Today we are walking in: STOP LETTING EVERYTHING SHAKE YOU PART 4
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
PEACE
Today we look to the word—PEACE—H7965—shalom—completeness, soundness, welfare, peace; safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity; peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment; peace in human relationships; peace with Elohiym, especially in covenant relationship.
Today we look to the word—PEACE—H7965—shalom—completeness, soundness, welfare, peace; safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity; peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment; peace in human relationships; peace with Elohiym, especially in covenant relationship.
The Torah Testifies……….
Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:24-26
YAHUAH bless thee, and guard thee: YAHUAH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: YAHUAH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace H7965.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:24-26
YAHUAH bless thee, and guard thee: YAHUAH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: YAHUAH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace H7965.
The Prophets Proclaim………
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace H7965, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 32:17
And the work of righteousness shall be peace H7965; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace H7965, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 32:17
And the work of righteousness shall be peace H7965; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
The Writings Witness………
Tehilliym (Psalm) 4:8
I will both lay me down in peace H7965, and sleep: for thou, YAHUAH, only makest me dwell in safety.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 119:165
Great peace H7965 have they which love thy Torah: and nothing shall offend them.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 4:8
I will both lay me down in peace H7965, and sleep: for thou, YAHUAH, only makest me dwell in safety.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 119:165
Great peace H7965 have they which love thy Torah: and nothing shall offend them.
Now, let me ask you a question that could completely change the quality of your peace.
What are you feeding your mind every day?
Think about that carefully. Because most people are very selective about what they put into their bodies, but they are careless about what they allow into their minds. They would never knowingly eat spoiled food. They would never intentionally drink contaminated water. Yet many allow toxic thoughts, negative conversations, fear-filled information, endless drama, and destructive influences to enter their minds every single day.
Then they wonder why they feel anxious. They wonder why they feel overwhelmed. They wonder why their peace feels fragile.
The truth is that your mind cannot consistently consume chaos and produce peace.
It simply does not work that way.
What enters your mind eventually influences what fills your heart. And what fills your heart eventually influences your actions, your emotions, your decisions, and ultimately your life.
This is why protecting your peace requires protecting your inputs. Because every day something is shaping the way you think. Every conversation is influencing you. Every voice is influencing you. Every piece of information is influencing you. Every environment is influencing you.
The question is whether those influences are moving you toward peace or away from it.
Many people spend hours every day consuming fear. Fearful news. Fearful opinions. Fearful predictions. Fearful conversations. Fearful assumptions. Then they wonder why anxiety feels stronger than faith.
The answer is simple.
Whatever you feed grows.
Whatever you repeatedly focus on becomes larger in your mind. If you continually focus on fear, fear grows. If you continually focus on problems, problems grow. If you continually focus on negativity, negativity grows.
But if you continually focus on Elohiym’s promises, faith grows. If you continually focus on His goodness, gratitude grows. If you continually focus on His truth, peace grows.
Your mind moves in the direction of what you repeatedly give attention to.
This is why Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 4, verse 23, gives one of the most important instructions in Scripture:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Notice how serious this command is.
Keep your heart.
Guard it.
Protect it.
Watch over it carefully.
Why?
Because your life flows from it. Your decisions flow from it. Your attitudes flow from it. Your relationships flow from it. Your peace flows from it. Everything important in your life is affected by the condition of your heart.
And whatever gains access to your heart eventually gains influence over your life.
That is why you cannot be careless about what you allow into your mind.
Imagine owning a beautiful home. Would you leave the doors wide open all day and allow anyone to enter? Of course not. You would be selective. You would be careful. You would protect what is valuable.
Then why do so many people leave the doors of their minds completely unguarded?
They allow every opinion to enter. Every fear to enter. Every rumor to enter. Every distraction to enter. Every negative influence to enter.
And then they wonder why their peace disappears.
Peace cannot survive where there are no boundaries.
Peace requires protection.
This does not mean living in denial. It does not mean pretending problems do not exist. It does not mean ignoring reality. It simply means refusing to give unhealthy influences unrestricted access to your mind.
One of the greatest forms of self-discipline is mental discipline—the ability to decide what deserves your attention and what does not. The ability to reject thoughts that do not align with Elohiym’s truth. The ability to focus on what strengthens rather than what weakens.
That is a skill.
And like every skill, it must be developed.
Think about how much time people spend listening to voices that constantly produce fear. Voices that magnify problems. Voices that encourage worry. Voices that create confusion. Voices that pull them away from Elohiym’s perspective.
Eventually, those voices begin shaping their reality. Not because those voices are necessarily true, but because repeated exposure creates influence.
