A Life of Peace

The following was written by Dr. Charles Stanley, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, and printed as the Feb. 25th, 2014 devotional of In Touch Magazine. It applies very well to any man dealing with prostate disease.

“Your home offers protection from the elements. So when a storm rolls in, you seek shelter within the safety of those four walls. The same principle applies to life’s storms. If we’ve built a solid house on a foundation of faith, then we’ve got a haven to run to when dark clouds gather and anxiety threatens to overwhelm us.

Let’s suppose a problem” (such as prostate cancer) “is worrying you, and your stomach is in knots. Friends and family try to be understanding,” but they have never experienced a similar diagnosis. “You are so focused on the issue that it feels as if your shoulders are bearing a heavy weight. Now listen to the liberating alternative God offers: ‘Cast your burden upon [Me] and [I] will sustain you’ ( Psalm 55:22). He doesn’t erase the ills that invade this life. Instead, He shields us from the weight of worry by taking situations into His own hands.

However, the call to a free and peaceful life goes unheeded unless a person has confidence in the Lord. Trust is built through relationship—praying during daily trials and triumphs, seeking biblical guidance for decisions, and testing God’s Word to see that it is true and practical. That’s how a house of faith is constructed brick by brick on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

A believer who trusts in the Lord receives the peace that Isaiah 26:3-4 promises. ‘The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because He trusts in Thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God, the Lord, we have an everlasting rock.’  But unshakeable peace isn’t instantaneous; it is cultivated through a consistent relationship with God. A lifestyle of dependence upon Him is the key to weathering storms with supernatural calm.

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