All Is Well
It’s easy to go through life worried about the future, frustrated because a dream is taking so long to come to pass, upset because somebody did you wrong. But instead of complaining about the difficulty, instead of being upset because your plans didn’t work out, instead of losing your peace and living frustrated, you need to remember this simple phrase: All is well.
God is still on the throne. He’s directing your steps. He wouldn’t have allowed it unless He had a purpose. When you’re tempted to get discouraged, keep reminding yourself that all is well. “I lost my biggest client, but I’m not stressed. I know something better is coming. All is well.” “I was cheated in a business deal, but that’s okay. God is my vindicator, so all is well.” “I prayed for my loved one, but they didn’t make it. I’m not bitter, because I know they’re in Heaven rejoicing and free from pain. All is well.” When you have this “all is well” attitude, there’s a rest, a peace of mind. It takes the pressure off. You don’t live on a roller coaster.
You know all is well on the mountaintop, and all is well in the valley. All is well when business is great, and all is well when it’s slow. You have a made-up mind. You know God is bigger than anything you’re facing. As long as you’re in faith, all the forces of darkness cannot stop you.
Protect Your Peace
We should get up every morning believing for a good day, expecting favor, knowing that God is directing our steps. At the same time, we should realize that everything may not go perfectly today. Every person may not treat us right. Our plans may not stay on schedule. There may be some bumps in the road, things that we didn’t see coming. If you’re only going to enjoy the day if your plans work out, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Your happiness is not someone else’s responsibility. You are responsible for your own happiness. Too often we’re counting on other people to keep us cheered up, encouraged, and feeling good about ourselves. That’s putting too much pressure on the people in your life. Let them off the hook. Nobody can keep you fixed except our heavenly Father. Don’t go to other people for what only God can give.
Are you going through life without a spare tire, only happy if things go your way? The problem is, the roads are bumpy. There will be some potholes, some unexpected challenges. Without a spare, you’ll get stuck on the side of the road—bitter over a breakup, upset because a coworker left you out, stressed over the traffic. Life is too short for you to live offended, upset, and discouraged. This day is a gift from God. We are not always going to be here. You have to put your foot down and say, “I am not going to let these same things keep upsetting me. I’m going to stay in peace. Even if the boss is unfair, even if my spouse is grumpy, even if my flight is delayed, even if the medical report isn’t good, this is the day the Lord has made. I have made up my mind that I’m going to enjoy it.”
The Guardian of Your Soul
When we look at all that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to live worried and afraid. We watch the news and see natural disasters, sicknesses, accidents, and conflicts between nations. If that’s not enough, now we’re dealing with fears about pandemics. We think, What if I get sick? What if my business doesn’t make it? What if my child has an accident? All these concerns are valid. If you were on your own, you would have a reason to live worried. But the Scripture says, “You have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your soul.” You are not in this by yourself. You have a protector, a defender, a deliverer. The Most High God is the Guardian of your soul.
When God breathed life into you, He didn’t just put you on the earth and say, “Good luck. You’re on your own.” He said, “I’m going to guard you. I’m going to push back forces of darkness. I’m going to hide you from your enemies. I’m going to shield you from trouble.” Psalm 91 says, “God rescues you from every trap and protects you from the fatal plague.” You don’t have to be afraid of a pandemic. God has a shield around you. He knows how to keep harm away. And if it does come, He knows how to heal you. He knows how to restore what was taken. He will rescue you from every trap. The enemy doesn’t have the final say. Nothing can snatch you out of God’s hand.
Peace with Yourself
We all make mistakes and do things we know we shouldn’t. It’s easy to go around with a heaviness, feeling badly about ourselves. But living with guilt doesn’t do anything productive. It doesn’t help you to do better; it causes you to struggle more. Guilt drains you emotionally. Physically, it will wear you out. When we’re guilty, we don’t pursue dreams. We don’t believe we can overcome challenges. We get stuck.
This is why the enemy works overtime in this area. He knows that guilt will keep you from your destiny. There’s nothing he would love more than for you to go through life being against yourself, focused on your failures, feeling unworthy. He’s called “the accuser of the brethren.” He’ll remind you of everything you’ve done wrong for the last thirty years. Before you even get out of bed in the morning, your thoughts will replay mistakes that you’ve made—how you weren’t there for your children, how you lost your temper, how you gave in to a temptation.
Here’s the key: The moment you asked God to forgive you, He not only forgave you, but He doesn’t remember your sins anymore. That means if a voice is bringing up negative things from your past, that’s not God. That’s the accuser trying to deceive you into carrying the heavy load of guilt. Do yourself a favor and say, “No, thanks. I’m not perfect, but I am forgiven.” You can’t drag yesterday’s failures into today and live in victory. Let it go. God’s mercies are fresh every morning. Don’t spend another minute being down on yourself, living in regrets. God has forgiven you. Why don’t you forgive yourself? God is not pushing you down. Why don’t you quit pushing yourself down?
God’s Got This
We all have things that come against us. It’s easy to live uptight, wondering how it’s going to work out. What if the medical report isn’t good? What if my finances don’t get better? What if my child doesn’t get accepted into that school? We’ve tried to figure it out, we’ve done our best, but we don’t see anything changing. If we’re not careful, we’ll live worried and discouraged, not expecting it to get better.
But there’s a simple phrase you have to keep down in your spirit: God’s got this. He’s on the throne. He sees what’s happening. He already has the solution. You don’t have to figure it out. There may not be a logical answer. In the natural, you don’t see a way. That’s okay, because we serve a supernatural God. He has ways to do it that we’ve never thought of. Instead of trying to force it to happen and living uptight, you have to let go and let God. When you turn it over to Him and say, “God, I know You’ve got this. I know You’re in control,” not only will you feel the heaviness, the weight, lift off you, but God will make things happen that you couldn’t make happen. Some of the things that are frustrating you now, causing you to lose sleep, will all change if you have this new perspective that God’s got this.
It’s Already Set Up
It’s easy to go through life worried about how we’re going to accomplish a dream, or how we’re going to get out of a problem, or how we’re going to meet the right person. We look at all the reasons why it’s not going to work out, but when God laid out the plan for your life, He lined up everything you need to fulfill your destiny—every good break, every person, every solution. He’s not trying to figure out how to do it. It’s already set up.
He’s already set up the promotion. He’s already set up the healing. That problem you don’t think will turn around, He’s already set up the answer. It’s not a surprise to Him. He had the solution before you had the problem. There may be things that you’re dreaming about, desires God put in your heart that seem so unlikely today. God wouldn’t have given you the dream and not made a way to bring it to pass. It’s already in your future waiting for you, and if you stay in faith and not let negative voices talk you out of it, you’ll come into what God has already set up.