How to Have Peace of Mind in Troubled TimesSample

Day 3: You Were Not Made to Worry

We have noted previously that in Luke 21:26, Jesus described one of the things that would be happening in the end times. He said, “Men’s hearts [would be] failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth....”

Indeed, we are living in desperate, troubling times, which is why we really need to guard what we are watching and listening to. If you’re watching so much news that it’s stealing your peace, you need to turn it off.

A practical and biblical test to always measure your thoughts by is found in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Make no mistake: Worrying is not going to change or improve your situation. The only thing it will do is magnify the problem in your mind and make you feel even more overwhelmed than ever.

But God doesn’t want us to live like that. He makes this clear in 1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

In this passage, the word “casting” is a compound of two Greek words, which means to hurl, to throw, to cast, or to throw or to fling something with great force. Instead of worrying, God wants us to fling our cares upon Jesus because we are not designed to carry the burden of worry, fretting, and anxiety. It’s simply too much for the human body to tolerate.

We may be able to manage it for a while, but eventually, the physical body and mind will begin to break under this type of perpetual pressure. In fact, the medical world has confirmed that the major source of sickness in the Western Hemisphere is stress and pressure. The body breaks down when it undergoes these negative influences for too long because man is simply not fashioned to carry them. If you are struggling with sickness or depression, your condition could very possibly be related to stress and pressure.

Rather than carry the weight of worry, anxiety, and pressure that is breaking us down and emotionally distressing us, we are supposed to cast it over onto the Lord. In fact, in 1 Peter 5:7, it is almost as if Jesus is calling out to us and saying: “Your shoulders are not big enough to carry the burdens you are trying to bear by yourself. This load will eventually break you, so please let ME be your beast of burden! Take that load and heave it with all your might. Fling it over onto MY back, and let ME carry it for you!”

This doesn’t mean all your problems go away. It just means they are transferred off of you and onto the shoulders of Jesus. He is walking alongside you, offering to carry the load. If you heave your load onto Him, you will move out of a lack of peace and come out from under the weight and pressure of anxiety, worry, and trying to figure everything out on your own.

You don’t have to carry the whole weight of the world by yourself. Jesus loves you so much and is so deeply concerned about you and the difficulties you are facing that He is calling out to you right now and is saying: “Roll those burdens over onto Me and let Me carry them for you so you can be free!” He is interested in every facet of your life. He’s thoughtful and concerned for you in your situation, and that is why He is pleading to you through this verse, “Let Me be your beast of burden! Heave it over onto Me. I will carry it for you, and you can be free of it all.”

If you are lugging around worries, cares, and concerns about your family, your business, your church, or any other area of your life, why not stop right now and say, “Jesus, I’m yielding every one of these concerns to You today. I cast my burden on You, and I thank You for setting me free!”

For Your Consideration:

1. The Bible gives us the command to cast all of our cares upon the Lord. Take a few moments to be still in God’s presence and ask what pressures, stresses, anxieties, and worries you are trying to carry on your own.
2. Is there something specific that always seems to be entering your mind? Take a moment to decide if this thought matches the description in Philippians 4:8. If it doesn’t, cast it on Jesus.