Don't let what happens on the outside disturb you on the inside

How often do you let problems, over which you have little or no control, or that belong to someone else, bother you? Or do you allow issues with little spiritual consequence play a major role in your peace of mind?

Janet was upset. She cried, became depressed and felt like giving up. Her business had flooded during a huge water overflow. The building was badly damaged, and Janet had invested a large amount of capital and sweat into the enterprise. She felt like, now, she could never recover financially. Nevertheless, Janet tried to keep the spirits of the family elevated.

Janet thought that, as a first step, she would try to keep a warm and cheerful home. Janet prepared hot inviting meals and provided an upbeat atmosphere. The rest of the family was busy trying to clean up the water-riddled building. Janet's overwhelmed mood told her they would never be able to rent the spaces.

Her business was a huge commercial building that she and her husband had purchased for the purpose of renting it out to tenants. Now, Janet lamented, no one would trust the safety of the location. I won't go into what happened to the business-end of the scenario now, but I will tell you how Janet handled the situation.

One afternoon, during the cleanup, Janet decided to walk down the sidewalk near her house.

"What are we going to do? We've invested everything we own into this venture and, now, look what's happened. We may lose everything," she surmised. Then, Janet reached inside herself and applied spirituality to the dilemma. "What's the worst thing that will happen, if we lose the business and even our home?" She went on with her inner discernment and decided that as long as the family was happy and safe, they could always start over. So what if the experience was a humbling one and they gave up the coveted prestige of owning and running a successful business? Those were all things outside her inner sanctuary. They could never really harm her, unless she allowed them to. It was her perception within and her faith in God that would soothe her fears. Janet always prayed to God, when she felt depressed and like giving up, and her personal God always came through.

Again, after she prayed, a strange peace came over her. God had come to her assistance again. He always lived up to Psalm 27:14: "Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart."

You can't allow outside happenings to affect how you feel inside. Often when someone you love tells you of his problems, you become so immersed in them that you become agitated and upset.

Then is when you must step back and remember that although you need to share other people's burdens, you can't become so involved in them that it disturbs you unduly. They are outside you. They belong to the other person. You can't help if you're a part. You have to go on about your life and assist within your capabilities.

You can lose everything outside: love, money, prestige and possessions, but it's what you have within you that counts. God is your rock. He is your defense and He will not allow you to be moved (Psalm 62:6). It is not what is outside us that brings the most joy and calm. It's truly what we carry inside. John 14:27 assures you that God will relieve our minds and our hearts when he quotes Jesus' words, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."

When you're perturbed, stop and ask if what you're worried and stewing about is outside you or inside you. Call upon God and he will come to your assistance. "In the day of my trouble I will call upon you, for you will answer me" (Psalm 86:7).