Perfect Peace

I recently read a journal entry from a time I went through pain, uncertainty, and stress. As I reflected on this, I began recognizing the effect of low-level anxiety on our relationship with God. It seems in my life there is a correlation between times when I give into anxiety and a patch of spiritual dryness. I often experience these things simultaneously, or a patch of spiritual dryness foreshadows struggles with feeling anxious.

We all deal with feeling anxious in one way or another and to different extents. For some, this can be crippling and on their mind every moment. This often requires seeking counsel and professional help. For others, it can be much milder and scarcer. Yet, the similarity between these two situations is that anxiety is present. Everyone faces it. In a way, there is nothing new about the presence of anxiety. In fact, the KJV Bible uses the phrase “fear not” over 350 times. This has been an issue since Adam and Eve in the garden, and it’s not new to humanity. As humans, our natural tendency is to fear. It’s counterintuitive to turn to God. It takes deliberate effort to work out of that “anxious” rut.

The truth is, feeling anxious only binds us. It binds us to uncertainty. It binds us to fear. It binds us to pain. It binds us to stress. Freedom is a consistent theme in the Christian church—not physical freedom per se, but mental. Anxiety holds us from that freedom. As Christians, feeling anxious can keep us from experiencing one of the key themes of our redemption in Christ. There is no freedom in anxiety.

To worry is to have our eyes off the Savior. When our eyes fall from the Savior, we forget what we experience when we are near Him. That fear often stems from our refusal to fully submit our burdens and fears to the Savior. When we see the Savior, we see His providence as He picks up our burdens and releases our anxious feelings so we can live free and unabandoned for Him.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

With eyes on the Savior—trusting Him—we are promised perfect peace. The peace that worry and anxiousness attempt to give but never do. The peace that only the Savior can provide. The peace that surpasses all life’s circumstances.

We tend to skim over the Savior’s promises of peace. In the moment, we think those promises of peace can’t be fulfilled for me. I am the exception. Yet, it is quite the opposite. You have a Father who sees you and says, my child—the one who struggles with anxiety over health, over family issues, over their future—is the one I want to fulfill my promise of perfect peace in today.

Today, turn your eyes upon Jesus because the things of this world—the worries, anxieties, and uncertainties—will grow strangely dim, and perfect peace will surround you.

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of TeenPact Leadership Schools. To learn more about our Vision & Values, please visit teenpact.com/vision-values/.