Isaiah 26:13 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
1 Chronicles 22:19a “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.”
Ecclesiastes 11:10 “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.”
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Matthew 6:27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Can you guess the theme of this devotional? Perfect Peace. Why do we spend so much time worrying? As it says in Matthew, we can’t really do anything with all the worrying we do. In fact, Proverbs 12:25 says that anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. If you see a person who deals with worry, give them a good word! Pray with them, encourage them or perhaps give them a note with a Bible verse in it.
What do we do with our worries and anxieties? They are both real emotions. It should turn us AWAY from the “leaning not on our own understanding” and turn us TO “trust in the Lord with all your heart,” and “acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
We are told in 1 Peter 5:7, it says to “cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” Then in Philippians 4:6-7 we are told to not be anxious about anything. But “with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The problem is that we begin then to lean on our own understanding once we go to Him. If we read onto verse 7, it says that after we go to Him in prayer, “we should let the peace of God, which surpasses all (our) understanding”, and that we should “guard our hearts and our minds IN Christ Jesus.”
King David, when you read the Psalms, tells himself over and over again that “The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid.” He meditated on God’s Word. He says, over and over again, how God promises to take care of him. In Psalm 107, 118 and 136, he starts the chapter with these words: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.”