That is why wise people become intentional about what they consume. They become intentional about the conversations they entertain. They become intentional about the environments they enter. They become intentional about the thoughts they allow to remain.
Because they understand that peace is too valuable to leave unprotected.
Imagine trying to grow a beautiful garden while allowing weeds to spread everywhere. Eventually, the weeds will compete with the flowers.
The same thing happens in the mind.
If you continually allow negativity, fear, resentment, bitterness, and anxiety to grow unchecked, they begin competing with peace. They begin competing with faith. They begin competing with purpose. And eventually, they dominate the landscape of your thinking.
That is why protecting your mind is not optional.
It is essential.
Perhaps someone listening today has been wondering why peace feels so distant. Maybe the issue is not Elohiym’s absence. Maybe the issue is what has been occupying your attention.
Maybe you have been listening to too many fearful voices. Maybe you have been dwelling on too many negative possibilities. Maybe you have been allowing too many distractions into your mind. Maybe your heart is carrying things it was never designed to carry.
Today is an opportunity to change that.
Today is an opportunity to become intentional about what enters your mind. Today is an opportunity to protect what Elohiym has entrusted to you because your peace is precious. Your focus is precious. Your purpose is precious.
And all of them are affected by what you allow into your heart.
The strongest people are not necessarily those who face fewer challenges. Often, they are simply people who have learned how to guard their minds. People who have learned what to allow in and what to keep out. People who understand that peace grows where wisdom establishes boundaries.
But even after guarding your heart, there will still be things you cannot control. People will make choices you cannot control. Situations will arise that you cannot control. The future will contain uncertainties you cannot control.
And if you are not careful, you will spend your life worrying about things that belong in Elohiym’s hands.
Which brings us to a life-changing question:
What would happen if you stopped trying to control everything and started trusting Elohiym more?
Now we arrive at one of the greatest thieves of peace in modern life—the desire to control what only Elohiym can control.
If you are honest, how much of your stress comes from things you cannot change? How much of your anxiety comes from trying to manage outcomes that have not happened yet? How much of your frustration comes from attempting to control people, situations, and circumstances that are completely outside your authority?
Think about it.
People spend years worrying about what other people think. Worrying about the future. Worrying about things that might happen. Worrying about things they cannot predict. Worrying about situations they cannot influence.
And all the while, their peace slowly disappears.
The problem is not always the situation.
The problem is the illusion of control.
Many people believe that if they think about a problem long enough, they can control it. If they worry enough, they can prevent it. If they analyze every possible outcome, they can somehow guarantee success.
But worry has never solved a single problem.
Worry has never changed yesterday.
Worry has never controlled tomorrow.
Worry has never added wisdom to fear.
It only steals today’s peace.
Yet millions of people spend their lives doing exactly that. They carry burdens that belong to Elohiym. They carry responsibilities that were never assigned to them. And eventually, they become emotionally exhausted.
Imagine carrying a suitcase every day that does not belong to you. At first, you might manage it. But eventually, the weight becomes overwhelming.
The tragedy is that many people are carrying spiritual and emotional suitcases that were never theirs to carry.
The future belongs to Elohiym.
Yet they are carrying it.
Other people’s decisions belong to those people.
Yet they are carrying them.
Certain outcomes belong to Elohiym’s sovereignty.
Yet they are carrying them, too.
No wonder they are tired. No wonder they are anxious. No wonder they struggle to experience peace.
They are carrying loads they were never designed to bear.
One of the greatest lessons in life is learning the difference between responsibility and control.
Responsibility is what Elohiym has given you to do.
Control is often what you are trying to do that belongs to Elohiym.
You are responsible for your obedience. You are not responsible for controlling every outcome. You are responsible for your effort. You are not responsible for forcing results. You are responsible for your faithfulness. You are not responsible for controlling every circumstance.
That distinction changes everything.
Because once you understand it, you stop wasting energy trying to play a role Elohiym never assigned to you.
This is why Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 3, verses 5-6, contains some of the most liberating words in Scripture:
“Trust in YAHUAH with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Think about that instruction.
Trust in YAHUAH with all your heart.
Not part of your heart.
All of it.
The areas you understand. The areas you do not understand. The situations that make sense. The situations that confuse you. The opportunities. The disappointments. The delays. The victories.
Trust Him with all of it.
Why?
Because your understanding is limited. My understanding is limited.
But Elohiym’s understanding is not.
Elohiym sees what you cannot see. He sees around corners you have not reached yet. He sees opportunities you do not know exist. He sees solutions you have not discovered. He sees the bigger picture.
And because He sees the bigger picture, He can be trusted.
