I don’t have much stress. In fact, I leave enough margins in our schedule that I am rarely harried or in a crisis mode. I am usually composed in my very organized life. I should feel I’ve arrived and attained what I wanted, right? Am I not content with a purpose?
Yet, somehow a sense of guilt had crept into my consciousness. “There is no way life can be this good,” I heard a whisper, “you must be missing a crisis or two.”
Just the other day, my older daughter was looking to print out some pictures for an animal report. She did a study on the cheetah. While our hearts melted with the oohs and aahs over the pictures of baby cheetahs, she showed us a picture of an adult cheetah chasing after a deer.
“You have to include this picture?” I cast a side-eye at my daughter in disbelief.
Then a Bible verse flashed through my mind.
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
There is danger in living a complacent, unhurried life. We let our guard down, and we let the devil in to mess around with our head.
For some time now I have thought too much talk about the devil would make Christians seem out of touch with the world. I felt in order to engage and win over the atheists and agnostics we must speak intellectually – with reason and logic. We must embrace progress and not dismiss science. I tried to distance myself from the ideas that devils are constantly on our case.
But how many times does our President have to tweet out the words “pure evil” within a year of taking office? While an atheist vehemently explains away the concept of God, seldom do we hear anyone that wants to debate the non-existence of evil.
Perhaps, evil is real. Perhaps, there is a roaring lion that prowls around seeking a helpless prey.
Many of us have done well to control life and circumstances to avoid unnecessary trouble. Yet, when we leave wide open the gateway of our mind, thoughts would gush in without filter. Facts are mixed with half-truths, half-truths mixed with partial lies, partial lies then lead to paranoia. Suddenly, we lose our sanity and peace. We end up meditating on the half-truths and lies…a practice we call WORRY.
“Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing the same thing only focusing on God’s Word instead of your problem.” (Rick Warren)
Last Sunday I learned a fundamental truth. We are what we eat, and it includes what we feed our bodies and what we feed our minds.
I decided that I needed to saturate my mind with the Word of God, and it has to be absolutely intentional. I printed out Bible verses and put them up on the wall. I read them out loud throughout the day. What a difference it made in just one day! I was able to shut out thoughts that trigger fear, thoughts that tear down others, and thoughts that are unproductive and a waste of time.
The few verses I meditated on all have this familiar refrain:
I am with you.
I will go before you.
I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Why should I fear or fret when I have the God of the Universe with me? The power lies in the word WITH. He is WITH me. He is WITH you. He is WITH us.
No amount of positive thinking can replace the power of WITH. Without knowing Jesus personally, we are not WITH anyone…only with our lonely, defenseless self.
“There is no way life can be this good.”
Really? I now have an answer. Life can only be this good because of the power of WITH. God is WITH me – whether there is a crisis or not.
Our aim in life is not to avoid trouble or wait for hardship to pass. Our aim in life is to know God and know that He longs to be WITH us.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)