Friday, 6/12/15
As Children of God, I think most of us consider ourselves people who are generally free from worry and fear. We like to believe that goodness and mercy follow us every day of our life but from time to time, these two villains come to pay us a visit us as well. Just when we are riding the crest of the abundant and victorious life Christ offers, these fellows show up just to see if they can rattle us enough to turn our world upside down. As I read today’s devotional from one of my favorite pastors, I was reminded of these two unwelcome visitors. It made me believe that some of you, just like my wife and I, are being visited right now by these two guys. In our case, a midnight storm of two weeks ago managed to upset our apple cart and the many things we have to do to cope on a daily basis, including long drives, meetings, calls, appointments and emails has opened the door for worry and fear to add their two cents into the mix.
The Lord knows we will meet with situations which will shake us up from time to time. In fact, Jesus said it would be so when he told His Disciples: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Being reminded of these words of Jesus reminds us also that we can have His peace override whatever else may be trying to disrupt our peace.
If you just got visited by these two unwelcome visitors, ignore them; they can only bother you if you pay attention to them. In times like these, we need to focus on who we are and what we have in Christ. As children of an Almighty God, we are always loved, shielded, and protected and have at our disposal always such things as joy, peace, love, comfort, and assurance, just to name a few. Like Alfred E Neuman of the Mad Comics of long ago, we can say: “Me worry? Heck no!”
Memory verse for the week: (Proverbs 16:11) Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of His making.
