Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, June 3, 2022

"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"¹

"Perfect love drives out fear,"² wrote the Apostle John in the Bible. It is also true that unresolved fears have a way of blocking out love. So we need to ask God to help us overcome our fears so we can be filled with love. The more we love and trust God, the less we fear man and circumstances. Every day, visualize yourself opening up to God and being filled with his love, joy and forgiveness.

In 1929, business tycoon J.C. Penny was in the hospital because of his severe anxiety. One night he was sure he was going to die so he wrote farewell letters to his wife and son.

But he survived the night, and hearing singing the next morning in the chapel, felt drawn to go in. A group was singing, "God will take care of you," after which followed Bible reading and prayer.

Penny said, "Suddenly something happened. I can't explain it. It was a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into warm brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before.

"I realized then that I alone was responsible for all my troubles. I knew that God with his love was there to help me. From that day to this, my life has been free from worry. The most dramatic and glorious minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning."³

The cause or causes of our anxiety and worry almost always lie within our self. At best they are triggered by outside circumstances. Only when we see and resolve these causes, are we free to fully surrender our worries and anxieties to God and experience his peace.

Whether this peace comes instantly or over a period of time doesn't matter. The important truth to remember is that God is always there. His love and power are constant and available to all. As we reach out to him through the fog of our worry and damaged emotions, we discover that he is waiting to help us if only we will respond to his love and give him the chance. For help click on the "God's Invitation" button link below, or on http://tinyurl.com/gods-invitation.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I commit and trust my life and way to you and choose to trust you in all circumstances. Grant that my emotions will catch up with my choice to trust you. Help me to resolve all my fears that cause me to worry so I can be filled with your love, joy, and peace. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 118:6 ( NIV).
2. 1 John 4:18 (NIV).
3. S.I. McMillen, None of These Diseases, (Westwood, N.J.: Fleming Revell Co., 1963), p.98.

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