John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
I am plagued with hundreds of forms of fear – fear of abandonment, fear of financial insecurity, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of what people think, and fear of dying. This list could go on and on, and if I focus on any one of these fears, I am robbed of the peace the Lord wants for me. God does not want me to be afraid; He does not want me to worry; He does not want me to have a troubled heart; He does not want me to be filled with anxiety, and yet, if I do not trust that He has my best interests at heart, I can live in this fear, worry and anxiety instead of His peace and His joy. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7.) God has given each and every one of us all the spiritual resources we need for every trial and threat. Self-discipline here refers to a self-controlled and properly prioritized mind. This is the opposite of fear and cowardice that causes disorder and confusion. Focusing on the sovereign nature and perfect purposes of our eternal God allows believers to control their lives with godly wisdom and confidence in every situation.
Numbers 6:24-27 says, "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace." In this passage, the Lord’s blessing was described as His face shining on His people; He was looking at them with delight and adoration, with His benevolence, His kindness, His graciousness, and in return His people received His preservation, His grace, His mercy, His goodness and His well-being. All His people had to do was “call upon His name and come and pray” and He promised and declared that He “would hear you.” He said, “If you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.” (Jer. 29:12-13.)
Lately, it is my desire to live moment by moment trusting in Him so I can experience His peace in my life, the peace that passes all understanding, the peace the world cannot give. I no longer want to wallow in fear, doubt and worry; I want to know beyond a shadow of doubt in the midst of my anxiety that He is working all things to His good and for His glory.
Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." Oswald Chambers says, “Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus meant when He went on to say in this passage, ‘You shall be witnesses to Me,’ not witnesses to what Jesus can do, but ‘witnesses to Me.’ We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward. No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally compelled by the majesty of His power. It is the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive him as mad or sane – he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for – to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of ‘the love of Christ.’” And this is how I want to live, not a life of duplicity wrought with worry, but the life of a single-minded God-focused Christian who is filled with His peace and joy.
– Melody
