“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Matthew 6:27 NLT
Everything seemed so bright. We had a wonderful life, complete with happy kids, good salaries, and a hopeful future. But with one crisis after another, that life faded away, leaving behind a pile of debt, unemployment, arguments, and so much anxiety.
What happened to my life, God? Did we do something wrong? Tell me what kind of magic-button prayer will get us out of this mess!
I cried every day. I begged God to rescue us from the land of uncertainty and give us back our old life. I coped with the only strategy I knew: worrying. I thought I could protect myself from more pain if I imagined all the worst-case scenarios in advance: What if we can’t pay this month’s bills or the medical test? What if we need a new transmission? What if our life never gets better? However, obsessing over my “what if” worries didn’t make me feel better. Instead, I felt worse!
Maybe you’re like me, faced with an uncertain season of life and stuck in the middle of hardship or heartache. Jesus understands. Jesus knew one day His closest friends would be fearful of the future and worries would overwhelm their hearts and minds. So, before His death, He made this promise: “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 NLT).
The peace Jesus gives provides supernatural calm in the midst of chaos and hardship. It’s the kind of peace we absolutely need when we’re not sure what will happen next.
It took a few years of stressed-out days and sleepless nights for me to learn to surrender my worrying ways in favor of Jesus’s peace. Though our difficult season continued, God was faithful to remind me of His promised peace.
We can rest assured that God’s promise doesn’t have an expiration date. It never runs empty. And when our “what if” worries try to steal our calm, we are only a prayer away from unshakable faith and receiving shalom from the Prince of Peace.
by Barb Roose, as published in 100 Days of Strength in Any Struggle
Pray with us.
On the first Sunday of every month, we make space to intentionally pray for one another. Do you feel like Barb today, asking, What happened to my life, God? Are you in desperate need of the peace Jesus promises? Share your heart in the comments, then pause to pray for another sister.
Together we will encounter the Prince of Peace.
Leave a Comment
Thank you for the encouragement! I too am in a season of medical struggles and financial hardship. I am trying to focus on gratitude, and trusting that God will provide. In Susie Larson’s book, Fully Alive, she suggests that God is teaching us lessons that we need to learn through our struggles and to remain hopeful in all things! Excellent read! God bless!
Dear Father, I want to come pray for Linda, may she be so aware of Your love for her in this season, amidst her current trials. May she experience that peace that goes beyond all understanding and a supernatural joy. I come trust with her for Your provision and breakthrough and healing at the right time, but thank You, like she said, that there is great purpose in this time and that You are working it together for Your good. In Jesus name, Amen.
This article is so encouraging, I am also in a space where I am struggling with my health and friendships, and grieving how things used to be. I would like to ask prayer for true surrender and help to trust God with all of my heart in this season.
God I pray for blessing of Christ loving friends for Barbara. For the Holy Spirit to help Barbara how to fully surrender her worries, life and love to you. Please provide your amazing peace over Barbara her family and her life which only you can give. In Jesus precious name I ask these things, Amen
Please pray for healing of my health, calming of my anxiety to disappear and to grow so deep in my relationship with Christ. Also that we are able to get this loan so we can finish our renovation it has been so very long. Thank you.
Dear Lord, I pray for total healing for Jas this morning, body, mind and emotions. Ler her surrender fully to You and fill her with Your peace so that she may fully live out her calling in You. We also pray that you make a way for her family to finish the renovation they have begun, and that You would be glorified through all of this. Thank you, Jesus!
Please pray for my son, Justin, who’s going through some tough tribulations. Please pray for him to know God is always with him. Pray for him to get guidance and encouragement from the Holy Spirt. In Jesus name Amen
I lift up Diane’s son in prayer to you Lord. Teach him your ways, to trust in you, to receive your peace.
In Jesus name, Amen
After my husband’s death, I made the difficult decision to leave my home, friends, and church family to move to another state to be close to my surviving son and his family. In the last five years the Lord has blessed me with a good home, a new church family, friends, and opportunities to spend time with my family and make memories with my grandsons. But as you described, my son’s life fell apart and he is without his very good job, separated from his wife, and will most likely be moving to another city for employment. I am 71 and don’t want to start over, again. My son’s anxiety from his situation became crippling and damaging to his family relationships. I am so grateful that we have hope from the Lord and are looking forward to what he has planned for us. I am grateful for every blessing and that we can turn to the Lord during these trying times. My close friend has prayed for us and my son’s situation. I do understand what it feels like when the blessings that you are enjoying disappear without warning.
Jan I’m lifting you and your son’s situation up in prayer this morning. May you feel his peace and comfort as you navigate these times. Praying for you sister.
Please pray for ultimate healing in my back which has gone on far too long and for the awful anxiety that accompanies the pain. I cherish the prayers.