Finding Peace in God: When Anxiety Met His Truth
Finding Peace in God as We Commit Our Works to Him
Learning to Walk with Jesus — One Lesson at a Time
I had prayed. We had prayed. Yet I was losing sleep.
It wasn’t just one thing. Responsibilities, important decisions, unexpected problems, and concerns for people I love were pressing in from every direction. There were things to resolve, bills to handle, people who needed me, and decisions I wanted to make carefully before the Lord. So much seemed to need an answer right now.
And underneath it all, I wanted time with my family.
I was trying to walk in truth, fairness, and humility, even while facing dishonesty, pressure, and efforts to cause division. Then another difficulty would come. And another.
It felt like arrows were coming from every direction, trying to get my peace.
Then, as I spoke honestly with a trusted friend who prays, listens, and knows the Lord, peace came to me within thirty seconds.
Glory, hallelujah!
There is a lesson here that I want to share while I am learning it myself.
Come sit with me awhile.
I am learning that finding peace in God begins with bringing Him what is troubling me and listening to what He has said.
“Lord, have I done something wrong?”
I trusted the Lord to provide another way if something changed. I knew He could open another door.
What really troubled me was the question:
“Lord, have I done something wrong? Have I misrepresented Your truth in any way? Am I making the right decision?”
Some decisions felt right deep in my heart, but I still wanted to surrender them to Him. I wanted to be responsible with what He had entrusted to me. I wanted His will.
Yet with so much happening at once, my questions began turning over and over in my mind. I felt overwhelmed. I wondered why I was so unsettled when I had already prayed. At times, I felt as though I was going crazy.
I kept bringing it to the Lord: “If I have made a mistake, show me. If I need correction, help me receive it. Help me understand what I am doing.”
Seeking His will is a part of peace.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”—Psalm 139:23–24, KJV
That is a prayer I can pray honestly. I want Him to examine my heart because I want to walk with Him.
Speaking honestly with someone who prays
I shared what was troubling me with a trusted friend:
“I am praying to the Lord about this anxiety.
I am either doing something really wrong,
or I am about to do something really good.”
That was how the uncertainty felt. I needed help turning my attention back to the Lord and understanding what His Word said.
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”—James 5:16, KJV
We must be willing to confess our faults. We can also speak honestly about our burdens and ask for prayer, even when we do not yet understand what is troubling us.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”—Galatians 6:2, KJV
I did not have to pretend I was fine. I could admit, “I need prayer. I need understanding. I want to know if there is something the Lord wants me to see.”
As we talked, the Lord helped me understand.
Within thirty seconds, peace came to me.
Glory, hallelujah! I am teaching as I learn.
That is my testimony of how quickly He helped me that day. If you are still seeking and waiting, keep coming to Him. His love for you is not measured by how quickly the anxious feeling leaves.
Thoughts of peace—not of evil
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”—Jeremiah 29:11, KJV
God first spoke these words to His people in exile. Their circumstances were difficult, and they had a long wait ahead of them. Yet He had not forgotten them. His promise gave them hope while they waited.
As I considered this Scripture, these words became precious to me:
Thoughts of peace. Not of evil.
What I was going through did not mean God’s heart toward me had changed.
The pressure around me was real. But it did not tell me what God thought toward me. I needed to know Him and listen to what He had said.
Fear or anxiety is not automatically proof of unbelief. Scripture shows us how to turn to Him when we are afraid:
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”—Psalm 56:3, KJV
And Scripture tells us:
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”—2 Timothy 1:7, KJV
Power. Love. A sound mind.
I could bring my troubled thoughts to Him. I could receive correction without surrendering to torment. I could trust Him while learning.
Guarding the peace Jesus gave us
Jesus said:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”—John 14:27, KJV
His peace is a gift.
The enemy of our souls exists. Scripture tells us to be watchful and to resist him, steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8–9). Lies, accusations, intimidation, and confusion can work upon our minds, drawing us away from trusting God.
For me, it felt like the pressures were coming from every area of life, trying to get my peace.
Your circumstances may look different. Perhaps you are carrying a difficult decision, family concerns, financial responsibilities, conflict, or several things at once.
The situations change. But we seek the same Lord, receive the peace Jesus gives, and face the same enemy with different ways of troubling us.
We need discernment. We need to recognize the difference between correction that helps us obey God and accusations that keep us circling in fear.
God’s correction calls us to respond to truth. We can repent, make something right, and follow Him. Endless “what ifs” can leave us turning the same question over without taking it anywhere.
So I am learning to ask: “Lord, is there something I need to do? Show me. And help me surrender what I cannot control.”
Jesus guides us into truth
Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”—John 14:6, KJV, excerpt
Jesus is the truth. He is our guide.
And He said of the Holy Spirit:
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”—John 16:13, KJV, excerpt
We can ask Him to show us the truth about our circumstances, our thoughts, and our own hearts. We can remain willing to hear correction while refusing lies that pull us away from trusting Him.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”—2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV
A thought can enter my mind without becoming the thought I follow.
I do not have to keep rehearsing every anxious possibility. I can bring the thought to Jesus and examine it in the light of His Word.
Learning what to listen to
Our minds need to be renewed. We need to learn to recognize God’s truth and bring our thinking into agreement with His Word.
Think about choosing music. We decide what we listen to, and what enters our ears can affect what we remember, feel, and dwell upon.
What am I listening to inwardly? Am I replaying an accusation? Am I continually questioning a decision I have surrendered to the Lord? Am I making room to meditate on what He has said?
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”—Romans 12:2, KJV
God’s Spirit dwells in believers (Romans 8:9). We learn to listen through prayer, Scripture, and obedience, examining what we think we hear by His written Word.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”—Proverbs 4:23, KJV
What we dwell upon matters.
God’s thoughts toward us are that powerful. We need to know them.
Roll your works upon the Lord
“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.”—Proverbs 16:3, KJV
Roll your works upon the Lord. Commit and trust them wholly to Him. Ask Him to bring your thoughts into agreement with His will and establish your plans according to His purposes.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”—Proverbs 3:5–6, KJV
I can do what He has placed before me. I can choose truth, fairness, and humility. I can receive correction and make changes where needed.
Then I can trust Him with the outcome.
I do not have to control another person’s response. I do not have to solve every responsibility in my mind all at once.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:6–7, KJV
His peace can keep my heart and mind before I know how everything will work out.
Will we diligently seek Him?
Will we seek the Lord when we do not understand? Will we let Him search our hearts? Will we confess our faults and ask a trusted friend to pray with us?
Will we be willing to say, “Lord, I don’t know. Am I doing something right, or am I doing something wrong? Please teach me”?
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”—Hebrews 11:6, KJV
That is where I was: diligently seeking Him.
Now I have His peace, and I thank Jesus!
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.”—Nehemiah 8:10, KJV, excerpt
My heart is to serve the One greater than me: our Lord and Saviour Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).
I hope this helps you, because the Lord sure does help me daily.
When fear asks, “What if?” I am learning to turn to Jesus and ask, “Lord, what have You said?”
A prayer as we learn
Lord Jesus, thank You for hearing our prayers. Search our hearts. Show us where we need to repent, and help us receive Your correction.
When responsibilities seem to press upon us from every direction, help us bring each concern to You. Guide us into all truth. Renew our minds through Your Word. Help us recognize and refuse lies, and teach us to trust You with our works and their outcome.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”—Psalm 19:14, KJV
Thank You for Your peace, Your love, and the strength of Your joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Christ is the Teacher; I am a fellow learner.
Sharing with thanksgiving, in Jesus’ name.
Karen, a fellow learner.
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