Ask God: Seek the peace of God. Know that you are not alone, and God has not left you without help. He has given us a better way. Isaiah 26:3 says: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3).

Good Evening Reader,

Are you facing a difficult period in your life? Either you have or will have problems you must solve in the life on earth. We will discuss some of the lessons learned.

May God Bless you this day.

Elvin

Peace Comes When Our Minds Are Stayed on God

Introduction: When Peace Feels Far Away

Every believer knows what it feels like to lose their peace. You love the Lord. You pray, and you go to church, yet some nights your mind will not stop racing.

Bob knows that feeling. Last month his doctor called and said a test needed a second look. The next appointment was two weeks away, and for two weeks Bob thought about it almost every minute.

Maybe your trouble is not a call from the doctor. It may be money, family problems, or a future you cannot see. The problem is not happening every minute, but we think about it every minute.

That is how anxiety grows. Our minds replay what already happened. Then they jump ahead to what might happen next.

Before long, we fear things that have not even happened. Underneath it all is a quiet question: "If I trust God, why don't I feel peace?" That question can leave us feeling weak or even guilty.

But you are not alone, and God has not left you without help. He has given us a better way. Isaiah 26:3 says: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3).

Notice the promise. God does not say trouble will never come. He says He will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed (set) on Him.

So the real question is not whether hard times will come. They will. The question is, where will we keep our minds when they come? Here are steps that I found that helped me restore the peace of God.

I want to share some of the thoughts and feelings I felt when my wife was diagnosed with dementia. It is one of the most difficult times I have experienced. I knew Jesus Christ was my future, and in the end, all would work for the glory of God. Through much prayer and meditation on God's Word, I fought the devil's attacks. Even though I knew the source of the attacks, I still had to fight the negative thoughts and fears that flowed into my mind.

My prayer is that what I have found to help me will help you in your times of trouble. It was (and is) like riding a roller coaster of emotions. Some days were better than others. But knowing the source of the negative thoughts helped me to face each day because, with God's help, I would survive the attacks. I would never say it was easy, but prayer and the power of God continue to pull me through. I often thought of what Paul wrote to Timothy. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

My hope comes from knowing what lies ahead for my wife, me, and all believers. Hope is like seeing the lighthouse in the distance. It is knowing that our future will be alright, with better days ahead.

Change What You Think About

When troubled thoughts came, my first response was to think about the problem. Some of the thoughts that raced through my mind were:

• What does all this mean?
• What if this gets worse?
• What am I going to do?
• What will happen tomorrow?

The more I thought about the problem, the bigger it grew in my mind. But I soon learned I could not just tell myself, "Stop thinking about it."

Try it. If someone says, "Don't think about a red apple," what happens? You picture a red apple right away.

Our minds need something to think about. So the answer is not to empty our minds. The answer is to fill them with something better, and that something is the truth of God's Word.

Paul gives us a simple guide:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

Here is how that works when trouble talks to you:

• When fear says, "I don't know what is going to happen," God's Word says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
• When anxiety says, "I am facing this alone," God's Word says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
• When the future looks unclear, God's Word says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

We cannot always control what happens around us. But we can choose what fills our minds.

Think of a heavy backpack. The longer you carry it, the heavier it feels. Troubling thoughts work the same way, and we often carry a problem long after the moment has passed.

God's Word lets us set that backpack down. When a troubling thought comes, trade it for God's truth.

Replace Fear With Faith in God's Word

Fear can make something that has not happened feel like it already has. Have you ever worried about something that never happened? Most of us have.

We can spend hours picturing problems that may never come. But the Bible reminds us: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Fear does not have to rule us as believers. Instead, God gives us power, love, and a sound mind. This Scripture was one I leaned on and planted in my heart. Paul is telling us that fear does not come from God but from the devil. Knowing the source of fear gave me strength to face each day.

Picture a ship caught in a storm at night. The captain cannot stop the waves or calm the wind. But he can look for the lighthouse.

The lighthouse does not remove the storm. It gives the captain something steady to focus on until he gets through it.

