“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good (encouraging) word makes it glad.”

Proverbs 12:25 AMP

The pursuit of peace and happiness has been a never-ending journey since the frit days of man. We hear the statements all the time, “If I just had that” or “If I could just…then I old have peace in my life!” The word “anxiety” in our verse today is the Hebrew word meaning “to be in emotional stress; To be in a state of worry.” The source of discomfort is in the emotions. Of course, God created us to be emotional beings. He has not however commanded us to live by those emotions! The Scripture is clear that we are to walk faith! The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth,

“So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord–7for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]– 8we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 AMP

Look at the words he uses there, “always filled,” “good courage,” “confident hope;” they are all words bounding with expectation! We must recognize though that this exuberance is not fueled by worldly gain but through the consistent and confident trust in God’s promises! Jesus told us that,

“Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] 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 afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] “

John 14:27 AMP

Again do you see it? “…Let My perfect peace calm you…” We must remember that the things of this world are passing away with the using! That is the problem with trying to find peace and stability in the things of this world. The trap of drugs, alcohol, or any addiction is that at first you only need a little. But with the continued using, the dosage needs increased because the high passes away. So deeper into the hole to reach the same fulfilment! The Apostle Paul nailed it when he wrote,

“So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 AMP

It is building our lives on the solid ground of the unchangeableness of God’s character that will allow us to live a life of peach and joy. We need to seek out the “good and encouraging word” through the Bible! It is only when God’s Word has taken deep root in our hearts that it can bring forth the fruit of peace! We needs remember that peace isn’t necessarily the absence of trouble! The Scripture is clear that troubles in life will abound. The storms of life will come beating at our door. We can however, have that quiet, confident, and stable response knowing that God in in control! I love the promise of God,

“Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I WILL NEVER [under any circumstances] DESERT YOU [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], NOR WILL I FORSAKE or LET YOU DOWN or RELAX MY HOLD ON YOU [assuredly not]!”

Hebrews 13:5 AMP

My friends let me encourage you today, God is holding you tightly in His grip! If that be the case, if God is for you, who or what can be against you! Have a peaceful day! Pastor Ken