I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. –John 14:27 (NLT)

These words of Jesus speak to my heart. Peace of mind and heart is a gift from God. Nothing the world has to offer can provide such a priceless gift.

Whatever concerns consume your thoughts today I encourage you to join me in bringing them to Jesus. Imagine laying them at His feet and then lift your eyes to focus on Him and Him alone. Imagine His eyes, full of love and compassion. Imagine His smile, radiant and pleased that you are trusting in Him. Imagine His arms, reaching out to comfort and strengthen. Imagine His power, extended on your behalf.

Worry is a result of not trusting God. Worry declares that He’s not strong enough to handle the problem, not loving enough to care, not faithful enough to do anything about it or not merciful enough to act on our behalf in spite of our sin.

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. –Romans 8:6 (NLT)

Some say, “I can’t help worrying. It’s in my head. I can’t help what I think.” Yes you can! You can’t help what pops into your head, but you can absolutely help what you do with it once it’s there! Our sinful nature wants to focus on the worry. Sin tries to solve problems apart from God, and apart from God there’s good reason to worry!

The only way to stop worry in its tracks is to focus on who God is and give thanks that He really is in control of every situation. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you focus your thoughts on the fact that God loves you enough to do what’s best, He’s powerful enough to do what’s best, He’s faithful to do what’s best and He’s merciful to do what’s best even though we deserve the opposite!

God’s gift of peace is waiting for each of us today. Let’s not leave it unopened!