Monday, August 29, 2016

He is My Peace

Today in church, one of my pastors preached on the topic of anxiety. He started out by telling of his own personal struggles with anxiety, particularly during his first year in the ministry. He didn’t tell this very personal account to pat himself on the back and show how he was strong and overcame it. He told it to show his “own personal weakness to the glory of God.” To many, that might not make sense. Many people today are all about personal power. Weakness is seen as something to be ashamed of, pushed down, and hidden. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Our weakness is there so that God’s power can come. That idea runs so contrary to modern society. 1 Corinthians 1: 27 says, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” God often uses things that don’t make sense, the small things, and the weak things to make the biggest impact.

Here is the main passage that we read from
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

Here is the basic outline from the sermon.
I.                 Let your joy be in the Lord. He will never let you down.
a.      Anxiety can come when we place things in a higher priority than God.
b.      Our heart follows what we enjoy, so enjoy the Lord.
II.               Have a Reputation of being a gentle, reasonable, tolerant person.
III.              Remember that Jesus is near.
IV.              Don’t be anxious about anything. Pray about everything.
a.      Anxiety shows a lack of faith in God’s provision.
b.      Anxiety can be fruit of a lack of prayer in your life.
c.      Don’t wait for moments of crisis to pray and trust God.
d.      Develop a pattern of trust in God to combat anxiety in the long term.
V.               Recognize God’s blessings and give thanks. Prayer is more than just asking for stuff.
VI.              Peace comes to people of weak hearts who pray.


Just about everyone goes through times when they are anxious about something. I know I have. I’ve had times where I’ve worried and been afraid. I’ve stressed over things that might happen and over things that have happened. When it comes to fear, anxiety and stress, I’m my own worst enemy. The scenarios in my mind are usually way worse than reality. Matthew 6:27 says, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” Basically it’s saying that worrying doesn’t change anything. You can’t make yourself taller by worrying (because if you could, I’d likely be at least 6 foot tall). Multiple times in the Bible, it says not to be troubled, not to be afraid. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Joshua 1:9 says, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Peace and never leaving my side. What awesome gifts God has promised!

Let your joy be in the Lord. Notice it says “joy” and not “happiness”. Happiness is an emotion based on outward circumstances. True joy comes from God and doesn’t always make sense. The outward circumstances could be horrible, but the person has that peace which is beyond understanding like in Philippians 4:7 and a joy which can only come from God. I can’t say that my attitude has always been one of peace and joy when going through tough times. I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to be a worrier. But even with my lack of faith and trying to control situations rather than hand them fully over to God, He still hasn’t given up on me or left my side. His peace and joy are there waiting for me every time. I just have to let go of my worries and fears and trust that God is in control of them, and He replaces them with peace and joy. Easier said than done at times, but I’m still a work in progress and God is nowhere near done with me. Remember that God is near. Isaiah 43:2-3a says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour”. Not only is God near, He also helps us through the trials. He calms the seas when we feel like we’re about to drown. He may not always remove the stressful situation, but He teaches us to have faith in Him and helps us through it. The times I’ve learned the most about God’s strength was when I was at my weakest point. I learned about His provision when I was in need. I learned about his healing when I was broken. I learned what it meant when the Bible said He would never leave me when I felt the most alone. I felt his joy and peace when I was struggling the most. Without those hard times, I might not have been in a place to be receptive to those lessons. That’s not to say I enjoyed them or pray for hard times. Hard times come without me asking for them. During those times, it was difficult for me to see any reason for it, but looking back, I can see how God’s hand was working to bring good out of a tough time in my life.