One of the reasons people struggle to trust Elohiym is because they want explanations before obedience. They want complete understanding before faith. They want certainty before surrender.
But faith does not work that way.
Faith says, “Elohiym, I may not understand everything, but I trust You.”
That is a powerful place to live.
Imagine a person facing uncertainty in their career. Perhaps they do not know what the next year will look like. Perhaps opportunities seem unclear. Perhaps they are worried about outcomes they cannot predict.
Many people in that situation would spend months consumed by anxiety. Every day replaying worst-case scenarios. Every day imagining failure. Every day trying to solve problems that do not even exist yet.
Meanwhile, nothing improves.
But imagine another person in the same situation.
They pray. They prepare. They remain faithful. They take wise action. And then they place the outcome in Elohiym’s hands.
Notice the difference.
They are not passive. They are not careless. They are not irresponsible.
They are simply refusing to carry what belongs to Elohiym.
And that refusal creates peace.
One of the greatest signs of spiritual maturity is learning to surrender what you cannot control. Not because you have given up, but because you have trusted Elohiym.
You have transferred the burden from your shoulders to Elohiym’s hands.
That does not mean challenges disappear. It means you stop allowing those challenges to dominate your mind. You stop obsessing over outcomes. You stop rehearsing fears. You stop carrying tomorrow’s burdens today.
You trust Elohiym enough to focus on today’s assignment.
That is where peace lives.
Peace lives in surrender.
Peace lives in trust.
Peace lives in letting Elohiym be Elohiym.
Many people say they trust Elohiym, but then they spend every day worrying about things they claim to have surrendered.
True trust changes behavior.
True trust changes thinking.
True trust changes perspective.
When you trust Elohiym, you stop demanding complete certainty. When you trust Elohiym, you stop trying to control every outcome. When you trust Elohiym, you stop carrying burdens that belong to Him.
And perhaps this is exactly what someone listening today needs to hear.
You have been carrying too much worry. Too much fear. Too much uncertainty. Too much pressure. Too much responsibility that was never yours.
Elohiym is inviting you to release it.
Not tomorrow.
Today.
Because what you place in Elohiym’s hands no longer has to live in your worries. What you surrender to Elohiym no longer has to occupy your mind. What you trust Elohiym with no longer has to steal your peace.
And once you begin trusting Elohiym with what you cannot control, something remarkable starts happening. Your reactions become calmer. Your perspective becomes clearer. Your decisions become wiser. Your peace becomes stronger because you are no longer trying to manage the entire universe.
You are simply being faithful with what Elohiym placed in front of you.
But there is still one more challenge we must address.
Even after surrendering control, many people continue to lose their peace because they react emotionally to everything they feel. They assume every emotion should be followed. Every impulse should be expressed. Every feeling should be obeyed.
Yet mature believers understand a powerful truth:
Emotions are real, but they are not always right.
And learning to manage them is one of the greatest forms of self-discipline.
So let me ask you a question that may reveal why so many people keep losing their peace:
Do your emotions control you, or do you control your emotions?
What are you feeding your mind every day?
Think about that carefully. Because most people are very selective about what they put into their bodies, but they are careless about what they allow into their minds. They would never knowingly eat spoiled food. They would never intentionally drink contaminated water. Yet many allow toxic thoughts, negative conversations, fear-filled information, endless drama, and destructive influences to enter their minds every single day.
Then they wonder why they feel anxious. They wonder why they feel overwhelmed. They wonder why their peace feels fragile.
The truth is that your mind cannot consistently consume chaos and produce peace.
It simply does not work that way.
What enters your mind eventually influences what fills your heart. And what fills your heart eventually influences your actions, your emotions, your decisions, and ultimately your life.
This is why protecting your peace requires protecting your inputs. Because every day something is shaping the way you think. Every conversation is influencing you. Every voice is influencing you. Every piece of information is influencing you. Every environment is influencing you.
The question is whether those influences are moving you toward peace or away from it.
Many people spend hours every day consuming fear. Fearful news. Fearful opinions. Fearful predictions. Fearful conversations. Fearful assumptions. Then they wonder why anxiety feels stronger than faith.
The answer is simple.
Whatever you feed grows.
Whatever you repeatedly focus on becomes larger in your mind. If you continually focus on fear, fear grows. If you continually focus on problems, problems grow. If you continually focus on negativity, negativity grows.
But if you continually focus on Elohiym’s promises, faith grows. If you continually focus on His goodness, gratitude grows. If you continually focus on His truth, peace grows.
Your mind moves in the direction of what you repeatedly give attention to.
This is why Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 4, verse 23, gives one of the most important instructions in Scripture:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Notice how serious this command is.
