As we embark upon a new year, we are faced by myriad of circumstances that attest to the fact that we are living in dark times. The world we live in is broken , in fact the world has been broken for thousands of years, and just the names of the evil empires have changed over the millennia. (Babylonians,Romans, Greeks, Persians, right up to Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and the latest New World Order Oligarchs)
“The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble.” Psalm 46:6
We are surrounded by a sea of oppressive problems, and the fabric of our Republic, along with it’s moral freedoms, has been shredded from within. If we gaze too long at the myriad of problems, we will sink under the weight of our burdens. Every day brings new difficulties, and we busy ourselves with trying to anticipate what is ahead of us. Invariably, we focus so intently on what is ahead, we forget that the Lord is with us, now and always. Rehearsing our future troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas we are meant to go through them only when they actually occur.
Do not multiply your suffering in this way! Instead, do this:
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
By sharing and entrusting your cares and worries with Him, you enable Him to strengthen you and prepare you for this day, and and to assure that He will be with you also for the future that is so dark looking. And by the time that those future worries reach you, they will have shrunk to proportions of His design.
”Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for everything He has done. Then you will experience God’s Peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His Peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
And as we turn our cares and worries over to the Lord in this way, let us also resolve (A new year’s resolution!) to change the way we think.
The mainstream media strives to fill our lives and our minds with negativity and darkness, to take away our hope for a decent future for ourselves and our families. They want us to fail, and succumb to the concept of a godless and “big brother-ish” One World Government of fewer freedoms and less individualism. That has been the goal of every one of the “empires” mentioned a few paragraphs ago…And you know how each of those empires fared:
They all failed!!
So let all of us resolve to remember : We are what we think!
”And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me-everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of Peace will be with you.” Paul writing to the Philippians in Philippians 4:8-9
Problems come and go..there will always be problems in this broken world. But the Lord is always with me, giving me His Peace and Grace, as long as I’m focusing on Him, which enables me to avoid the distractions of the evil one.
My Prayer for you all today…A prayer I said many years ago…
Lord, thank you for the peace and grace you give me for this day. Lord, for so many years I carried the heavy yoke of my problems on my shoulders. Lord, thank you for taking my heavy burdens and replacing them with a yoke of peace that is far lighter and easier to carry.
