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NCSO Devotional for March 23, 2015

Do you ever get anxious about circumstances that you are going through? Sometimes we can’t help the situations that life deals us. The uncertainty of how things are going to play out tends to bring on anxiety. During those times of anxiety if we are not careful we can become stressed. It’s during these times of stress and anxiety that we must be careful to protect those we love the most from, our knee jerk reactions. Too many times our families have been the victims of our stressed out moments.

I’d like to share with you for just a moment from the Bible how we can learn to de-stress during those anxious moments. First of all, can you imagine how Moses must have felt when he lead the Israelites out of Egypt, found himself at the Red Sea and there was no where else to turn? I’m sure he was having an anxiety attach not knowing what to do next. It’s happen to all of us at one time or another. It’s happened to me many times over the years, but when it does I try to remind myself what the Bible has to say about anxiety. In Philippians chapter 3 Paul tell us that when those anxious moments come, we are to turn to God with prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving present our request unto God. When Moses was trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptians, he didn’t just walk off the job, no he cried out to God for help. I want you to understand that when we find ourselves in desperate circumstances we need to cry out to God for help. The Bible goes on to tell us that when we present our request to God through prayer and thanksgiving that the peace of God which transcends (or surpasses) all our understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The second thing that I want you to notice is that God will bring peace to your heart and mind when you give him these difficult situations. You may not be able to handle it, but God can. To me the word transcends is better translated as surpasses all our understanding. This word ‘surpasses’ tells it all, because when God is invited into the situation he has a way of working things out in ways that I could have never even imagined. His ways surpass my ability to understand. Who would have ever dreamed that the Red Sea would dry up so that the Israelites could walk across it to escape from the Egyptians? Or who would have ever dreamed that Joshua could march around the city of Jericho 7 times and the walls would fall down and give the Israelites the victory over the city without having to fight with the sword. If we will learn to take those anxious moments and turn them over to God in prayer, He will give us peace and fight our battles for us. I pray you have a great Week! And remember that your Chaplains are lifting you up in prayer.

Chaplain Arlie Johns, F-808

Office 904-845-2642 or Cell 904-424-1998