I will start right out today by admitting that I have been a little stressed lately. It sneaks up on me. Gradually. I will say I almost always have an issue this time of year. Winter in IL is long, and grey, and cold, and slushy. The days are darker and shorter. I long to be in the sunshine and warmth. Then my aunt posts this on Face Book. “Stress comes from trying to control everything yourself. Peace comes from trusting God with it all.” I know this to be true. How easy is it for me to let stress sneak in, or maybe to say, let peace sneak out. I know that when I get distracted, I let myself take my eyes off of Jesus and put them on the problem in front of me. Lately there has been so much. Several people I know have died lately, so many are seriously sick, some are children. Then we have all of the tragedies in the news lately. Fires, floods, several plane crashes. Every time I turn tv on I have to listen to politicians lie. So, if you were not identifying with me before, I have probably made you stressed from telling you about it.

But then the clouds part, the sun shines thru and I remember. God is still on the throne. He is waiting for me to come running to him like a small child with a scraped knee, and I do.

Matt 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Stress is really fear that things are not going to go the way you want them to. So often we forget to talk to God first, we just start trying to see how WE can make it happen the RIGHT way.

I am here to tell you that there is no other way. The only way to peace is Jesus. The only way to heaven is Jesus. The only way to feeling whole and complete is not in a valentine, it’s in Jesus. The one sent by His father to live among us, so that we would know he truly knew what our lives were like. But we cannot imagine what HIS life was like. Because he suffered so much more for us than we could even imagine. He gave his life for us. Then He rose again to show us that we will also rise again and if we are followers of Jesus and truly love Him, we will live with Him in heaven forever! This God who created everything, who keeps the stars hung in the sky, makes new life from a tiny seed, this God who parted waters not only once, but twice, sent His only son to save us, and what are we…. But dust. We are not deserving. We are not worthy. Yet God did not hesitate.

Lord, how could we ever thank you for your incredible gift. Remind us Lord that stress creeps in when we take our eyes off of you. In His Holy name, Amen.

Shirlene Peterson