Don’t be anxious about anything. Pray about everything. Psalm 46:1, 10a says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Be still, and know that I am God”. Sometimes we get so worked up thinking about the problems in life, that we fail to see the answer in front of us. God is in control even when situations seem out of control. In our language today, it’s like God is telling us “Chill out. I’ve got this.” It’s hard to be still. We live in a busy world and most people are in a constant state of multi-tasking. I know I am. Take my internet browser for instance. It’s rare than I have less than 5 tabs open. And that’s just on one device. It’s not uncommon for me to be watching something on my tablet while doing something on my computer, and then I’ll take my hands off the keyboard/mouse and do something on my smart phone. It’s so easy to find out information and to be distracted by what’s on the screens. Then throw in the rest of my day – caring for my family, teaching my son and his cousins, communicating with friends, keeping my house from looking like a tornado went through, etc. Even with all of that, God still says to be still, and that’s something I need to work on. Making time during my day to be still and focus on God. I need to take time to pray, not just before meals and in those last few minutes before I fall asleep, but throughout my day. I need to focus more on thanking God and less on asking for my requests to be answered. I need to daily make the choice to replace the anxiety and stress with prayers. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s a choice that I need to continually make until it becomes a habit and then keep making the choice. Recognizing God’s blessings and provision in the past helps to keep in the front of our minds that, not only is God capable of helping us through trials, we’ve experienced it in our own lives in the past. That remembrance helps us to be more confident in trusting God in the future. He has never left my side or let me down in the past, He’s someone I can trust in the present and also in the future.

The last point is that peace comes to people of weak hearts who pray. This ties in with some of the other points. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” The God who created everything cares for me, and not only does He care for me, He wants me to give him all my stress and anxiety. I have a wonderful family and some awesome friends that God has placed in my life. When I’m having a hard time, I can go to them and share what I’m doing through. They can commiserate with me, give me words of wisdom, and encourage me, but they can’t take away my problems. As great as they are, they’re imperfect humans with limitations just like me. Not only can God listen to me tell him about my problems, He can carry me through them and make good come from them. When I’m at my weakest, God gives me strength to keep going. Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” How many times have you needed rest for your soul? I know when I’m anxious and stressed, I feel completely drained. Anxiety is emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting. It’s during those times of utter exhaustion that I need that peace and rest for my soul the most, and during those times that God is able to show his strength to me in the most amazing ways. When Jesus walked on earth, His ministry wouldn’t have stood out as much had He not done any miracles. In order for Him to heal, someone had to be sick or injured. In order for him to bring someone back to life, they first had to die. In order for Jesus to give someone sight, they first had to be blind. Being sick, injured, blind or dead aren’t good things, but without them, Jesus wouldn’t have been able to show His power in as mighty of a way. If a storm hadn’t come while Jesus and his disciples were in a boat in the middle of the water, the disciples wouldn’t have needed to ask Jesus to save their lives, and He wouldn’t have shown His power over the wind and seas. If my life was always peaceful and stress-free, I wouldn’t need to ask God to help me. Like my pastor, God uses my own personal weakness to show His glory. My life is not free of stress, anxiety, and trials, but no matter the situation, I know that I never have to go through it alone. When I’m weak, He is strong. When I fall down, He lifts me up. When I feel like I’m sinking in the middle of a storm, He calms the storm and brings me peace. When I’m feeling run down, He gives me rest for my soul.

This is part of a song my church choir sings every so often. It’s one of my favorites and fits so well with what I’m trying to say.

He is My Peace
Words by Nan Allen
Music by Dennis Allen

He is wonderful.
He is marvelous.
He is Savior. He is King.
He is Comforter.
He is mighty God.
He is Lord of everything.
But more than all of these,
He is even more to me.
He is Jesus. He is my Peace.
Through the storms He holds me,
Through the dark He leads me,
Through the pain He calms me
With His quiet, tender voice.
Through the storms He holds me,
Through the dark He leads me,
Through the pain He calms me
With His quiet, tender voice,
So I rejoice!



If you would like to hear the full sermon, it is uploaded to my church’s website. Here is the link: http://faithpb.com/sermons/sermon/2016-08-28/rejoice-in-the-lord-dont-be-anxious