***Hey it's Mark Lanier with your video thought for the day so this week I’ve been talking about
common human emotions and today I want to talk about worry worry is all around us
uh I was talking to a buddy of mine named Eric recently and we were talking about the
mess going on in the Ukraine and and Eric’s got a college age son
who's a history major or maybe he's just graduated Eric said yeah my son told me he said dad
war iv will be fought with stones and sticks
it took a second to register in my brain that he's saying that if there is a world war three
then it will destroy civilization as we know it and the the things happening in the Ukraine
are alarming
they are uh things that have the potential to start world war three
it is um something that causes a number of people to worry so I got an email yesterday from
my buddy Richard who actually is the one who suggested I start these video thoughts for the
day in the first place and next to my mom or my wife probably listens to him more faithfully and
diligently than just about anybody but Richard sent me an email and in the email he asked me
to consider with the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine maybe spending a week regarding
biblical verses that deal with peace I’d like to do that but today as I’m talking about worry
peace is the exact opposite of worry worry is when we fret generally over things outside of
our control because those see things seem to have a potential to do damage and so we may worry about
how we're going to pay bills or we may worry about if a relationship is going to endure
we may worry about health we may worry about the Ukraine and peace as we know it
whatever our worry is the biblical concept is to take that worry to God and entrust him with it
and God replaces the worry with peace now God doesn't God God's not um some
person who's got no reality and doesn't grasp what's going on and is just pollyanna about things
God is a realist and and certainly is more fully aware than you and I not only of what's happening
now but what is to come and God doesn't say I’m gonna spare you from bad things what God does say
is if you walk through the dark valley or the valley of the shadow of death
Psalm 23 that he's there with us and and he walks with us and he's on the other side
that's what the apostle Paul says in Romans 8 all things work together for the good for those
who love the lord and are called according to his purpose in other words it's not it's
not that everything's always hunky-dory it's that we can trust God with the consequences
and that brings a measure of peace Hebrew peace shalom shalom is not simply um g we're not at war
or g everything's peaceful but shalom is is includes prosperity wholeness
completion satisfaction and and God gives us that in place of our worry
so my suggestion to you is as I deal with worry today that you take your worries to God
and pray to God about them and say God I need to trust you but I’m having trouble doing it
help me to do it and look for God's love and look for God's faithfulness and re remember that that
you know Jesus even told his followers I’ve said these things to you so that in me you might have
peace in the world you'll have tribulation but be of good cheer because I’ve overcome the world
you know the psalmist said in Psalm 4 verse 8 I in peace I will both lie down and sleep
we don't need to worry about what's going on in the world we can be in peace because the lord
makes me dwell in safety so take your worries to God whatever they may be we'll talk more about
peace later but we'll continue with our feelings this week that's your video thought for the day