Have Peace in These Troubling Times

Have Peace in These Troubling Times 

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not troubled. Lord God, You are my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. I will enter my chambers, and shut my door behind me; hide myself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, You, Lord, come out of Your place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. My life is hidden with Christ in You, Lord God. I will not be afraid of evil tidings; my heart is steadfast, trusting in You, Lord. Jesus has spoken to me, that in Him I may have peace. In the world I will have tribulation; but I will be of good cheer, for You have overcome the world. You are my peace and hope, Lord God, my Refuge and my Strength—and I praise You. MATTHEW 24:6; PSALM 46:1–3; ISAIAH 26:20–21; PSALM 57:1; COLOSSIANS 3:3; PSALM 112:7; JOHN 16:33. 

Dr. David Jeremiah Life-changing Moments with God 

This morning I was awakened from a nightmare.  Wasn't a gruesome one or anything but fear was definitely a part of the experience.  

Yesterday, talking with someone, I felt compelled to talk about the truth of God in that He didn't give us a Spirit of fear. 

So many are going back and forth in and out of fear about government corruption and controlling the people.  In a world where if you are buying or selling anything, have a record of purchasing anything, they already know how to control you. They already are tracking you.  Fearing the obvious isn't going to do anything to provide peace of mind.  You cannot look into any aspects of the world to find peace. 

Jesus is the one who promised to provide peace that passes all understanding.  You cannot spend even trillions of dollars to find it. You could even have a fictional Holodeck from Star Trek, having every single dream or fantasy come true, you would still soon realize the same thing that Scotty said in the episode "Relics".  He found that no matter how hard he tried, it wasn't real. That you can't live in the past either. Even make believe isn't going to get you anywhere. 

Fears can be very real.  My nightmare was very real to me.  It jumped me right out of a sound sleep.  The imagery was so much still in my mind that I couldn't return to sleep.  It wasn't real but it wasn't going away. 

Fearing this whole world situation isn't going to gain you or I anything.  (I have to be careful of how I word myself due to how Facebook sees things.)

You can think that your actions can curtail the perception of control of your actions by others, but in reality it's not really going to.   Is what we see the events of the book of Revelation? No. Not yet.  It's coming. 

As I shared with this person yesterday, Satan is not creative. He only retries what has worked before.  He keeps on trying to manipulate mankind to get what he is after, which is God's Throne.  The world is imminently influenced by Satan.  But he is severely restricted.  The Holy Spirit constrains him. Only permitting so much. Never allowing him to go outside the will of God the Father.  That Scripture is always fulfilled.  Satan too is constrained by Scripture.  When the Rapture occurs, for the most part the Holy Spirit will step aside. The wrath of God will be unleashed upon the Earth.  Satan will start deceiving mankind in ways unseen since before the Genesis flood. Lies will become the truth to those living in that 7 years. These experiments we see happening today with people will indeed be played out to become what many are fearing right now. 

But in Christ, we are told not to fear. He has overcome the world.  He soundly defeated Satan through His death, burial and resurrection. He always sees the entirety of history and knows how all this ends.  In Christ we should live for Jesus. Should not let what man COULD do drive us into isolation.  As Scripture also says what can man do to me?  For those who are saved, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Close your eyes here and open them again in the presence of Jesus. Nothing to fear in death. 

Fear is Satan's most viable weapon.  Fear of losing, fear of taking something or someone away. Fear of the truth, fear of finding out lies. Fear of being in need, fear of what to do with much. 

Greed, dishonesty, envy, all the others that he uses are as bad, but fear is Satan's most used weapon. Causing believers to not move or live as God intended. Causing believers to not pray, because we pray, he has to obey what Jesus decrees. Causing believers to not read their Bible. Causing them to be afraid to speak up when the Spirit prompts them.  Causing them to be afraid of praying out loud. 

In Christ we have nothing to fear.  We cannot add one fraction of a second to our lives by living in fear.  We have no say in when our time is up on this Earth.  We can shorten it by living in disobedience, but never lengthen it. 

Re-read that opening prayer again from Dr. David Jeremiah.  Realize the truth that is in the words and make it YOUR prayer.