I’m not going to let worry…rule my life. It seems to me that if a man is going to get anywhere in this life, he’d better start for somewhere, and have something definite in mind.”
–Louis L’Amour (Chancy)
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
–1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
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Postmodernism will say that you can give your opinion on what the Bible says. Well, that may be true, but only to a point. You can give your opinion but that does not change the truth of what is written. If you want the Holy Spirit to work in your life and have a quiet, still, confident soul then you must take the Bible in its own way and accept it on its own terms.
There are no shortcuts when dealing with God. He demands total allegiance. Because of that you cannot interpret the Bible any way you want. You cannot take things out of the Word that do not suit your thoughts and opinions. The Word of God must be taken without any modification or qualification.
People also strive to do their own thing and will find that does not bring a calmness to the soul either. Only seeking after righteousness will the blessing of a sweet spirit begin to happen. People think that happiness is in things or doing things; perhaps finding the right type of entertainment will bring a stillness to the soul. No so. You must seek God, see the fundamental principles found in His Word.
If your heart is troubled, that means you are not truly believing in God and His Word. You might find yourself in one of these situations:
1) Mature Christians will live triumphantly. Sure they may have problems and even fall into sin, but they will overcome because of the Spirit that lives within them. True happiness, joy, and peace were not disturbed by the what they had to endure.
2) Refusing to think just evades the problem. Escapism is not the answer, whatever that may be.
3) You cannot believe in part of God, but every facet of who and what God is. You cannot pick and choose which character trait of God not to believe in.
4) God is in charge; God controls everything and there is nothing that happens apart from Him. No, He does not cause everything, but He will allow all.
Because God is in control nothing then is impossible with Him. If you do not believe this then you will never come to know a quiet heart. You must believe what He says about life and eternity. Lloyd-Jones says, “It is still His world; He has not turned His back upon it. He is not allowing it to sin itself into utter hopelessness; He comes into it.” He is the God who is there. Therefore, blessing or cursing depends solely upon whether our lives are lived in accordance with His way and plan, whether we live in obedience or not. (see Deuteronomy 11)
This should give us hope and confidence. Nothing can happen to us apart from God. “If you really believe in God, anything that may happen to you will drive you nearer to God and anything that drives you nearer to Him is a ‘good thing’ for you.” (Lloyd-Jones) Remember that sometimes God has to chastise us in order to draw us back a little bit nearer to Him, to get us to be in obedience to Him. If we truly believe in God, we commit our affairs and our lives into His almighty loving arms.
Grasp this and hold onto it: “To believe God means an utter, implicit confidence in what He has said about Himself and in what He has said about what He will do.” (Lloyd-Jones)