Keep your heart.
Guard it.
Protect it.
Watch over it carefully.
Why?
Because your life flows from it. Your decisions flow from it. Your attitudes flow from it. Your relationships flow from it. Your peace flows from it. Everything important in your life is affected by the condition of your heart.
And whatever gains access to your heart eventually gains influence over your life.
That is why you cannot be careless about what you allow into your mind.
Imagine owning a beautiful home. Would you leave the doors wide open all day and allow anyone to enter? Of course not. You would be selective. You would be careful. You would protect what is valuable.
Then why do so many people leave the doors of their minds completely unguarded?
They allow every opinion to enter. Every fear to enter. Every rumor to enter. Every distraction to enter. Every negative influence to enter.
And then they wonder why their peace disappears.
Peace cannot survive where there are no boundaries.
Peace requires protection.
This does not mean living in denial. It does not mean pretending problems do not exist. It does not mean ignoring reality. It simply means refusing to give unhealthy influences unrestricted access to your mind.
One of the greatest forms of self-discipline is mental discipline—the ability to decide what deserves your attention and what does not. The ability to reject thoughts that do not align with Elohiym’s truth. The ability to focus on what strengthens rather than what weakens.
That is a skill.
And like every skill, it must be developed.
Think about how much time people spend listening to voices that constantly produce fear. Voices that magnify problems. Voices that encourage worry. Voices that create confusion. Voices that pull them away from Elohiym’s perspective.
Eventually, those voices begin shaping their reality. Not because those voices are necessarily true, but because repeated exposure creates influence.
That is why wise people become intentional about what they consume. They become intentional about the conversations they entertain. They become intentional about the environments they enter. They become intentional about the thoughts they allow to remain.
Because they understand that peace is too valuable to leave unprotected.
Imagine trying to grow a beautiful garden while allowing weeds to spread everywhere. Eventually, the weeds will compete with the flowers.
The same thing happens in the mind.
If you continually allow negativity, fear, resentment, bitterness, and anxiety to grow unchecked, they begin competing with peace. They begin competing with faith. They begin competing with purpose. And eventually, they dominate the landscape of your thinking.
That is why protecting your mind is not optional.
It is essential.
Perhaps someone listening today has been wondering why peace feels so distant. Maybe the issue is not Elohiym’s absence. Maybe the issue is what has been occupying your attention.
Maybe you have been listening to too many fearful voices. Maybe you have been dwelling on too many negative possibilities. Maybe you have been allowing too many distractions into your mind. Maybe your heart is carrying things it was never designed to carry.
Today is an opportunity to change that.
Today is an opportunity to become intentional about what enters your mind. Today is an opportunity to protect what Elohiym has entrusted to you because your peace is precious. Your focus is precious. Your purpose is precious.
And all of them are affected by what you allow into your heart.
The strongest people are not necessarily those who face fewer challenges. Often, they are simply people who have learned how to guard their minds. People who have learned what to allow in and what to keep out. People who understand that peace grows where wisdom establishes boundaries.
But even after guarding your heart, there will still be things you cannot control. People will make choices you cannot control. Situations will arise that you cannot control. The future will contain uncertainties you cannot control.
And if you are not careful, you will spend your life worrying about things that belong in Elohiym’s hands.
Which brings us to a life-changing question:
What would happen if you stopped trying to control everything and started trusting Elohiym more?
Now we arrive at one of the greatest thieves of peace in modern life—the desire to control what only Elohiym can control.
If you are honest, how much of your stress comes from things you cannot change? How much of your anxiety comes from trying to manage outcomes that have not happened yet? How much of your frustration comes from attempting to control people, situations, and circumstances that are completely outside your authority?
Think about it.
People spend years worrying about what other people think. Worrying about the future. Worrying about things that might happen. Worrying about things they cannot predict. Worrying about situations they cannot influence.
And all the while, their peace slowly disappears.
The problem is not always the situation.
The problem is the illusion of control.
Many people believe that if they think about a problem long enough, they can control it. If they worry enough, they can prevent it. If they analyze every possible outcome, they can somehow guarantee success.
But worry has never solved a single problem.
Worry has never changed yesterday.
Worry has never controlled tomorrow.
Worry has never added wisdom to fear.
It only steals today’s peace.
Yet millions of people spend their lives doing exactly that. They carry burdens that belong to Elohiym. They carry responsibilities that were never assigned to them. And eventually, they become emotionally exhausted.
Imagine carrying a suitcase every day that does not belong to you. At first, you might manage it. But eventually, the weight becomes overwhelming.
The tragedy is that many people are carrying spiritual and emotional suitcases that were never theirs to carry.
