By Pastor Naomi Mitchell
For Carter County Times
When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. Either pull out the Bible to see what God’s answer is for the situation or pull on the Word of God that you have hidden in your heart, taking it to the Lord in prayer. It’s not beneficial to just know the Word of God only, but you must practice the Word of God that you know. That is where your true peace comes from.
There will always be challenges, situations and circumstances in life. As a Christian the Bible tells us how to run this race called life. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
Be so confident in God’s plan that you don’t even get upset anymore when things don’t go your way. When God gives you a new beginning, don’t repeat old mistakes. God has already forgiven you. So why are you still carrying the guilt? No matter how lost you feel, God will guide your way. You don’t need a perfect plan when you have a perfect God leading the way. Nothing will give you greater peace than letting God be in control. What are you afraid of losing when nothing in this world belongs to you? A poor man who is close to God is richer that the wealthiest man who is far from God. Look back and thank God. Look forward and trust God. Gratitude turns what we have into enough. God has already prepared the way. He’s just preparing you through the different challenges you face each day. Believe me, we all face something most days. You get to choose how you will handle it. My friend “Roggee” always says, “don’t let others dictate to you,” and that will include circumstances and challenges. God is the one we look to in faith and trust.
I want to share something I read about what happens in just one second here on earth. Every second four babies are born and two people die. Around 2.5 million emails are sent and nearly 100,000 images are uploaded to Instagram. There are 28 football fields worth of trees cut down due to deforestation. Light travels around the globe more than seven times and in the 20 seconds or so of you reading this article the earth has received enough energy from the sun to charge your phone for nearly 20 million years, and it goes even deeper than that. The earth has traveled 230 kilometers through the galaxy every second. Someone somewhere just made a choice that will change their life forever. A lot can happen in just one second. The real question is, “What will you choose to do with the time God has given you?”
How you respond to things you can’t control really matters if you want the true peace of God. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your cares upon Him; for He cares for you.” We cast our cares upon Him by calling upon God and He will save us. Then we are to trust Him by committing our ways to the Lord. Finally, we must give it to Him with thanksgiving and rest!
Regardless of anything that causes you worry or anxiety, regardless of why or how it happened, you can choose to control your actions by throwing it over onto the shoulders of Jesus Christ. Surrendering to God, or “letting go and letting God,” involves relinquishing control and trusting in His plan even when it is difficult. He is all power and wisdom. Choose to walk and talk with Jesus every step of the way and be at peace.
Amen! So be it!
JOYFUL House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and Joyful Kids Class at 10:30am, 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
