What is the nature of worry? When do we start stressing? When we’re no longer in control. When things start getting out of control. 

Do I stress when I have enough money in the bank? No, because I’m in control of my financial affairs. But when I don’t know for sure whether there’ll be enough money in the ministry’s account at the end of the month to cover all the expenses, I lie awake at night. 

When the doctor tells us the news in the consulting room and somehow sticks a sticker with the expiration date on our body, we break out in a cold sweat.  

Questions pop up. What about this? What about that? Because, you see, we can’t control it. We can’t control the rust that’s eating away our insides. We don’t know if the doctor will be able to control our illness with his salves, and this causes tension for us and our families. 

When the wheels of our marriage come off after all these years of trying, even that gets out of control and … 

Then we worry. Then it uses a lot of energy. We only focus on the challenge in the road. We sleep badly. We feel bad and often the people close to us must take the hit for us when we are in a mess. 

Actually, I want to say: welcome to life, because that’s exactly what life is like. Life is littered with challenges. Challenges come our way uninvited and unasked for. 

The problem enters when we open the door of our hearts for the challenge to come and take up space. Now it’s our responsibility to handle it on our own and that causes stress. 

We can’t handle it on our own. This is when we get out of control and don’t have a big enough forklift to drag the challenges out of the way. So, what now? 

We must not allow the worries to take up space in our hearts. They don’t belong there. There really is space for only one: 14Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. 

This almost sounds like a spiritual sauce that we want to spread over a problem or try to put a too-small band-aid on a big hurt. But that’s not it. Jesus must be and remain the focal point. Anything or anyone else is only going to stir things up within us. 

You see, when Jesus alone lives in our hearts, He helps us to deal with the challenges that come our way. No, He doesn’t pick them up and move them out of the way. He helps us with His Holy Spirit to see them in the right perspective. 

God is far more powerful than any problem that stands in our way. Jesus and the Holy Spirit help us to see the challenges through a new lens and make plans together to tackle them. So no, if Jesus is the only one in your heart, your problems will not disappear like fog before the sun. But He is going to help you, give you wisdom and strength to work on them. 

Try it! 

Scripture
1 Peter 3:13-18

Reflection
What do the challenges in your life look like?
Is only Jesus in your heart?
How can you chase away the others in your heart? 

Prayer
Father, thank you for this message, because I’m struggling with the challenges. I allow many others into my heart. Help me to get them out and let only Jesus live there. Amen.