As some of you know, I lost both of my parents back in November to COVID-19. I just think back to that time; there was so much communication going on when my parents were sick between my sisters and I and between the doctors and other family members. Then, when they passed, it was just a barrage of texts and phone calls, making funeral arrangements, and all of this is going on in the middle of a pandemic. But you know it became, at least for me, overwhelming (and in some ways, a good overwhelming) because people really loved on us and were checking in and caring for us. However, in another sense, it was a very busy time. Life was still going on. I was managing tensions at work, making sure that the kids were getting to where they needed to go, and there was a period of time from when they passed until we were able to actually have the funeral.

If I can be honest with you, I became very overwhelmed through all of this and I don't know about you and how you feel when you get overwhelmed, but it's in those moments that God really wants us to draw close to Him. We see this in scripture with Jesus and His disciples. In Mark 6:31 , they were in a very overwhelming situation. There were people that needed to be fed, people that needed to be healed of sickness, and people were coming and going. There were false teachers that needed to be rebuked, there were demons that needed to be cast out, and there were lives that needed changing. This is what Jesus came for, and all of this was happening in the shadow of the cross that Jesus was to face. So in Mark 6:31, we're given a glimpse of this. It says this: "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'”

You know, this is an invitation by Jesus for you to go with Him. To be with him, the Son of God, the Creator of the universe, the lover of your soul. He is inviting you in those times when you're overwhelmed to go away with Him. He wants you to be alone with Him. He doesn't want others around; it's time to forget about the kids for a moment, forget about your spouse, and maybe your parents that you're taking care of. He wants you to spend time with Him by yourself in a quiet place. Put the phone away. Don't worry about the office for a moment. I'm not saying that you totally neglect all of these things, but Jesus wants us to spend a part of our day with Him. May I suggest the first part of our day, and not a place where there's a lot of traffic, like a coffee shop or maybe your house at 8:30 when people are running here and there. Instead, go to a quiet place where you can listen for the voice of God. God can hear clearly from you what's on your heart. Why does God want us to do this? So you can get some rest and some peace, and so you don't feel so overwhelmed with the burdens of life. This is what Jesus has in mind for us to give us that rest. This is my go-to verse when life becomes stressful, when I'm overwhelmed, and when I can't focus. That happens often, but I have to remind myself to spend time with God. As I mentioned, for me, it's in the morning. Maybe for you, it's in the evening, you know, before the kids get up and people are showering and they have to get on a bus and go here and there. That's when I have to focus. That's when I can focus with God. That's my appointment with God.

When is your appointment with God? How do you get away and spend time with God? I'll tell you, my days tend to go more smoothly when I put first God and I listen to Him. When I have my Bible, I pray and I ask God to speak to me from what I'm reading so I can apply that to my day. When I do that, my day tends to go a little bit better. My days are still crazy, but the way I handle the craziness is markedly different than the days that I don't spend time in my Bible with God, by myself in a quiet place. How do you handle that craziness? How do you get away and spend time with God? Thanks for following along with Life Lifters this week. Don't just have a great day. Go and make a great day!

Well, this whole week we've been talking about the fruit of the Spirit and staying grounded in our faith during difficult times. Today, I think one of the most comforting parts of that fruit of the Spirit is when we have the peace of God in our lives. There's nothing else like having God's peace. It's indescribable and there's a section of scripture in Philippians 4, starting with verse four, where the apostle Paul wrote this: "Rejoice in the Lord, always. I will say it again, rejoice." He repeats it for emphasis, the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. He said, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything".

Anxious is another word for fear and for stress. Don't be stressed out, don't be fearful, right? We know that fear is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So if God didn't give us a spirit of fear, who did? Well, our enemy Satan did. So Paul is telling us here, do not be anxious about anything. Don't be fearful about anything. But in everything, by prayer, and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Paul is telling us when we're feeling anxious, we should pray. I heard a great phrase a few weeks back, it said anxiety is your body's way of telling you it's time to pray. That's exactly what Paul is telling us here. We need to bring our requests before God. He uses the word petition. I think of petition like a list of items. God wants to hear your prayers. He wants to hear what's on your mind. He wants to hear the things that are concerning to you and that are causing you to be anxious. Bring them before God with thanksgiving in your heart. That's what God wants us to do.

Paul then he goes on to say, "and the peace of God." So when you do all this, when you're anxious, and you come to God in prayer, and you come to him with a heart filled with thanksgiving, this is what the result is going to be... "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." I don't care how smart you are, the peace of God goes beyond our finite minds. It is indescribable. That peace will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Let that sink in—the peace of God will guard your heart. It'll guard your mind. It'll guard your passions and the things that you love. It will guide you in life. It will allow you to think clearly because it covers your mind. When you're anxious and stressed out and you can't think straight, the peace of God will allow you to think clearly. The Bible says we can have the mind of Christ and I believe that's what happens when we let the peace of God guard our hearts and our minds. S

So maybe you're feeling anxious with what's going on in our world today, or maybe you've lost hope. Maybe you're just tired or you feel like you're in a drought. It's been a season of just bad news and more bad news piled on top of that. And it's been a drought where there's no good news. I want you to come before God. I want you to present your anxious feelings to him and let his peace operate in your life. There is no better feeling than to be in the peace of God. Thanks for joining us today Life Lifters. We hope these videos were helpful for you this week. Be sure to join us again next week and don't forget to like and share these videos. Have a great day go and make a great day.