God's Word is our lighthouse. Our circumstances change, but God's Word does not. Worldly thoughts are temporary, but God's Word is eternal. The light is our hope of what lies ahead.

When we only look at what is around us, our peace rises and falls with our problems. When we look to God's Word, we are looking at something that never moves. That is why prayer and Scripture matter so much in hard times. They stabilize our lives.

I found it helpful that when troubling thoughts came, I would ask these questions:

1. What are the thoughts I am having right now?
2. Is this fear based on something that is actually happening?
3. What does God's Word say about this?
4. Which promise from Scripture can I hold on to instead?

The objective is to include God in the solutions. It helps to pray Scripture back to God. The situation may still be hard. The difference is that you are no longer facing it with your eyes only on the problem. You are facing it with your mind on God.

Fear looks at the problem. Faith looks at God.

Be Still Long Enough to Hear God

Sometimes our minds are so busy that we cannot hear anything clearly. There is the noise of our problems, the news, our phones, and our duties. On top of that, there are the negative thoughts running through our heads.

We can get so busy trying to figure everything out that we forget to be still before God. Yet the Lord says:

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

Being still is not the same as doing nothing. It means turning our attention away from the noise and toward God.

I have discovered that the way to find peace is by silence and stillness. Silence comes by finding a quiet place—like your prayer closet—where you will not be disturbed by everyday external distractions. Close the door, shut off the phone, and be receptive to communion with God.

Stillness is an internal calming of the mind. Our minds tend to bounce around from thought to thought. Take several deep breaths and feel your body relax. This may not come easily to some, but with practice you will feel your body letting go of tension. Now, feel the presence of God and listen for His still, small voice.

Imagine trying to listen to a radio station while driving through an area of poor reception, and all you hear is static. The station is still playing, but the static makes it hard to hear. Unfortunately, this is how we live our lives: God is speaking to us, but we are unable to hear Him.

So, now that I know how to be quiet and still, what do I do?

• Set aside time daily to pray.
• Read God's Word.
• Think about what you read. Let it settle inside you.
• Ask God for wisdom.
• Then be still and listen.

Don't rush. Don't spend the whole time talking. Give God's Word time to speak to your heart.

The goal is not just to feel better for a few minutes. The goal is to know God more clearly and to understand His will. When we are in God's will and using our gifts to glorify Him, we begin to sense His presence.

When we are still before God, we begin to see our problems differently. The problem may still be there. But now we see it while remembering who God is. The presence of God calms our spirit and allows us to connect with the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion: Our Hope Is Secure in Jesus Christ

Hard times are part of life on this earth. Every believer will face fear, worry, and days that feel uncertain. The Bible never promises a life without problems, but God does promise to be with us in the middle of them.

Look again at Isaiah 26:3. A mind stayed on God leads to trust. Trust in God leads to peace.

So when life gets hard, remember the plan:

1. Change what you think about. Trade troubling thoughts for God's truth.
2. Replace fear with faith. Fear looks at what might happen. Faith looks at who God is.
3. Be still before God. Slow down to pray, think on Scripture, and listen.

If we skip these steps, our peace will rise and fall with every phone call and every bill. If we take them, we can stand steady even when the storm is still blowing. That is what Bob found as he spent those two weeks praying through God's promises instead of replaying his fears.

Our greatest hope is not just that today's problem will go away. Our greatest hope is that our future is safe in Jesus Christ. He told His followers: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

Your health may change. Your money may change. People may change, and the future may look unclear. But "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). We may not always understand what or why things are happening, but we can always know that Christ is with us through thick and thin.

Jesus has already won the victory. He said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Because He lives, our tomorrow is in good hands. We, too, will overcome the world.

Knowing God holds my future has helped me move through this difficult period. Yes, it is difficult for the moment, but my and our eternal future is bright and cheery.

So when your mind fills with trouble, turn it toward God. When fear speaks, answer it with God's Word. When life gets noisy, be still before Him.

You do not have to know what tomorrow holds to have peace today. You only need to know the One who holds tomorrow. His name is Jesus.

Elvin

Send your comments to elvin@AskGodFor.com and let me know what you think of the lessons.

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