A Message of Inspiration From the Author of Living Loved, August 11, 2024
Peace
Hey friends! Anyone else find that Friday came a lot quicker this week than usual. There I was minding my own business and Friday snuck up on me this afternoon. The theme for this week seems to have been worry and peace, and the fact that they have a hard time coexisting. Don’t we all have things we “worry” about? Bills, our kids, our jobs, our cars, our family, the random lady at the store. Sometimes we worry about nothing just because without worry we feel like something is wrong. My granny used to say that worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.* We need to replace worry with faith, with peace.
The book of Matthew says,
“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
(the answer is NO)
““So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:27, 31-34 NLT
We often times forfeit our peace when we forfeit our faith. We feel like worrying is the “responsible” thing to do. God wants us to rely on Him, trust Him for the things we need. It doesn’t mean we sit and do nothing. The book of Philippians is the next stop in our stop worrying journey today.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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. 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.”
Philippians 4:6-8 NLT
Do we see that? It says to worry about nothing, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING, tell God everything you need, and thank Him! AND THEN you will experience the peace of God which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds! But it requires us to do something. That something is stop, pray, tell, and thank. THEN we will experience the peace. It requires us to fix our thoughts on Him, on the good things. In other words, we purposefully choose what we focus on. And when we do that, His peace will surround us, envelop us, and guard our hearts and minds! There it is. The formula.
-Stop (worrying)
-Pray (about everything)
-Tell (God what you need)
Thank (Him for everything)
-Experience (the peace that exceeds all we can imagine)
-Fix (your thoughts on what is true)
Now that’s how you have good day! Friends you are so loved. He didn’t leave us here with our worries. He made a way to access the one who can give us peace in the storms of life. Storms will happen, it’s good to have these scriptures in your pocket! Live loved friends and live to love!! He loves you so very much!
Father God, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for your peace. Father where we worry, we ask that you bring peace. We know that when we seek you and your righteousness you will provide all that we need. We come and we ask now for the things that we need and for the situations in our lives, we ask for provision and direction. We thank you that we can come and give you our worrying in exchange for your peace. Help us continually turn our worries over to you and continually think on the things that are true. Thank you for your peace. Thank you for Jesus. The one who made the way. We love you! In Jesus name, amen.
*quote by Glenn Turner
About the author
Tracy Kelley is a follower of Jesus, mother, grandmother, author and speaker, living in Sulphur Springs, TX. She is the author of the book Living Loved, Learning to Live in the Fullness of Gods Love, where she shares encouragement from her daily journey and how God has shown His love to her through various trials. You can buy her book, find events, book her for your event, and follow her by going to her Facebook page, where you will always be greeted as friend! You can purchase her book at Good News Book Store in Sulphur Springs, TX; online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other major retailers.
