"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!" Isaiah 26:3
Watching over the earth, Jesus looked down from heaven.
"Why are my people so afraid?" he wondered aloud.
"Oh, Jesus," Kate James took her Savior's hand. "You know how it is. Uncertainty breeds fear."
"True." Jesus squeezed her hand. "I understand human frailty all too well. Yet My Father has proven Himself for millennia. And still, His children don't trust Him."
"It's the not knowing." Kate recalled several life situations when she'd let fear override faith. "The disease, the financial struggles -- the not knowing if your loved ones will die or if you'll be able to buy groceries, if your whole world will be turned inside out."
"Inside out? That's original." Jesus smiled at His creative daughter.
"That's how I felt when John got sick. You know how I favored that strong, in control persona -- back in my younger days on earth."
Jesus chuckled. "All your days on earth! Oh yes, I know it well."
"Nonetheless." Kate waved a hand at His humor. "I feared losing John, being alone, keeping the farm and the flower shop going without him. I feared failing, financial ruin, being a burden to my kids -- you name it, I feared it."
"The enemy brings those fears." Jesus shook His head. "He shouts in threats and lies to make you vulnerable and anxious."
"Satan's strategy works."
Jesus nodded solemnly. "Anxiety is a distraction. It divides your mind in so many directions that you can't concentrate or focus. It depletes your energy, diverts your attention, and slows your productivity. It leads to unwise decisions based on uncertainty and fear. It affects relationships as your problems and negativity spill forth onto others. Anxiety steals your joy and peace."
"That's exactly how I felt," Kate admitted.
"There was nothing to fear." Jesus quoted Romans 8:38. "Nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."
"Yes, Jesus, but John did die."
"He came to his heavenly home and waited for you here." Jesus looked around. "Where is John now?"
"Playing golf. You know that, Lord."
"I know all things."
"You know those years were hard, Lord."
"But I was with you. Once you trusted Me, life got easier. Didn't it?"
Kate bowed her head. "Yes, Lord. You're right again."
"Always." Jesus laughed. "And how did it all turn out? Did My Father take care of you, or what?"
"Like You said, once I began to trust You -- and let go of trying to control things my own way."
"You didn't know John and Emily had been hoping -- and saving -- for years to take over the farm and the flower shop one day, did you?"
"No." Kate rolled her eyes, showing a hint of her earthly strong-willed attitude with a stamp of her foot. "Why didn't they tell me that?"
"They didn't want you to feel pressured or pushed out. That's a smart son you raised. He knew you'd be insulted if he insinuated your age may require a slower pace."
"Humpf." Kate averted her smile so Jesus couldn't see. Another throw back to earth. He saw and knew all.
She sobered. "Losing John was hard, but my family rallied around me and Your Spirit never left me."
"That's the secret -- My Spirit." Jesus looked down onto the earth again. "My people need to stop listening to the enemy's lies and tune into My Spirit."
He pointed out Kate's grandson Chad -- so like his grandmother in spunk and rebellion.
Chad paced around a small lake, fretting over the love of his life. Vanessa Gallagher struggled in her faith, lived in destitute financial circumstances, and in danger of her abusive father. She couldn't trust God, or men, or Chad.
And Chad was doing the same thing -- trusting only himself to figure it all out.
"Trust Me," Jesus whispered beneath the devil's shouting threats.
Chad stopped pacing. He looked up at the clear blue sky. He sat down at the edge of the lake.
"Trust Me," Jesus whispered again.
Chad's whole body relaxed -- his clenched jaw, his tense shoulders, and his restless feet. The vein in his forehead stopped throbbing.
He bowed his head.
An angel -- his guardian -- appeared behind him with a steady hand on Chad's shoulder. She sang a beautiful song, Trust in You by Lauren Daigle.
"His whole countenance changed." Kate glowed at her grandson's peaceful demeanor.
"Yet nothing changed, except his heart. He opened his heart to trusting Me instead of trusting his own control."
Kate watched the transformation as Chad's lips moved and his toes began tapping to the song.
"Peace amid uncertainty," Jesus said.
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all." 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Peace, Joy, Love and Happy Easter to you, my friends!
Find Dianne's books HERE.
Read Chad and Vanessa's story in Violets for Vanessa.
LISTEN to Lauren Daigle's song, TRUST IN YOU.
How do YOU find peace amid uncertainty?
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