Your trembling request has been heard and has been carried to the throne of grace, and we have prayed for you.
You speak as one pressed down with many sorrows and thronging cares, fearing what may come and fearing what you may have already done. This is a dark world of care, and when sorrows surge round and duties press, the heart is soon wearied. Yet there is a word for such a time as this, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. That peace is not the poor peace of thoughtlessness which cannot endure consideration, nor a peace that has no foundation, for there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. It is peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and peace in the conscience through His blood. The blood of Jesus whispers peace within, and that peace may be enjoyed in the ordinary circumstances of life, even while you wait and know not what the morrow may bring.
We have prayed that the Lord would give you that keeping. Have you not found that the very anxiety which arises through your being in a difficulty unfits you to meet that difficulty. Fear is weakening and fear dishonours God, as though the arm which piled the heavens should be palsied. Therefore the Lord says so often and so tenderly, Fear not. Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will help thee, saith the Lord. It is not merely a preacher who says, Fear not, but Jesus Himself who whispers to His poor servant fallen as dead at His feet, Fear not. To be afraid is to disobey that kind command. Labor then to get rid, as much as possible, of fear, by trusting in promised strength.
We have prayed that God would grant you a breathing space from this press of trouble, according to His mercy, and that He would steady your mind upon Himself. To do the will of Jesus, this is rest. Bear your sorrow with Him and see what perfect peace you will enjoy, even with sorrows surging round. In Jesus keeping we are safe.
And concerning the fear that you may have made a mistake today, we have prayed that the Lord would make plain what is right, and keep you from evil, and show you the way of wisdom. If there has been sin, go straight to God for pardon through Jesus Christ. We are lost through one, the first Adam, and we are saved through One, the Second Adam. Salvation is through the blood of Another, through the merits of Another, and if you are willing to have it so, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have received the atonement. That peace is the fountain, and peace in the conscience is the stream that issues from it. He that is at peace with God will be careful lest he lose that peace, and will seek after holiness.
May the Lord, who is the God of all peace, speak to your heart, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and give you to know that His anger is turned away. May He deliver you from being all your lifetime subject to bondage through fear, for in proportion as faith gets stronger, fear will vanish.
We have prayed thus, that the Lord would help you, keep you, forgive you for Christ's sake, and keep you in perfect peace as your mind is stayed on Him.
