“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)

Let’s face it – life here on this planet can be messy and hard. There are twists and turns in our personal life that can throw everything into chaos, and that’s BEFORE you look at the news!

Satan has a multi-level plan for mankind:

His first goal is to make sure as few people as possible have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

But for those who do commit their lives to Christ, he wants to make sure they never really rest in Him or make it far down the road of discipleship.

Fear, turmoil and anxiety caused by very real problems in our lives help him accomplish those goals.

But there is one weapon we have and that is to control how we respond to those events. Trust me, I am not saying that we will never get angry, upset or fearful, but I am saying that how we respond will set us apart from the world.

We don’t just do this overnight – much like telling a child to “just stop crying” or telling someone who is upset/angry to “just calm down” there is sometimes no magic switch to flip to turn off those emotions. It is a learned reflex that takes time, and take spending time in the Word, time in Prayer and time developing the reflexive ability to carry Jesus with you throughout the day, rather than spending time with Him in the morning and then putting Him aside to go on with your day.

Jesus also knew this would be hard and he wasn’t just speaking empty words, or telling us to just calm down. He wants His peace to be in and through you as you go about living life.

“… the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63)

We are to be the masters of our flesh, not the other way around.

Christ was intimately aware of how life here can be difficult. That is why he told us “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Choose today to take control of your response to the events around you. Not on your own strength, but by using the peace that only comes from knowing Him, and resting secure when we develop eyes for eternity. Look for ways to give God the credit for what will seem to others as unnatural peace and joy as we have this not from our own strength but from Him.