. We lose the most basic skills for organization. The simplest chore is overwhelming to the point of depleting all of our energy. All we want to do is sleep. Once loved activities are no longer appealing. God uses this lethargy to protect us from the overwhelming emotions caused by our loss. In the darkest times of our lives, it never fails that our faith grows stronger and our personal relationship with the God of Hope deepens.

Equilibrium will be restored, but it will take time. It may also take action on our part. Our mind is Satan's playground in times of loss. Refuse to allow him entry with his negative emotions and thoughts. When you realize you are thinking negative thoughts, remember Philippians 4:8 and take your thoughts captive, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." We are blessed when our help comes from the Lord our God in whom we place our hope (Psalm 146:5).

Your future is in God's hands. He wants you to live it one moment at a time. If you are doing well in this moment, rejoice in it. If not, then give the issue to God in prayer and praise Him through it. It is amazing what praising will do. You are limiting God by asking for Him to replace your loss right away. He may have other plans for you. He wants what is best for you. He will provide for your needs as you heal and are ready for them to be met. Therfore, concentrate on healing and leave your future to God. You will be able to function normally again, but it takes time with the Lord to fully recover.   The Biblical principles of hope can make your grief more bearable. God exists and He has a future and a hope for you that are for your good (Jeremiah 29:11). Cling to this certainty, as you experience your sorrow. God is all that He says He is. Tell Him your doubts and confusion. Jesus Christ is your only hope for a secure life, as well as your life after death. Praising His name and seeking Him each moment of the day will bring you more fulfillment than you ever experienced before in your life. If we forget God in our recovery, we will perish as those without God (Job 8:13).   Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are certain to the depths of our being that You are the Living Lord. Everything will turn out for our good, as we trust in You. Even if we are truly alone in this world, we can place our hope in You and pray in Your name night and day, asking You for Your help moment by moment (1 Timothy 5:5). The prayer that never fails is, "Lord, Your will be done." Once we come to that place of complete, total surrender to Your will, no matter what it is, then we set You free to bless us. It is hard to give up control of our life, but we will experience so much more freedom once we totally surrender and live in Your joy as our peace and strength. Thought for the Day: When we develop the mindset that we ultimately need nothing and no one but God for our future and our joy, we are truly free.

 

God Uses Our Dreams

Read: Job 33:14-15

“And He said, "Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream" (Numbers 12:6).

The following passages from the Bible clearly establish the fact that man is a triune being composed of a body, soul and spirit:

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

"May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 RSV)

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow (body), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Most people know a great deal about their body. Born Again Christians understand what our spirit is. But what is the soul? Our soul is our personality. It contains our thoughts, our will and our emotions. Our soul discloses to us what we really like and dislike, what we feel passionately about, what we really want to do and how we actually feel. So often, however, we go through life at such a hectic pace, that we ignore our soul. Then, we get sick, or we binge, or we act inappropriately and wonder what in the world is going on with us!

Our soul is a very important part of our complete human make-up. Our mental and emotional health and our actions are all influenced by the state of our soul. David says of God: “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3). God cares about our soul.

When we ignore our soul, it often speaks to us through dreams. The Lord gave us the ability to dream in order to help us to know what is really going on in our soul:  “I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons” (Psalm 16:7 NKJV). Our soul often uses dreams to resolve a situation we are actually experiencing and to help us to bring balance to our life.

The Psalmist told us that God counsels us at night through our dreams: “You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night;” (Psalm 17:3 NKJV).

Dreams reveal to us what we often fail to hear in our waking moments, because we rush through the day paying little attention to how life is affecting us.  In dreams, every person, place or thing and even numbers, colors, shapes and every detail represents an aspect of the truth that our soul is trying to reveal to us. There are many common symbols that have basic interpretations, but God will also use some symbols to speak to us personally. The Internet has many sites, which help to interpret the symbols in dreams; such as the Christian Dream Dictionary (http://www.cddictionary.com).

Dreams often express the beliefs, feelings, intents and needs of our soul. Even painful dreams have a message that we need to hear to be set free. Both the Lord and demonic influences also affect our dreams. Jesus truth heals us. If, however, your dream does not line up with God’s Word, then it is demonic. Satan can influence dreams to accuse our thoughts, motives and desires or to mislead us. If any dream is contrary to the Word of God, we know it is from Satan.

If we take the time to listen, the Holy Spirit will use our dreams to encourage us or to deal with truths, which He is trying to expose through our daily circumstances. Some dreams call on us to change our ways: “For God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, in slumberings upon the bed.” (Job 33:14-15). Recurring dreams are often hints from the Holy Spirit that there is a persistent need that requires our attention.

When a dream reveals discontentment in some area, the only way we become content from within is to relinquish our negative mind-set and concerns that do not glorify God and to ask Him to fill those areas with His peace. “It shall be even as when a hungry man dream, and behold, he eats; but he awakens, and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he drinks; but he awakens, and behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite” (Isaiah 29:8).

Dreams can also serve as our barometer in registering our spiritual progress. When we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, God quickens portions of our dreams to expose our motivation and desires that are not yet in line with His will. When the Holy Spirit searches the soul of man, He brings to light the attitudes, beliefs and opinions that do not glorify Him. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1). As we pay attention to our dreams, they restore our equilibrium in body, soul and spirit.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, give me dreams during the night watches. Help me to discern between good and evil and to understand the messages You want me to hear through my dreams. Lead me in Your level path because of my enemy (Psalm 27:11) and cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning (Psalm 143:8).

Thought for the Day:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy. - Proverbs 13:12 (NLT).

