The Way to Peace

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV

The heart of every Christian carries Christ. We are one with Him in spirit. But what happens when our hearts are divided, when we fellowship with our Lord on one hand and worry and fear on the other? We sometimes allow ourselves to be distracted by worry. In fact, one of the Greek meanings of the word translated to worry means to be distracted. In the parable of the sower of the seed (Mark 4), we are told that the cares or worries of this life choke the word that is sown into our hearts. Worry causes us to be drawn in different directions. It displaces the life of God inside us. It is detrimental to our spiritual and emotional lives. It can even affect our health. We can break down the word disease into two parts “dis” and “ease”. Scientists have proven that many medical conditions are caused by stress and anxiety. Finally and most importantly, the Bible commands us not to worry and calls all anxiety sin.

So we understand that anxiety is not good for us, and we can see that it is not what God desires for our lives. But how should we tackle the problem of a worrisome heart. The Scriptures give us the antidote. He outlines for us the way to peace: “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 (Philippians 4:6-7).”

We are to cast our cares upon Him. We are to come to Him with specific requests concerning what we are anxious about, and we are to follow these requests with thanksgiving. Why? Because a person with true faith believes that he or she has received the thing that they are praying for before they receive it. We are also to surrender the outcome of any situation to God. When we do these things, God promises to give us His supernatural peace. We can rest like a baby in her mother's arms even when things are not going the way we want them to. We must trust in His provision and His intervention in our lives. Always remember, the Lord that we pray to is our loving Eternal Father. He will take watchful and diligent care of us. He will envelop us and fill us with His supernatural peace that passes all understanding. He will give us the grace to walk in His peace.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please search my heart and show me if I am allowing worry to distract me. I give to You all my cares and concerns. I trust You to make a way where there is no way in my specific situation. Thank you Lord for working on my behalf. I receive Your peace. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.