Weekly Devotional: Finding God’s Peace in Life’s Stress

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

College students are often stressed. Studying, tests and figuring out your future career all combine to create a lot of anxiety. It is hard to plan your life when you don’t even know who you are as a person yet, let alone what you want to do with the rest of your life. It is in these times of stress that we can find God’s peace.

Stress takes our eyes off God. When we are stressed, it is usually because we feel we have to do everything on our own. When we try to take control of our lives, we fall apart. We are not capable of running our lives well devoid of God; rather, we need His power, His love and His will in order to live peacefully.

God loves us and wants what is best for us, but we need to trust that this is true. Sometimes it is hard to put our faith completely in God’s plan, especially when we can’t see it right in front of us. But isn’t that what faith is?

We often try to live our lives according to our own manmade plans because we feel more in control. We think that things are more manageable if we can lay them out ourselves according to what we feel, think or want to do. This feeling of control doesn’t last for long, though, and soon we are left stressed out, broken and wondering where we went wrong. People do this all the time, but it is important to trust God’s plan from the beginning, knowing that He knows best. Not only is God’s plan for our lives better than any plan we could come up with on our own, but it will also bring us peace and joy!

Trusting fully in God brings a peace beyond all human understanding. When we put our faith in God, we can go through terribly stressful situations without feeling their weight and burden.

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” This is a great reminder to not worry about the future, but rather be present in each moment and focus on God. We are free to bring our problems to the feet of God and receive extraordinary peace to take on each day as they come.

So when you feel overwhelmed by the stresses of this life, take heart and know that God is loving and willing to give you peace if you turn and trust in Him completely.

GCU is committed to following Christ wholeheartedly. If you want to learn more about Grand Canyon University’s Christian identity and heritage, please visit our website or click the Request More Information button to learn more.

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Engage with Grand Canyon University's (GCU) vibrant Spiritual Life community and take a deeper look at the various ministries that are happening around the world, in your backyard and on our campus. We hope that God will challenge and encourage you through His words and the stories about His people that inspire us all.