Peace: Conquering Anxiety
I wonder what is the most peaceful you’ve ever felt? Maybe having a massage, enjoying dinner with friends or sitting in the sun on holiday. Those feelings of peace are great but so often they are situational and therefore temporary. True peace is something far deeper. In his book, ‘Mere Christianity’ C.S. Lewis wisely wrote ‘God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing’. Peace is central to who God is, He oozes it, it is part of the essence of who He is and He longs to lavish it onto His children.
What is the enemy of peace? Fear? Doubt? Busyness? The real enemy, we know, is the enemy of God, who loves to fill our heads with lies, flooding us with feelings of panic and anxiety. When thinking about the subject of worry, Christians have a habit of rushing straight to Matthew 6:25 ‘therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of its own’. You’ve probably heard this verse many times and whilst it is true, it is so crucial to recognise that it is often not as simple as that. With increasing demands being put on us, through revision, exams, target grades and university applications, we are seeing a rapid increase in anxiety disorders.
The Bible is full of people who experienced worry and uncertainty. The army officer Gideon was full of fear when he was told by the Angel of God to drastically reduce his army in Israel’s fight against the Midianites, crying out in Judges 6:13 ‘if the lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?’ A question so often asked by us when confronted with suffering. Moses was full of fear when God told him to approach Pharaoh and demand that he ‘let my people go’. Peter was full of fear at Jesus’ trial, refusing to admit that he even knew him. Even Jesus himself experienced anxiety and anguish in the garden, as he cried ‘Father take this cup from me, yet not my will but yours’.
These journeys often began with fear but they certainly didn’t end with it!
The Psalmist David often expressed his feelings of fear and doubt i.e., ‘even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’ and ‘my enemies surround me’. Yet he so often uses those three powerful words: ‘BUT the Lord’, but the Lord has been good to me, the Lord is my shepherd.
When fear surrounds you….BUT the Lord
When you’re afraid of failing…BUT the Lord
When you can’t control your feelings of panic….BUT the Lord
I wonder what is preventing you from experiencing God’s peace today?
In whatever situation you are in, God is right beside you. He will not let you fall. Anchor yourself in His peace today.
