May 11, 2022 – Click here to listen
I was really stressed out yesterday. I’ve sold my house, my property at Honey Lake, and my Yellowfin boat and need to get them all closed by the end of the month. As with most closings involving a great deal of money, there comes a great deal of problems with it. One of the biggest problems is that we have booked our flights to Costa Rica and rented a house with a non-refundable deposit, and I cannot get any legal documents notarized there except at the United States embassy. Meaning I must get everything accomplished prior to leaving or lose thousands of dollars.
So, I’m left with getting all the various documents executed prior to leaving. This is not to mention getting all our possessions out of the house and into storage. But most important I must get some permitting work closed for my dock and elevator to close out my home. I have been juggling a lot of balls for days and today will be no different. We must be out of the house by Sunday and are scheduled to fly to Costa Rica on Monday.
So, I opened my email this morning and had several letters from people who are REALLY struggling in life, and I felt ashamed. I should be taking all my problems in stride and whistling my way through it with a smile on my face. People in Ukraine are struggling just to live through the night, friends of mine are depressed to the point of contemplating suicide, two close friends just came down with Covid, my cousin just died of pneumonia, mothers cannot get baby formula for their children, and on and on. Geez, this is not to mention that we are on the verge of a nuclear war or a recession. People are hurting everywhere and in many cases, it is life and death. Ugh . . .
My problems have been exhausting and they sometimes seem to have no ending in sight; however, they are small and insignificant compared to the plight of so many. I prayed to God this morning and asked His forgiveness for not fully appreciating the scope of His blessings and getting stressed and being in a foul mood. I also apologized for focusing on the few obstacles that remain instead of Jesus from whom all blessings flow. I prayed for those who have far greater problems than I and asked Him to draw close to them and give them hope and comfort. I also wrote letters of encouragement to some of those who wrote and added Bible verses.
As I think about the problems that I face, I’m reminded today of that old saying, “What difference will any of this matter in a hundred years?” I will get my problems resolved one at a time and if things get delayed, well there are far worse things going on in this world than my little problems.
Keep your problems in context brothers and sisters. And keep in mind that you have all of eternity to spend time with Jesus Himself. Today’s problems will not even be a distant memory throughout eternity. As always, we should focus on Him and not the problems of the day. If you are stressed today, there is a simple solution:
1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.