January 6, 2023
God cares about what you’re going through. God cares about your mental and emotional health. God knows that you can love Him and worship Him … and you can still hurt.
If you’re in that struggle right now, let me just say this to you …
Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom.
I want to say it again. And I want you to hear it. Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom. Don’t be afraid to seek help. Don’t be afraid to find a counselor to help you clarify things.
And, if you’re struggling right now, I want to help you … I want to help you … find your missing peace.
Let’s get started right now. And let’s start by building a foundation. What’s the greatest commandment? Someone once asked Jesus that. What’s the most important thing?
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
Interesting. How do you love God with your mind? Let’s talk about how your mind works. Let’s talk about the brain.
Your brain is actually built over time. It starts in the womb and evolves rapidly. What happens is the brain makes all these connections – connections that are called “neural pathways.”
For the first few years of your life, how many neural pathways is your brain making? Your brain is making about one million connections every second. Every second – a connection, connection, connection.
And pretty soon your brain gets more efficient and starts to think in patterns. In other words, once you think a thought, it’s easier to think that thought again. It’s like a pathway has been created in your brain so your thoughts can move in that direction.
The fact is … Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.
That’s good news if your thoughts are healthy. But that’s bad news if your thoughts are not healthy. So let me give you an exercise for building healthy thoughts. If you want to find your missing peace, let’s start here. Every time you have a negative thought, say these words: “I matter to God and His plan for me is good.”
That’s good news if your thoughts are healthy. But that’s bad news if your thoughts are not healthy. So let me give you an exercise for building healthy thoughts. If you want to find your missing peace, let’s start here. Every time you have a negative thought, say these words: “I matter to God and His plan for me is good.”
What are you doing? You are overriding that negative thought. You are creating a new pathway in your brain.
• So, you think an unhealthy thought. You think: Nothing good ever happens to me. Override that: I matter to God and His plan for me is good. Something good is going to happen. This is all part of the plan.
• You think, I can’t handle all this stress … No, I matter to God and His plan for me is good. With God, I can handle anything life throws at me.
• You think, Nobody cares what I’m going through … No, that’s not true. God cares. I matter to God and His plan for me is good.
And when you focus your thoughts on God like that – instead of being focused on your problems – what’s going to happen? You will find your missing peace. Watch this! The Bible says …
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” (Isaiah 26:3)
Perfect peace. Not occasional peace. Not circumstantial peace. Not momentary peace when you feel good in the moment. Perfect peace.
Perfect peace. Not occasional peace. Not circumstantial peace. Not momentary peace when you feel good in the moment. Perfect peace.