God is in Control - Daily Stress and the Terrors of Life

 

 

Fear comes from imagined or real stress and trials. In God's perfect love, there is no room for fear. His love drives out our fear, because He makes us perfect in His love (1 John 4:18).

God gives us His power, His love and a stable thought life (2 Timothy 1:7). When anxiety threatens to overcome us, His comfort brings joy to our soul (Psalm 94:19).

God calls us by name and redeems us, because we are His children (Isaiah 43:1). He sends His children to cheer our anxious heart with a kind word, so that we do not get too discouraged or weighed down (Proverbs 12:25).

We can even walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear, because He is with us and comforts us with His guidance and protection (Psalm 23:4).

There is no need for us to succumb to the terror of this life or to allow it to discourage us, because God is with us no matter where we go, and He is coming to our rescue (Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 35:4).

He has our tomorrows in His hand so there is no need to worry about the future. In fact, today has enough trouble without borrowing concerns over the future to add to them (Matthew 6:34).

As we live humbly before God, His mighty hand lifts us up in His own good time. We can leave all of our concerns with Him, because He absolutely cares about every aspect of our life (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus gave us Your guarantee by promising that we do not have to worry about our life or any aspects of our needs. Remind us that we cannot add one single blessing to our life by worrying, but worry will shorten our life and impede our health if we succumb to it (Luke 12:22-26). You promised to care for us as You do the birds and the flowers.

You are the light of our salvation and our glory and the lifter of our head. We have nothing to fear in life (Psalm 27:1). Every trial is an adventure, and You plant a seed for a miracle in each one of them. We give all of our cares to You, because You sustain us through the good times of life as well as the bad, and there is nothing to fear; You will never allow us to fall (Psalm 55:22; Mark 6:50).

Thought for the Day:

God is our Lord and Redeemer, and He takes hold of our right hand to lift us up, help us, guide us and protect us through the issues of life. - Isaiah 41:13-14

Great and Precious Eternal Promises

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him as our only true and living Savior (John 17:3).

He called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). All of our accomplishments in this life pale when compared to what we gain when we surrender our life to Christ (Philippians 3:8).

God called us into His Kingdom to share in His glory and He shields us by His power (2 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Peter 1:5). He encourages and comforts us as He urges us to live lives worthy of His name (1 Thessalonians 2:12; Psalm 23:3).

In this world we have tribulation, but Christ always restores us and makes us stronger, more stable and unfaltering (John 16:33; 1 Peter 5:10). The more we read His Word and learn of Him and His ways, the more abundantly we experience His grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2).

If we escape the corruption of this world through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and then allow the world to entangle us again and overcome our resolve to follow God, we are worse off than we were before we heard about Him (2 Peter 2:20).

However, as God's Spirit increases Christ's character in us, we are more effective and productive in this life. He confirms our calling and election and keeps us from stumbling (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:5-10).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for delivering us from the corruption of this world by allowing us to personally know our Savior Jesus Christ. Keep us from the entanglements in this world, which attempt to overcome us again (2 Peter 2:20). Lead us into the unity of the faith with Your family as we mature in our knowledge of and intimacy with the whole measure and fullness of Your Son (Ephesians 4:13).

We want to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to live our life to give Him all the praise and glory forever (2 Peter 3:18). Thank You for the great and precious promises that You give us, which enable us to share in Christ's divine nature and to escape the human desires which attract us to the corruption of this world (2 Peter 1:4).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as our human standards often accuse Him of being; but He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish in the torment of hell, but for all of us to come to Him in repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

God's Wisdom

In this dark and fearful world it is so hard not to hyperventilate, not to allow our mind to fry with evil possibilities happening to us or our loved ones, and not to allow Satan to overwhelm us with his lies.

One way to escape the penchant we have as humans to think of the worst case scenarios is to live in the moment. This keeps our heart and mind free from worry for our safety and provision.

If we are fine in this one moment of time, we need not worry about the next moment. If we are not fine, we can seek God's wisdom about how to deal with the negative aspects of this one moment of time (James 1:5).

When we acknowledge God first, we abide in His peace as He directs our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). God promises that in this world we will have tribulation; but we can face it with joy, because He already overcame the world and He lives within us (John 16:33; 1 Peter 1:6).

This way Satan, the world and our human tendencies of the flesh do not control our life through desires, insecurities, anxiety and concerns; but we are submitted and totally surrendered to Christ in us.

As branches on the Vine, we receive the supply of all of our needs, and we depend upon His strength to keep us stable and productive during the storms of life (John 15:5).

As we keep our mind focused on Him, He floods each day with His peace and joy, regardless of any turmoil or suffering we experience (Isaiah 26:3). We know that everything He allows in our life is for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

The fruit of God's Spirit, the very nature of God Himself, branch out from us in all directions (Galatians 5:22-23). Our nurture and provision come from God alone, regardless of our vocation or situation in life (Roman 8:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we cast all of our cares onto Your strong shoulders, because we know from experience that You care about us (1 Peter 5:7). Sometimes, circumstances make us feel that You do not care, or that You abandoned us, but often we are causing our own grief by our choices. 

We fail to consult You or to walk in Your Spirit, and we reap the consequences of our codependency and faulty thinking. Remind us to keep track of all the times You answered our prayers. Rather than to take You and Your goodness for granted, we want to give You continual praise for all that You do for us each day. 

Help us not to get distracted by our busy life and our failure to keep our focus on You, so that we overlook the "hugs" You provide for us throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

God's wisdom from above is unpolluted by the world, agreeable, sympathetic, pleasant, full of compassion and fruitful, unbiased and genuine. - James 3:17