MIKALA MORGAN

Inspiration by Kristen Dalton Wolfe via She is More

One of the many things I love about being adopted into God’s family is that we no longer have to let worry rule us anymore. Worry is not a part of the Kingdom, God’s nature, or our inheritance. When Jesus was in his final days on Earth, he said to his followers;

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

It’s natural to think about how to deal with a bad situation. But the key is to focus on the solution, not the problem.

We have inherited peace. Jesus shows us that we have the choice to allow worry and fear to creep in our hearts or to continue in the peace He left for us.

You may be thinking, “My circumstances are far less than peaceful, Kristen.” That may be true, but Jesus didn’t make promises about changing our circumstances. He promised peace regardless of our circumstances. This is much more powerful than needing external factors to be clear and settled in order to have peace. We get to stay in peace no matter what as long as we choose it.

There are so many things we can get caught up in worrying about. Worry is a result of not being able to control something. Honestly, it would make sense to worry if we were the only ones in control. But we aren’t. We are in partnership with God, so we are equipped to do our best and God will do the rest. Isn’t that relieving?

The story of Ruth in the Bible is a wonderful example of what that looks like. When her husband died, she was left a widow. With no idea what her future looked like or how her well-being would be sustained, she decided to move to a foreign land with her mother-in-law Naomi pledging she would also follow God instead of the pagan idols of her tribe, the Moabites.

She made this noble decision to accompany Naomi out of love and loyalty, and trusted God would take care of her on this journey with no answers, no clues, no job, no friends and no other family.

God honored her for this with a double fold return. Ruth did her best in the new land and was determined to earn a living for her and her mother-in-law, who was too old to work. She listened to the wise counsel of Naomi and went to work in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy and godly man. Out of compassion, Boaz purposefully leaves extra grain for Ruth and commands that she be untouched and taken care of. Ultimately, he marries her, buys her mother in law’s land and they give birth to Obed, the grandfather of King David.

Ruth is an ancestress of the Messiah. She didn’t worry when she had every reason to. And God redeemed her misfortune by giving her favor with Boaz, whom she never would have met if she hadn’t trusted God in going to Israel with Naomi.

You are a daughter of the Messiah. You have a supernatural peace living within you that Ruth didn’t have. All you have to do is believe that it’s there and decide to abide in it.

I personally have not always enjoyed hosting gatherings in my home. I would get nervous and feel worried that guests wouldn’t be comfortable. It feels much safer for them to stay away. Home is such a personal space.

I also like to be on a schedule and know where I’m going and when. When the rest of the world isn’t quite on my schedule, anxiety, irritation and worry can creep in.

But giving into worry and anxiety enslaves us. Staying in the peace of Christ starts in our mind. If we aren’t intentional about which inner person we want to operate in throughout the day, it will be easy to let emotions take over.

Every morning, I set three intentions for the day in my journal. Every time I write, “To stay in the peace of Christ” it helps me to focus and remember the power I have in Him every time I encounter a potential trigger.

When I first started speaking, I remember my entire body being wracked with anxiety. I felt unqualified. What if I don’t sound confident and smart, people will see that I am an imposter who shouldn’t be on stage. I almost called the event organizer and backed out.

But then I realized that would be completely going against what I wanted to speak on…our royal identity. So I had to talk back to my anxiety. I had to cast my cares on God. He was the one calling me to speak, so He was going to have to qualify me. All I had to do was be obedient, enjoy the process and trust Him to follow through. And He did, of course. When does He not? Only when we take the control back and aren’t obedient. But even then, He is always waiting to redeem us.

It’s not your circumstances making you worry, it’s how you think about them. Focus on God and how much bigger he is than your seemingly big problem. It’s just a tiny speck for Him. We are created to do the possible and He’s in charge of the impossible.

You can be in the middle of uncertainty and enjoy the wait because you rest in peaceful assurance that the Lord will work out all things for your good and His glory. (Romans 8:28)

Let go of control and let God be God.

Sounds easy enough. But fully letting go is hard. We may really want to trust God, but not feel fully able to because perhaps we were never able to trust our earthly fathers. Many women can relate to this. But the truth is even the best father figure lets us down. Why? Because our earthly fathers were never designed to meet all our needs. If they were, we wouldn’t need our Father. (Gordon Dalbey, Pioneer of Christian Men’s Movement)

Our heavenly Father is the only constant in our life and He always will be if you will let Him. Just try little things to not worry about and surrender it to God. See what happens.

1 Peter 5:7 commands us to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for this. Literally imagine yourself putting the situations you’re worried about in a bag and throwing it up into Heaven, where God will catch it.

Whether it be worrying about your marriage, who you will marry, what school you will go to, which job you should take, which decision to made, finances coming through, paying off debt, a medical report…you are royally invited to present your requests boldly at the throne and then to be peaceful waiting for His answer.

Try it, present your requests to God, renew your mind and continually remind yourself that you have access to the peace of God that transcends your understanding and will guard your mind and heart in the love of Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

You’re His daughter and it’s time to start enjoying life like it.