Anxiety Again

Anxiety can seem to swamp peace. Psalm 94:19 says, "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul" (NAS).

What consolations might we have from Him?

We can look at His Word in Isaiah 51 to begin with: "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of a man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass? That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you fear continually all day long because of the oppressor, as he has made ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?" (verses 12-13; NAS).

We need to remember this from Psalm 27: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?" (verse 1; NAS).

And this passage from Paul's letter to the Romans: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE COUNTED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( 8:35-39; NAS).

We conquer our anxieties, not in our own strength but through Him who loved us--our light, salvation, defense. When we take our eyes off Him, we fear unnecessarily, as seemed to be the case in Isaiah.

We need to continue to do what the writer of Hebrews directs: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith" (12:2a; NAS).

We need to remember what James wrote: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4; NAS).

Of course, we need the following words, too:

Paul, writing to the Philippians: "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (4:5b-7; NAS).

Jesus, regarding provisions, in Matthew 6: "Do not worry, then, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (verses 31-34; NAS).

Jesus, regarding His presence, in Matthew 28:20: "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"; in John 14:25-27:  "These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you; Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful"; and John 16:33, just before His high priestly prayer in John 17: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (all references NAS).

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of these truths: "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He Himself has said, 'I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,' so that we confidently say, 'THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID; WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" (13:5-6; NAS).

Keeping Him, His promises, His presence, in mind and heart will always help when we encounter those many anxieties and replace them with His peace.

Peace, Part 3

As I stated in part 1, peace is something we all want, but usually demand it on our terms. Only One could both lay out the terms of peace, both vertically and horizontally, and make peace possible.

Such peace is something our hearts yearn for, but it can be had only on God's terms. Grind your teeth at that thought? He isn't obligated to make peace with rebels such as we are. That He deigns to offer peace should cause us to agree to the terms, whatever they are.

What astounds me is that He not only has determined the terms, but seen to it that they are already fulfilled. How could that be? A holy God and a far-from-holy person have nothing in common.

That is why a gracious and merciful God decided on His own to bring about the Incarnation, giving His only Son to live a life that would fulfill all the requirements of the Law and then suffer the death of a criminal. God, having raised Christ from the dead, verifies and authenticates His acceptance of this sacrifice.

This salvation is for both Jew and Gentile alike. As Paul wrote to the Romans regarding Abraham and his faith: "But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (4:23-5:5; ESV).

Read Romans 5:1-2 again: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God" (NAS).

Ephesians 2:14-16: "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by having put to death the enmity" (NAS).

In Romans, we learn that peace comes as a result of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is also the source of that faith, and grace, and we seek it as a response to glorify God.

In Ephesians, we learn how He makes that peace possible (chapter 2), and then how it becomes manifest through His indwelling Spirit (chapter 5).

In Ephesians, we also learn that peace ends enmity with both God and others.

Who doesn't want this? The terms have been both made and met for this peace.

Repentant faith will make it yours.

Peace, Part 2

In Matthew 5:9, Jesus proclaimed, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

Yet in Matthew 10, He would make this startling statement: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD" (Matthew 10:34-36).

Certainly this would have been one statement that pierced His mother's heart as Simeon had prophesied, recorded in Luke 2:34-35.

Certainly this has been the experience of many families since Jesus made this statement.

What did He promise in terms of peace for those who experienced such enemies in their earthly families?

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" (John 14:27).

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).