Distress, a close relative of pain, anxiety, and grief, are among Satan’s “big guns” in his attack on Christians. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from joy and gladness! Jesus wants His followers to be joyful, telling us, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” John 15:11; so His words are a source of joy! And Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Then there is pain, which can be physical, but it can also be mental, emotional, and spiritual. Keep in mind that pain is part of the curse Jesus bore for us. Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows…” A marginal note says these are literally sicknesses and pains; they come from two Hebrew words meaning malady, anxiety, and calamity, and the other meaning anguish, and (figuratively) affliction. So He does not want us to bear them because He bore them for us! There is also that culprit called worry, which among other things according to Webster, is “to cause to feel troubled or uneasy”; and the other is, “to be anxious…, etc.” Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.” Anxious here is the same Greek word Jesus used in Matthew 6:25 where it is called worry. Worry is a state of preoccupation with anxiety, stress, and pressure; it is to be troubled, but Jesus said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” John 14:27. Today look to Him and receive His joy, His healing, and His peace.
Fight for truth
By Rose Hill
I got up this morning with a distressing thought,
I’m sure it’s something the devil brought.
So I just said you must be gone,
I won’t believe there’s something wrong.
At the middle of the day I had such a pain,
If it gets worse I’ll need a cane.
“Away”, I said, “with such a thought”,
You’re just something the devil brought.”
And when the sun began to set,
I was tempted to sigh and fret,
But I said “Worry you take your flight,
I know my God will make all things right”.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.