Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you;  He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.  Psalm 55:22 HCSB

In the last couple of weeks our above ground pool was damaged, the repair will cost almost as much as it would to replace it.  My dog got sick and had to go to the vet. My lawn mower won’t start. Then just a few days ago I had car trouble which required a repair that cost over 600.00.  I was whining to my nephew via text the other night and he started telling me about all the issues he had been dealing with in the past week and all the things he had at his house that were breaking down.

One thing I can assure you, if you think you have it bad, you can always find someone who has it worse.  On a day when you think things are really bad, try reading the first couple chapters of Job.  When you see how bad things got for Job, it will make your problems look like a big, fragrant rose garden.

I chose John 16:33 to use in the name of this website because I love that verse.  It tells us that we are going to have troubles in this world but that we should not let them get us down because Jesus has overcome the world.  Now, if you are going through problems right now, you probably aren’t feeling like you are conquering much, but let me say this, if you are living in the protection of the Most High then you are safe in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).  When I was a young girl, my dad was ten feet tall and bullet proof in my eyes.  I always felt safe with him.  I always felt that nothing could come against me that he couldn’t handle.  People used to say that I was his shadow. My dad was always self employed and on any day that he could take me with him, that’s where I chose to be.  Needless to say I stuck close to him and spent a lot of time walking in his shadow.  I felt safe in that shadow.  I assure you that in the shadow of the Almighty God, you are safe.  God’s got this.  As Christians, the worst thing that can happen to us is we die and spend eternity in a mansion Jesus has prepared for us in heaven (John 14:2).  We spend the rest of our lives in the presence of God. If you are a Christian, you can’t lose.

Now some of you are sitting here saying, “yeah, but what about poor pitiful me and all the anxiety I am dealing with here on earth?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.  If you are focused on God as we should be (Matthew 6:33-34), then we will have peace in our lives even when it doesn’t make sense for us to be peaceful (Philippians 4:6-7).  We live in the assurance that no matter what comes our way, God is working it all out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28-30).

If you are anxious today, I want you to think about some of the things that make us anxious.  If you don’t have enough money, are you tithing? In Malachi 3, God tells us that we are robbing Him if we don’t tithe.  Trust me, no good can come from this.  If you are tithing then know that God’s got this.  I should be really worried about all the things that are breaking, but I know that I give the first tenth back to God (Malachi 3:10), so I know He takes care of me. Then ask yourself, are you putting God first.  The last few weeks we have been studying quotes from the Bible that are hard to take.  For example, when Jesus tells us that we must hate our families or when he tells the rich young ruler that he must sell everything he owns.  Jesus didn’t mean for us to hate our family or for us to sell all of our possessions, but He does want us to rid our lives of everything that we put before Him.  Think about that one and let it soak in for a minute.

If you are stressed out and anxious, this is not what God wants for you.  You don’t have to stay this way. You can bow down before your heavenly father, the Almighty God, and give this over to Him (1 Peter 5:6-7).  He loves you and wants what is best for you.  He wants to help you with this.  Proverbs 12:25 tells us that anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.  God has a lot of good words for you, turn to God and study His word. Psalm 34:4 says, I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 

We were not made to live our lives in fear, constant worry, and dread.  If you have found yourself in knots lately, turn to God.  Trust in Him and give Him first place in your life.  You will be amazed at what He can do.  And please, don’t take my word for it. Try it for yourself.

Have a great day!