Taking Time with the Master
Happier Living Series
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The issue
Life can be confusing! We search for answers, but often end up with more questions. What are we here for? Why is there so much pain and heartache in the world? Where can we find hope, even when things seem to be going all wrong? Where can we find the strength to face life’s challenges? Where can we find happiness that lasts?
The answers to all these questions and more are found in a personal and close relationship with Jesus, who promises us not only eternal life in heaven, but that He will be with us every hour of every day until we get there. He has promised us a future of hope, joy, peace, freedom, and everlasting love. The Bible tells us to “think on these things”—the noble, just, true, praiseworthy and excellent things (Philippians 4:8).
God is for us, He is with us, and best of all, God is in us and will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)! Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross delivered us from the weight of sin and qualified us to “share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” God “transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” and Christ is now in us, “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:12–14, 27). God loves us and cares for us and is with us through everything we face in life.
During a time of great uncertainty, while facing the prospect of war in 1939, in his Christmas address King George VI of England quoted the preamble to the poem God Knows, written by Minnie Louise Haskins, that continues to speak to us today. “And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
Jesus is the light of the world, and He promised that if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life to guide us (John 8:12).
What the Bible says...
God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.—John 1:3–5
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.—Proverbs 3:5–6
Shock absorbers
Oh, that ditch again! I was driving home and—as I had done every day for months—had to drive very slowly over a dip in the road to avoid a bone-jarring jolt.
My car was due for a general servicing, so I took it to the mechanic I regularly go to. He got behind the wheel to pull it into his shop, and when he stepped on the brakes, he turned to me with a look of surprise and asked, “How can you drive your car like this?! Your shock absorbers are gone!” He replaced the shocks and I set off for home.
Oops, that ditch again. As I was driving my newly serviced car home, my mind was somewhere else, and I didn’t think to slow down for the familiar dip until it was too late. I braced myself for the inevitable impact, but hardly felt that old ditch. I had gotten so used to driving my car with no shock absorbers that I had forgotten what it was like to have them.
If you drive only on good roads, you hardly need shock absorbers, but when the road gets rough or you come to one of those bone-jarring dips or potholes, it’s a different story. Isn’t life a lot like that? Most of the time, thank God, the ride is pretty smooth. But what about when we lose someone close to us, or suffer a business failure, or an injury shakes our lives? What if there is a power failure and we are stuck in an elevator for hours, or we find ourselves in an earthquake or other disaster? What kind of “shock absorbers” can help us make it through incidents like these?
Ask the man who walked the rough and rugged road to Mount Calvary and gave His life there for you and me. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
So many people drive through life with absolutely no shock absorbers, carefully trying to avoid every bump and hole in the road that could give them a jolt. They try to only drive on the smoothest roads because they know they’re not prepared for any sudden bumps. They don’t have the peace that Jesus offers—spiritual shock absorbers for their earthly vehicle. Maybe they don’t even realize they need shock absorbers, or how much wear and tear these things can spare them.
There are going to be bumps on the road of life. That’s inevitable. But with Jesus’ loving hands underneath you, you’ll be able to navigate them and know that no matter how many bumps or obstacles you face, you will arrive safe and sound at your final destination.
Put yourself in His hands and see the difference it makes.—Matthew Nantes
Feeling pressured?
When it seems there is much more to be done than there is time to do it, it’s easy to get under pressure. At such times, we can find ourselves putting aside spending time in God’s Word and prayer and communion with Him. Like Martha in the Bible, we can become “anxious and troubled about many things,” which can include caring for and serving others. Jesus gently reminded Martha that “but one thing is necessary,” and that is “the good portion” that will never be taken away from us. What is that good portion? Martha’s sister, Mary, exemplified it as she “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching” (Luke 10:38–42).
Stress can hinder us in a number of other ways as well. It puts extra strain on our nervous system, which can make us more likely to make mistakes or poor decisions. It squelches our inspiration. It can make us irritable and harder for others to work with. It can take the joy out of life and be counterproductive on so many levels.
Learning to recognize when we’re starting to get under pressure and taking positive steps to counter it is an important habit to build. This starts with bringing all our cares and burdens to the Lord in prayer and seeking His help and guidance. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7).
When we feel under pressure, often the first thing to get crowded out of our schedule is the very thing we need most—our daily time of communion with the Lord and His Word. We have to learn how to give all our worries about yesterday, with its mistakes and failures, and all our concerns and fears of the future to God. The Bible tells us to “turn your burdens over to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22).
It can be helpful to remind ourselves that we can’t change the past, but we can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future and allowing ourselves to get under undue pressure. If we can learn to take quiet moments of prayer throughout the day and spend time communing with God and reading His Word, this will lighten our load. We will find that as we come to Him with our heavy burdens, He will give us rest for our souls and renew our hope and joy as we place our trust in Him (Matthew 11:28–30).
Stress management
The battle with stress in your life begins between your ears. It’s in your thought life. What you fill your mind with determines your level of stress. If you want peace of mind, you have to control what you allow into your mind. For most people, the mind is like a freeway. They let anything drive through it. … Then they’re surprised when their mind’s freeway becomes polluted with all these things. And they wonder why their stress is so high.
The Bible offers another way. Philippians 4:8 says, “Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.”
To lower your stress, change what you think about. In this verse, the Bible gives you eight tests for deciding if you should allow something in your mind. Ask yourself: Are the things you’re putting into your mind all week good, worthy of praise, true, honorable, right, pure, beautiful, and respected? If not, it’s time to start filling your mind with different things.
Each one of those eight attributes actually describes God. So when you think about things that are good, worthy of praise, true, honorable, right, pure, beautiful, and respected, you’re really picturing God. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Corrie ten Boom—a Dutch Christian during World War II—knew the truth of that verse. She and her family hid Jews from the Nazis and were eventually sent to death camps, where her sister and father died. But through that horrible time, she discovered the secret of living with a mind at peace. She said it like this: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
Whatever is going on around you, ... if you fix your thoughts on God, he will keep you in perfect peace.—Rick Warren1
Think about it...
- There is a saying that “life is a marathon, not a sprint,” and the Bible tells us that it takes perseverance to run the race marked out for us, as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1–2).
- No matter how busy you are, remember the formula Jesus gave: Seek first the kingdom of God, and the rest will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).
- Take time to commune with God, read a chapter from the Bible, and commit your day to Him, and “He will direct your path” (Proverbs 3:6).
What the Bible says...
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? … Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? … Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.—Matthew 6:25–34
In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.—Isaiah 30:15
Published on Anchor January 2025. Read by John Laurence.
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