Author Archive for: meiling

“God raised Christ from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything” (Ephesians 1:20-22 MSG).

Christ runs the show. He has authority over the world, and he has authority over your world. Your date of birth, your date of death. Your mood swings, sleep patterns, eating habits, your salary. He’s never surprised, he’s never caught off guard. He’s never ever uttered the phrase, “ Now how did that happen?”

Uproot your fear of pandemonium and replant the assuring promise: “God makes everything work out according to his plan” (Ephesians 1:11 NLT).

Satan hates to see you pray. He does not scatter when you listen to a sermon. Demons do not backpedal when you perform acts of benevolence.  The principalities of hell are not flustered when you open a Christian book.  But the walls of hell shake when, with an honest heart and faithful confession, you bow your head and pray. Satan knows the power of prayer.

Do you long for peace? Then pray. “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Ephesians 6:18 MSG). You cannot control events that are uncontrollable, so don’t try. You cannot change the future as long as the future is in the future, so don’t try. There is so much we cannot do. But there is one thing we must do. We must pray.

Jesus offers this assurance: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV).

Jesus contrasts two types of peace—the peace the world offers and the peace he offers. The peace the world offers depends upon circumstances. If the weather is right, if the traffic is light, if the stock market is up. If…If…If. Exchange if peace for his peace. We can have the peace of Jesus. We can uproot thoughts of catastrophe and replace them with truths like this one: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts” (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).

Philippians 4:4 commands, “Be full of joy in the Lord always. Again I will say, be full of joy.”

How can you be full of joy when you’ve got bills to pay and kids to raise? Those anxious, negative thoughts? Refuse to indulge them. Grab the weed of anxiety and give it a good yank. Then before the enemy can sow a seed, remind him and yourself that you live life “in the Lord.”

If you believe you face your problems alone, you will never find deep and lasting peace. On the other hand, if you believe that you face your challenges in the Lord—in the presence of the Lord, in the name of the Lord, in the power of the Lord, in the protection of the Lord—then you can be full of joy because you are full of the Lord.

Anxiety in a limited dose is a good thing. Healthy anxiety prompts us to pay bills, eat right, and stay out of snake pits. A dose of anxiety is helpful. A daily deluge of anxiety? Not so much. God designed our bodies to respond to a spike of stress and then return to normal. Unhealthy anxiety resists the reset. It is the alarm system that never shuts down.

Paul’s prescription for the anxious heart: He wrote, “Be full of joy in the Lord always…The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7 NCV).