Things happen in life. Sometimes we’re sinned against. Someone hurts us. A friend betrays us. Other times, it’s a temptation. Someone or something looks good to us. We think we’re not getting something we need … or want. Like Eve, we see something that’s desirable. We may even believe God is withholding something good from us. How will we respond? We’re at a point of decision.
How will you handle your next point of decision, and what can help you make a better decision?
Worry, anxiety, distress, and depression seem to be everywhere. Yet even in a troubled world, some people possess a deep sense of peace and stability.
What’s the difference?
We often assume our peace—or lack of it—is primarily determined by our circumstances. If the difficult person would change, the financial pressure would ease, our health would improve, or the world weren’t such a mess, then we could have peace.
But Scripture points us in another direction.
Today’s reading raises an important question about the relationship between the choices we make, our willingness to obey God, and the peace—or distress—we experience as a result.
And there’s an even more sobering issue.
Jesus said there will be people who stand before Him convinced that they belong to Him, only to hear the terrifying words, “I never knew you.” Isaiah described people who called themselves God’s people but whose lives told another story.
So, is it possible to think we’re right with God when we’re not? And could the same truths that help answer that question also help us understand where genuine peace comes from?
Do you have any difficult people in your life? Most of us do. Is there someone that God has not changed (even though you have been praying and praying) … and it’s hard? So, how does God want us to respond to them?