He Restores My Soul

Read: Psalm 23

“He restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:3

In the Psalms, David often writes about the state of his soul. He eloquently expresses exactly how we feel much of the time. He refers to his soul as a young child (Psalm 131:2). He talks about his soul plunging into distress (Psalm 32; 51). He encourages and exhorts his soul (Psalm 103:1). Then, in Psalm 23 he pictures Jesus as our Good Shepherd, who leads His sheep to “green pastures,” “quiet waters” and “paths of righteousness”, and He restores our soul. What is the meaning of the verb “restores”, which is used over 1,000 times in the Old Testament?

I like to think of it as a “refreshing” from the Lord. I picture myself sprinkled by the mist of a waterfall on a hot summer day, or wading in a brook, or walking into an air-conditioned room after working out in the yard or drinking a cool glass of herbal iced tea. “Refreshing”…I just love that word. God refreshes our soul ~ our mind, our will and our emotions. 

To “restore” also has the implication of fixing something that is broken. It means to take something that is old and in need of repair and renewing, refurbishing, renovating, modernizing, mending or recovering it. When God moves into a soul, He dismantles it and builds it up with all new materials. He provides us with a spiritual makeover from the inside out.

The dictionary also describes the word “restore” as bringing something back to or putting it back into its former or original state. It refers to converting, reviving or transforming our soul from a fleshly, carnal entity to a spirit-filled state of existence.  When the Holy Spirit moves into our soul, He brings us back to the place of holy innocence that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden.

The soul is the deepest part of our psyche. It is the essence of who we are as a person. The soul expresses our human personality. It controls our thoughts, emotions and our will. When we submit our soul to the unction of the Holy Spirit, we accomplish all that God ordains for us to do each day. His Spirit iluminates His Word to bring healing to our soul. He even uncovers and heals childhood wounds, which we tried to forget, but which influence us every day of our lives from our subconscious mind. He also rids our soul of any turbulent thoughts fueled by negative emotions such as: worry, guilt, regret, anger, sadness, unrest, frustration, and fear. He restores our thoughts to equanimity and order.

Our spirit is a separate entity from our soul. Until we are born again by the Spirit of God, our spirit is dead. We have a body and soul, but not a spirit. Once we invite Jesus Christ to move in, He breathes His breath of life into our spirit and we are saved from the bondage of sin and set free to live a victorious life. Our spirit is the innermost portion of our triune being. It is where the Holy Spirit dwells within us. It is the command center from which we gain our daily marching orders, our comfort, our truth, our wisdom, and all the attributes of the His fruit (Galatians 5: 22). The Holy Spirit works from our spirit to restore the balance in our soul.

Prayer: 

Lord God, you restore our soul to a refreshing equilibrium under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the administrations of our Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14). You assuage our fears, vanquish our woes, restore our peace, and guide us every moment of our life. We are never alone. You never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Thought for the Day:
God shines His light into the corners of our soul, exposing carnality and sin, which wraps us in bondage and holds us hostage until He sets us free. 

Surviving The Balancing Act!

Read: James 1:2-4

A seal spinning a ball on its nose and a whirling top have little in common except that both of their performances require balance. This reminded me of the fact that life also requires a balancing act. We often find ourselves thrown off center by confusion and catastrophe, which come when we least expect it. Like the top and the ball, our normally peaceful life spins out of control. Each compartment of our life, which we meticulously created to provide us with security and a safe haven, suddenly  tilts to one side like the Tower of Pisa.

We get disoriented and feel insecure and fearful. Then, we panic and make poor decisions, reacting with negative emotions that create even more problems. We throw ourselves into trying unsuccessfully to manage the disruptive people and events in our life in an attempt to make us feel safe again. But this never helps. In fact, it usually increases our anxiety, when these people react to the frustration we create in their lives.

Part of the problem occurs when we acquire more possessions than we need. Our life slowly sinks under a burden of stress created by trying to pay for this accumulation. Another factor comes if we lean toward making deviant decisions. We end up reaping what we sow. Then, we also sink under the weight of the demands, which others place on our life.

So, what is the solution? We owe it to our self to simplify our life. We accomplish this in many different ways. We can sell off some of our accumulated goods and discipline our spending habits. We make wise choices and maintain an unadulterated life of purity and serenity. We also find a balance between what people need from us and what God wants for us.

Matt 6:25-34 reminds me that worry never helped anyone. Peace comes only by trusting God to order our lives according to His will. He generously provides all of our necessities, even when life disintegrates before our eyes. In James 1:2-4, the author exhorts us to keep a positive attitude throughout difficulties and temptations. He tells us that in this way our patience has a chance to grow. Then, patience gets us ready for anything life throws at us. Adversity develops strong character in us, which helps us to withstand the disheartening uncertainty of life and to ward off the eventual panic when it arises.

Paul admonishes us, in Hebrews 12:2, to keep our eyes on Jesus ~ the author and finisher of our faith. By following the examples from His life, we learn how to successfully live our own life. He prayed before beginning each day of ministry. He lived in the moment and did not worry about tomorrow. Jesus listened to His Father and followed His will in every word and deed. His focus stayed on God’s kingdom rather than on amassing worldly goods and fame. Ultimately, He humbled Himself, even to the point of death on the cross. 

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as we walk the tightrope of life, rather than focusing on the spinning details of our negative circumstances, help us to focus on the equilibrium You achieve within each moment that we live. Life wavers like the ocean, with a continuous ebb and flow, but You gave us the words of the prayer that never fails: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42-43 NIV)

Thought for the Day:
When we trust God more and strive less, serenity seeps into every area of our life, no matter how the circumstances play out around us.