LIVING IN PEACE

1 Peter 5:7 AMP casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

If I buy a car but don’t follow the manufacturer’s instructions, I can’t really complain to the manufacturer if it goes wrong!😊 We all know what it’s like when things go wrong in our lives and that’s when we need to turn to the Word for answers and not cast away our confidence. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Jesus said in John 16:33 AMPC I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Jesus told us to see ourselves ‘in Him’ because ‘in Him’ is His wonderful peace and the ability to overcome. We have to choose to take our eyes off the world with all its worries and fix our eyes on Him and His finished work.

We all have a battle in our minds, where tormenting spirits try to drive us to the end of our tether but God said if we’ll keep our minds fixed on Him we would know His peace. Jesus’ peace is connected to casting our cares onto our Heavenly Father. He never expected or demanded that we carry even one of them!

It’s not a suggestion, it’s an instruction in the manual from our commander in chief. The more we hang on to our cares, the more anxious and stressed we become, because we’re actually opening the door to the enemy to bring his trouble, his sickness, etc. by using our imagination, our faith, to believe for the wrong things.

The Holy Spirit told us in Philippians 4:8 NLT 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. He doesn’t say think about everything that’s gone wrong, going wrong, or might go wrong!

Phil. 4:6-7 NLT. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Jesus has given us His instruction manual on how to have the peace that passes understanding but the choice is ours. He says to submit to God so we can resist the devil, but if we don’t submit to obeying God’s instructions we allow the devil to continue his attacks. So let’s pull the rug out from under the enemy’s feet and do as God has said and cast all of our cares on to Him and have great peace of mind as we trust Him. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo: Matt Seymour on Unsplash