You Are Not Alone

The Peace of God

     Hello, everyone! Welcome back. I hope you have had a great week! Today, like I had mentioned in the last article, we will be talking about peace.

     I love to talk about peace. I have dealt with a lack of peace before. I have struggled with the anxiety that eats you away. The anxiety that keeps you up until 3 in the morning for no apparent reason. I know the feeling of not having peace over a situation you don't have any control over. In fact, I still struggle with it sometimes. A year ago last month, God delivered me from the anxiety that had been attacking me for 15 months. A friend of mine did something horrible, and I blamed myself. I took their trauma, I guess you could say, and the way my brain reacted was..... anxiety. I had anxiety everyday. I struggled with it for over a YEAR. It was terrible. It came to a point where I was afraid to walk right outside of my house to quickly walk my dog because I was so paranoid and fearful of everything. I have always been an introvert, but this was going too far. A lot of my family members have dealt with anxiety before, so I thought that maybe it was hereditary. Maybe it was. I don't know. What matters now is that I'm free of it. We had a youth revival, and a woman of God, a prayer warrior, whom my mom grew up with, came and spoke. I honestly can't even remember what she spoke on, or even what the notebook that I took notes in looked like, but we all prayed after she spoke, and the spirit of God moved into that place. I was delivered! I was set free! The burden of irrational fear that lay heavy on my shoulders was lifted. That anxiety, that overwhelmed me for 15 months of my life, was finally gone. 

     Now, I get anxious over situations sometimes. But every time that feeling wells up in my throat and the butterflies twist and turn in my stomach, I think/pray, "Wait. No. I was delivered of my anxiety. I claimed deliverance and I got it. I rebuke this in Jesus' name. God, calm my mind and cover me with Your peace."

     What happened for me can happen to you to. You can be set free from the depression, the anxiety, the thoughts of suicide, the thoughts of harming yourself. The thoughts that you aren't good enough or pretty enough. The thoughts that condemn you, that keep you from sleeping at night. The past trauma, the past pain, the past hurt, the nightmares that fill the sleep you manage to find. Whatever keeps peace from you, I pray it be removed in the name of Jesus. Claim the freedom from that pain. 

     When we are asking God for something, like deliverance from mental pain, we have to completely believe that He can take it away. I think that's the reason I had anxiety for as long as I did. I didn't believe 100% that God could take it away. For a while, I didn't want to lose it. Ridiculous, I know. I had this thought, that anxiety gave me an excuse to get out of stuff. And it did. I got out of school because I was sick from it. I was glad to have a reason for how I acted. "It's my anxiety, sorry." Added on top of the fact that I didn't think I would ever be free of it, I was trapped for 15 months. Crazy, right?

      What is the point in asking God for something, if we don't believe with every shadow of our being that He can bring what you're asking for to pass? What is the point, if we don't have the faith in Him needed for that prayer to be answered? Why ask, when we're not expecting Him to actually do it?

     Matthew 17:20 says, 'And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible for you.'

     That was Jesus speaking! God was telling you, "It just takes a little faith. Just believe in Me! I'll deliver you! If you only believe in me."

     A grain of mustard seed. Do you know how small that is??? Imagine...a spot of dust on your pinky finger. Imagine a crumb on your hand. A grain of mustard seed. That's so small! That's all it takes! Faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, the belief that He can do it, and your mountain will 'remove hence to yonder place.' Do you know that yonder place is? It's far away! Very far away!

     A few chapters later, Jesus talks again on the same subject. Matthew 21:18-22 says, "Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

     Now, He didn't mean an actual mountain. No. He meant, that depression that's been eating away at you for three years. That anxiety that makes you terrified to leave your house. Those thoughts of self harm that the devil is filing into your mind, the thoughts of, "I'm not good enough. No one loves me. Nobody thinks I'm pretty. I'm ugly. I'm so, so ugly. No one could ever love me. No one would care if I cut my arm. No one would notice if I bled, alone. Nobody would do anything about it." That mountain, that steep hill that you feel like you'll never get over. "Be thou removed." Faith the size of the grain of a mustard seed.

     Pray for His peace to cover your mind. "God, I pray that you would cover my mind tonight. I plead the Blood over my mind, and my thoughts. Remove the thoughts the enemy wants me to believe. Replace them with thoughts of You. Thoughts that I am loved, that I am pretty enough. You know the number of hairs on my head. You knew my beginning and my ending before my parents even knew I was conceived. I speak peace, In Jesus Name." 

     Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

     1 Peter says, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."

     John 16:33 says, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

     2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, "Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all."

     Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee."

     John 14:27 says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

     And there are many more. When your mind is filled with troubled thoughts, when you're overwhelmed by thoughts of the world, turn to Jesus. Turn to His beautiful and perfect Word. Next week, we'll be talking about some chapters of Psalms I have read recently that have really touched me, and I want to share them with you. Remember, you are loved. You cherished. You are not alone. God bless, and have a great week.