| March 1, 2022 -- The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds…. Philippians 4:7
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You…. Isaiah 26:3
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble…. Matthew 6:31-34
I present you with a paradox; if you strive for happiness and contentment, your striving will prevent you from obtaining it. But if instead you strive for justice and righteousness, and for the well- being of all God’s people, you are more likely to find inner peace. I’m not saying that you should not plan on providing for the physical needs of your family and yourself, but rather that you should not let that planning drift into the realm of fretting and worrying.
But you may say, “what if my plans don’t work out?” See, now your plans have shifted into worrying. If one’s plans don’t work out then one comes up with new plans, without worrying about what didn’t work out or other what ifs. One must live in the present without mulling over what went wrong in the past or fretting over what may come.
Sometimes life is hard, hard for you or for others. When others have problems reach out to them to ease them over their difficulties. Helping others and showing love for others, even strangers, will have a welcome byproduct of keeping you from worrying about yourself, and aid in bringing inner peace. But be careful again to avoid worrying about other people’s problems. This can be almost as destructive to inner peace as worrying about your own problems. Do what you can to help and then be satisfied that you have done what you could. In all cases learn to put into God’s hands both your problems and those of others.
Finally remember the words from the Overseer’s charge in the third degree of our order: “Cultivate the habit of looking for better and brighter days instead of mourning over the past” and “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” |
