The Bible says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths’ (vv. 5-6 NKJV). God wants usto trust Him. As long as we’re struggling to work things out on our own, we’re not trusting God, and that means we won’t have peace. We can trust Him with our work, our money, our relationships, and our future. Everything! God never makes a mistake. All that happens in our lives fits into His plan for us – even the problems and miseries and troubles that come our way. He fits everything flawlessly into His plan for us (see Romans 8:28). And all He expects from is to trust Him instead of trying to work everything out, and acknowledge that He’s in control. When we do this, He promises to ‘make your paths straight’ (Proverbs 3:6 NIV). When we aim at directing our own lives, we follow paths that are filled with indecisiveness: ‘Should I do this or that? Should I go here or over there?’ And it produces stress! But as soon as we trust in the Lord, He directs our paths and makes them successful, not stressful. ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds’ (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV). Notice the order – prayer first, then peace. If we’re not praying, we’re probably worrying. And worry is a worthless emotion – a waste! So when pressure starts building up, instead of panicking, start praying! Prayer is a remarkable stress reliever.
