Some days, I cannot manufacture peace inside of me. It’s not totally a choice, is it? One cannot simply un-feel feelings. They are often not under our control. Sure, we can divert and distract our minds…kind of like parents do when re-focusing a child…but the feelings just get covered over for a while. We can also hide emotions behind a veneer of something else. The only thing I’ve ever found that has power to unlock and remove unwanted feelings of anger, fear, sadness, depression, etc., is God. He has what we do not….what we need…and we were designed to live in constant communication with Him. And once that communication is firmly established, His peace takes root. Most of the time, when I’m struggling inside, the answer I need is not really about the problem I’m wrestling with….but about my desperate need at that moment for God’s perspective. I need to remember who I am….or better, Whose I Am.
We can come closer to God in many ways, but there’s nothing quite like prayer & meditation. Taking a time-out from the noise & responsibilities of life in order to get our bearings…reset our compass…re-surrender control our lives to God. Here’s some good advice to live by, found in Philippians 4:6-8…
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you can experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
And 1 Peter 5:7…
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