The future belongs to Elohiym.
Yet they are carrying it.
Other people’s decisions belong to those people.
Yet they are carrying them.
Certain outcomes belong to Elohiym’s sovereignty.
Yet they are carrying them, too.
No wonder they are tired. No wonder they are anxious. No wonder they struggle to experience peace.
They are carrying loads they were never designed to bear.
One of the greatest lessons in life is learning the difference between responsibility and control.
Responsibility is what Elohiym has given you to do.
Control is often what you are trying to do that belongs to Elohiym.
You are responsible for your obedience. You are not responsible for controlling every outcome. You are responsible for your effort. You are not responsible for forcing results. You are responsible for your faithfulness. You are not responsible for controlling every circumstance.
That distinction changes everything.
Because once you understand it, you stop wasting energy trying to play a role Elohiym never assigned to you.
This is why Mishlei (Proverbs) chapter 3, verses 5-6, contains some of the most liberating words in Scripture:
“Trust in YAHUAH with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Think about that instruction.
Trust in YAHUAH with all your heart.
Not part of your heart.
All of it.
The areas you understand. The areas you do not understand. The situations that make sense. The situations that confuse you. The opportunities. The disappointments. The delays. The victories.
Trust Him with all of it.
Why?
Because your understanding is limited. My understanding is limited.
But Elohiym’s understanding is not.
Elohiym sees what you cannot see. He sees around corners you have not reached yet. He sees opportunities you do not know exist. He sees solutions you have not discovered. He sees the bigger picture.
And because He sees the bigger picture, He can be trusted.
One of the reasons people struggle to trust Elohiym is because they want explanations before obedience. They want complete understanding before faith. They want certainty before surrender.
But faith does not work that way.
Faith says, “Elohiym, I may not understand everything, but I trust You.”
That is a powerful place to live.
Imagine a person facing uncertainty in their career. Perhaps they do not know what the next year will look like. Perhaps opportunities seem unclear. Perhaps they are worried about outcomes they cannot predict.
Many people in that situation would spend months consumed by anxiety. Every day replaying worst-case scenarios. Every day imagining failure. Every day trying to solve problems that do not even exist yet.
Meanwhile, nothing improves.
But imagine another person in the same situation.
They pray. They prepare. They remain faithful. They take wise action. And then they place the outcome in Elohiym’s hands.
Notice the difference.
They are not passive. They are not careless. They are not irresponsible.
They are simply refusing to carry what belongs to Elohiym.
And that refusal creates peace.
One of the greatest signs of spiritual maturity is learning to surrender what you cannot control. Not because you have given up, but because you have trusted Elohiym.
You have transferred the burden from your shoulders to Elohiym’s hands.
That does not mean challenges disappear. It means you stop allowing those challenges to dominate your mind. You stop obsessing over outcomes. You stop rehearsing fears. You stop carrying tomorrow’s burdens today.
You trust Elohiym enough to focus on today’s assignment.
That is where peace lives.
Peace lives in surrender.
Peace lives in trust.
Peace lives in letting Elohiym be Elohiym.
Many people say they trust Elohiym, but then they spend every day worrying about things they claim to have surrendered.
True trust changes behavior.
True trust changes thinking.
True trust changes perspective.
When you trust Elohiym, you stop demanding complete certainty. When you trust Elohiym, you stop trying to control every outcome. When you trust Elohiym, you stop carrying burdens that belong to Him.
And perhaps this is exactly what someone listening today needs to hear.
You have been carrying too much worry. Too much fear. Too much uncertainty. Too much pressure. Too much responsibility that was never yours.
Elohiym is inviting you to release it.
Not tomorrow.
Today.
Because what you place in Elohiym’s hands no longer has to live in your worries. What you surrender to Elohiym no longer has to occupy your mind. What you trust Elohiym with no longer has to steal your peace.
And once you begin trusting Elohiym with what you cannot control, something remarkable starts happening. Your reactions become calmer. Your perspective becomes clearer. Your decisions become wiser. Your peace becomes stronger because you are no longer trying to manage the entire universe.
You are simply being faithful with what Elohiym placed in front of you.
But there is still one more challenge we must address.
Even after surrendering control, many people continue to lose their peace because they react emotionally to everything they feel. They assume every emotion should be followed. Every impulse should be expressed. Every feeling should be obeyed.
Yet mature believers understand a powerful truth:
Emotions are real, but they are not always right.
And learning to manage them is one of the greatest forms of self-discipline.
So let me ask you a question that may reveal why so many people keep losing their peace:
Do your emotions control you, or do you control your emotions?
No comments:
Post a Comment