Everyone wants peace of mind. All seek a life of rest, no worries, and being able to enjoy life, family, friends, work, church, hobbies, entertainment, etc. We want to be able to enjoy ourselves and not be burdened down with worries that rob us of vigor, life, and purpose.
Sometimes when we can’t find peace of mind. We get depressed. We often get angry. At times we even lash out at God or someone else near to you.
I mean real peace in your life. Where do you start? What do you do?
In the Bible in the book of Philippians, chapter 4:6-9 teaches how to have true peace in your life.
Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV) tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Worry shows you are not trusting in God. God says in verse 6, “Do not be anxious about anything.”
That means don’t worry.
The word for “anxious” in the Greek here means to be troubled with cares He hasn’t given you that command without you being able to carry it out.
He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth your hand” (Mark 3:5)
But the man could not–yet He obeyed and did it!
Because the Holy Spirit is in you, you are able to live by faith, and not worry…no matter what happens. Because the Spirit empowers you to be faithful, to trust, to yield to the Lord’s will. With the Spirit, you are able to trust God beyond your ability to know what will happen in your life.
Matthew 6:25, 27, 31, 33, 34 teaches, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? … Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? … So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ … For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. … But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. … Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety (same word) on him because he cares for you. (NIV)
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (NIV)
God doesn’t want you to worry because worry means you do not trust God that you are not taking Him fully at His word. God has been providing for you all along – look at the cross. God wants you to have true peace by praying – about everything (the act of doing). v. 6 “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
The big and the small: where to move, who to marry, what job to get, even your hobbies, and leisure times. The peace that God gives you will guard your minds. The peace that God gives you will strengthen you.
Because of the cross, you have access to the throne of God. We are to approach it “with thanksgiving,” because of the cross, the proof of God’s faithfulness. In the presence of God, there is peace.
Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Prayer transforms you. By praying, you intern want to think about holy things. That is why…(next point)
Romans 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (NIV)
Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent worthy of praise. Let your mind dwell on these things.” (NASB)
Psalm 119:78 “…I will meditate on your precepts.”
The precepts of God, the Word of God, is truth, purity, and excellence. Meditate on the Word of God so that you might be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Philippians 4:6a, “Don’t be anxious for anything.”
Philippians 4:6b “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. (NIV)
These things are written to you so that the God of peace will be with you. Not simply peace…but the God of peace will be with you.
Ultimately this is about God dwelling with you. He wants you to be holy, pure, and right.
Will you trust Him and not worry? Will you pray about everything in your life? Will you meditate on the Word of God? And finally, will you practice, will you do, what God calls you to do?
Part of learning to care for a person with a chronic illness is managing worry.
Within the last five years, my wife was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoid and Melanoma cancers. The oncologist informed us if the Melanoma cancer doesn’t kill her the neuroendocrine carcinoid would. The Melanoma cancer killed her in April 2018.
While I won’t get into her sickness or her chronic illness’s medical details, I will share how I dealt with the challenges. While she was under a medical team of physician’s care and treatment, my focus was on the spiritual, not the therapeutic.
That doesn’t mean I ignored the medical side for treatment. I did not. I made sure she had the best treatment available and that she followed the doctor’s recommendations.
I am a Christian. My Christian faith is foundational for managing the emotional challenges. I find comfort from reading the Holy Bible, applying the Bible verses to daily life, and praying using the Bible verse(s) as my prayer.
This same comfort is available to you. God, through His Word, the Bible, provides Hope for the Caregiver.”
Matthew 6:34 (KJV), “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
What the verse is saying in today’s English is give your entire attention to God. Look for what He is doing in your life today. With the focus in the here and now you cannot get worried or worked up over what may or may not happen tomorrow. While you may influence tomorrow, you cannot control or even guarantee you will have a tomorrow.
There’s a reason why we shouldn’t get worked up.
The reason? God will help you. And with God’s help, I dealt with whatever came our way, no matter how challenging or difficult the trials were. I can testify God walked with my wife and me through every step of this difficult, heartbreaking process.
Photo Source: Pixabay
This article is from the forthcoming book, “Hope for the Caregiver: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional Approach.”
Part of learning to live with a chronic illness is managing worry.
Within the last five years, my wife was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoid and Melanoma cancers. We were told if the Melanoma cancer doesn’t kill her the neuroendocrine carcinoid will. The Melanoma cancer killed her in April 2018.
While I won’t get into her sickness or her chronic illness’s medical details, I will share how I am dealt with the challenges. While she was under a medical team of physician’s care and treatment, my focus was on the spiritual, not the therapeutic.
I am a Christian. My Christian faith is foundational for managing the emotional challenges. I find comfort from reading the Holy Bible, applying the Bible verses to daily life, and praying using the Bible verse(s) as my prayer.
This same comfort is available to you.
Matthew 6:34 (KJV), “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
What the verse is saying in today’s English is give your entire attention to God. Look for what He is doing in your life today. With the focus in the here and now you are able to not get worried or worked up over what may or may not happen tomorrow.
There’s a reason why we shouldn’t get worked up.
The reason? God will help you. I dealt with whatever came our way, no matter how challenging or difficult the trials were. I can testify God walked with me through every step of this hard, heartbreaking process.
Photo Source: Pixabay
Today’s blog post is from the book “Thy Will Be Done: 60 Prayers for the Chronically Ill” by Jimmie Aaron Kepler. It is available in print and on Kindle for Amazon at Amazon Print or Amazon Kindle.
If you are an Amazon Kindle Unlimited member the book is available to read for free in Kindle format. Over the next two months, I will publish each chapter as a blog post
Within the last year, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. No, it isn’t life threatening though it sometimes develops into cancer.
What’s the disease you ask? It is oral lichen planus.
I won’t get into the sickness, but I will share how I am dealing the challenges. While I am under a physician’s care, my focus will be on the spiritual. I am a Christian. My Christian faith is foundational for managing the emotional challenges.
I find comfort from reading the Holy Bible and applying the Bible verses to my life and praying using the Bible verse(s) as my prayer.
Matthew 6:34 (King James Version), “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
What the verse is saying in today’s English is give your entire attention to God. Look for what He is doing in your life today. With the focus in the here and now we’re able to not get worried or worked up over what may or may not happen tomorrow. There’s a reason why we shouldn’t get worked up. The reason? God will help you and me deal with whatever comes our way, no matter how challenging or difficult they trials are.
Photo Source: Pixaby
