- Peter 5:7-9 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
If you believe and put to action the Word that the Lord speaks, all worries, concerns and anxieties disappear from your mind. Your worries will disappear if you open your door and promptly receive the Word of the Lord, because it contains the answers to your questions. The Word is the Lord Himself. Receiving the Word is receiving the Lord.
Everyone, think about it. Think: ‘Did I let the Lord come into my heart? Has He come next to me, into my heart or not? What is the proof that the Lord has come close to me or into my heart?’ [The Lord] gives an answer to those who are unsure. Those who hear His Word, realize it, and accept it with an ‘amen’ have opened their doors to the Lord so that He would come into their hearts.
The stage where you eat, drink, and share joy with the Lord is that you accept His Word, solidify your faith, and keep [your] love. A person who keeps their love and faith in the Lord intact has become a lover of the Lord in their daily life; they live with the Lord. The Lord said, “Whoever hears My Word and puts it to action saves Me, saves themselves, takes pain away from Me, takes Me down from the cross I bear because of them, and thus gives Me freedom and joy; they are the ones who dearly love Me.” Anybody who loves the Lord absolutely listens to His words and takes action.
As for the mind, it is deemed as action to hear the Word of the Lord and have absolute faith. For the body, it is acknowledged as action to do things agreeing with the mind in reality. [God] set such criteria in acknowledgement and fulfillment. Those who break their promises to the Lord fail to receive the Lord into their minds and they don’t allow Him to stay next to them.
The Lord speaks and then remains with the Word. Those who don’t obey His Word definitely have to repent in order for Satan to depart; they must promise to obey in order for the Lord to be soothed in the heart and return to them. People’s worries differ according to their situations and circumstances. People come to worry about food, clothes and shelter; worry about the future; worry about the present; and worry about the things that happen in their personal lives. Besides, each individual, each nation is apprehensive because problems hit them on a personal, family, national, and world-wide level. Whether you live in a palace, in an environment like heaven, or in an ordinary place, a concern suddenly turns your mind into hell. [But] even if you reside in a crammed corner room, a grass-thatched house or in poor surroundings; as long as you don’t have worries; your mind is at peace. You will be able to rest in peace; your life will be like heaven.
People live immersed in nervousness, anxieties, and concerns. They are restless and worried, thinking, ‘Will it go wrong? Will it fail?’ The Lord always comforts and says, “Be at ease. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. Don’t be anxious.” Those who worry, however, worry and suffer because they are swept by waves of the world, their houses are completely burned by fire, they are suffering from illness, or they have lost all their possessions. Despite all that, the Lord still says, “If you love Me, cast all your anxiety on Me and don’t worry.” If you leave [everything] to the Lord, He makes it happen in a much better way than the way you worry and have fear about. Instead of driving your life on your own and worrying over it, quickly entrust your life to the Lord.
The Lord is an almighty God. Even now, the Lord draws close especially those who earnestly seek Him on earth; He speaks to those who confide their worries to Him, and listens and resolves what each person calls upon Him for and tells Him about. Usually, people say that they have prayed but their problems aren’t resolved quickly; impatient and anxious, they continue to worry. Furthermore, they try to take care of issues on their own and act anxiously. The Lord will lay His hand on [your] issues and take action. Therefore, reflect on the past and if you find that you have done wrongs, take time to completely clean them up through repentance. When the Lord resolves the issues that have distressed you, don’t just say, ‘thank you,’ with your lips but give Him glory and make a determination to serve, worship, and work for the Lord on a greater scale in the future. When having a problem, you should make a promise and determinations and say, “If you take care of this problem [for me], I will live my life like this as you want, Lord.” If you do so, the Lord will quickly resolve your problem.
When it comes to promises, [you] have to fulfill even ones that you made to a human being in order to be approved and well treated by that person. As for the promises we made to God and the Lord, we must fulfill all of them before we die when we are given opportunities.
We have been doing so until now, but after hearing today’s message, [we] shall rely on God even more, rely on the Lord, leave [our] worries to the Lord, and only [focus on] walking with Him throughout our lives. [We] become closer to God and the Holy Son through the time when we face hardships and difficulties. At all times, we must live according to what the Lord says.