Perhaps you, too, have noticed that many folks these days are quite anxious about their circumstances. Well, we shouldn’t be surprised as many of our rights as citizens are be taken away under the premise of emergency measures.
We all face anxious times and anxious moments in one way or another as we deal with personal and business relationships being stifled by this COVID-19 virus and its variant onslaughts.
Yes, I, too, have anxious moments, but I’ve found the Answer to remove anxiety — God’s Word and His promises.
In a nutshell, the Answer is Jesus, our Savior and Lord!
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus proclaims “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Our anxieties may seem quite burdensome and difficult to carry around through life. The good news is we can give them to our Lord and allow Him to carry them for us.
Let me share an observation from The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis — Volume III: “A great many people (not you) do now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself meritorious. I don’t think it is. We must, if it so happens, give our lives for others: but even while we’re doing it, I think we’re meant to enjoy Our Lord and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, our jokes, and the birds’ song and the frosty sunrise.”
Yes, we would be wise to keep our circumstances in perspective. In John 16:33, we can also find comfort in these words of Christ: “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.”
As we all face inflationary concerns and numerous other challenges in our business and personal lives, it seems appropriate to realize just how little control we actually have in all that’s going down these days.
Even our corporate efforts are limited and it seems as though the walls are closing in all around us. The sensation of being trapped like a rodent obviously builds anxiousness. Promoting fear seems to be an ongoing tactic of those who want to control every aspect of our very existence.
One of my favorite Scripture verses is 2 Timothy 1:7. The Apostle Paul wisely shares with his young protégé and all who read God’s Word, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
That’s a verse worthy of memorization. Here’s my interpretation of these meaningful words. The Deceiver wants us to have a timid, noneffective spirit, while the Holy Spirit gives all believers a powerful, loving and disciplined spirit that pleases our Heavenly Father.
So, if you want to be victorious and overcome the attempts of those who follow the ways of deception and demise, you need to call upon the Lord of Hosts to strengthen you and remove the snare that keeps many in captivity.
If you’ve never submitted to Christ as Savior and Lord, I suggest you do it soon. He will gladly accept your humble, repentant plea for forgiveness and come alongside you this day forward.
In Psalm 30:5, we are assured “Joy comes in the morning.”
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrategies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.