0:00Episode 3946, find peace in the midst of troubles. Mom's, it's time to rediscover, rejuvenate and renew who you are in mind, body, and spirit. Welcome to Create Your Now, Your Best Selfie, the show that help you do just that. Here's your host, Certified Life Coach, Personal Trainer, and Nutritionist, Kristian Wargo. Okay, every day, I hope you're having a fabulous, restful and purful weekend, allowing yourself to give your heart to God. Now, honestly, we need to be doing that every day, but let's be real. Sometimes we really don't make time for God. And when life happens, how do you find peace in the midst of troubles? For those of you who are brand new to Create Your Now, welcome to this incredible family. I'm so delighted of your presence. If you aren't even at the opportunity, you want to head on over to Create Your Now.com, where you can learn more and sign up for the Kisses newsletter. They keep it simple strategy, everyday solutions, to live, love, and impact.

1:02You know, troubles come to all of us, right? We were never guaranteed a perfect life. When you're a believer and you ask Jesus Christ into your heart to be the leader and the Lord and Savior of your life, it's not all good. And in fact, sometimes it feels like maybe there's more bad than good, but that doesn't change who God is. So yes, troubles come to all of us. And how we handle them defines our peace and effectiveness. I'm on Sarah Young's mailing list, so to speak. I get her emails throughout the week. And one came across my inbox and it read this, rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur. And this comes from her book, Jesus Calling. And it's talking about rehearsing your troubles, resulting experience in them many times.

2:06Why do we do that? Why do we keep replaying everything? Because I promise you, you can find peace in the midst of troubles. But as you know, this truth challenges, right, this common tendency to ruminate on problems long before or even after they happen, replaying them in our minds like a broken record. Instead God calls us to a different way of handling struggle, a way rooted in trust, courage, and rest. I want you to look at Joshua 1, 5 through 9, we're going to kind of be pulling some things from there. And it truly is a powerful passage that reveals God's blueprint for facing challenges. And in it, God tells Joshua, I will never leave you nor forsake you and commands him to be strong and courageous. My friend, this isn't just a pep talk. It's a deep assurance that God's presence is not conditional on circumstances.

3:07But how many times have we gotten mad directly to God and say, Lord, why aren't you showing up here? What is your problem? Right, we all do it, be honest. I have done it many, many times. I admit it, you wouldn't be human if you didn't. Let me tell you right now, God's shoulders are broad enough. He can handle your human emotions and feelings. But I do think sometimes we get so wrapped up in those that we forget what God has told us in his word. I will never leave you nor forsake you. And telling Joshua would be strong and courageous, right? It's God's presence, not anything about our circumstances. The key to peace and mid-trouble is remembering that God is with you, not sometimes but always. You can find peace in the midst of troubles.

4:10And maybe you're in the middle of some struggles right now. You're fighting it. You don't know what to do. You're mad, you're angry, and then you're happy and you're sad. All the emotions everywhere, I get it. It's not fair, but it's called life. But you see, God commands us to keep this book of the law always on your lips, meditate on it day and night. This isn't found in obsessing over the problem, but in grounding ourselves in God's promises and wisdom. Instead of cycling through worries, right, replaying them over and over again, anchored minds dwell on truth. The Bible becomes a refuge, a source of guidance, and a reminder that you are not alone. And I get it, we feel that way, right? I mean, come on, we've got to be honest about that feeling too, because we can't deal with our feelings if we're not honest about our feelings, but that doesn't mean we have

5:13to continually hang out with those feelings, right? We can go and dive in to God's word and say, where are you, Lord, show me your promises. God's call to be strong and courageous as a command to take action, but the kind of action that flows from faith, not fear. God is not the absence of trouble, but the refusal to be paralyzed by it. When you lean into God's strength rather than your own, because we try it, don't we? Yeah, we do. You find a calm bravery, that steadiness that doesn't scream or panic, because you know God has already gone before you, and at times we have to be reminded of that. Go to His word, get on your knees. God insists we not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, right? This is all in Joshua, chapter one, verses five through nine. This means an ongoing commitment.

6:15Peace is not a one and done moment. You just don't all of a sudden say, okay, I'm going to do this Lord and everything else is going to be great. No, it doesn't work that way. It's a daily choice to fight off the habit of rehearsing worries and fears, a choice to bring every troubling thought back to God's word, back to His presence. But how do you really live your life? Are you really trying this, or are you stuck, stuck in the manner of, I've got to control everything? Let me tell you, life may not get easier, but life is easier with God. Did you hear me? Life may not get easier, but life is easier with God. And much rather be doing life with Him than not knowing Him and do life for myself. We also have to wrestle with the fact that our troubles, they don't have the final say,

7:18in the moment, of course, they feel like it, right? It's like, if it feels like death is knocking at your door and it may not actually be that, that feeling of there's urgency there, right? Life and death situations may be literally that, or it could be more figuratively where you have to make decisions quickly and you cannot delay. And so yeah, we wrestle with the fact that our troubles don't have the final say, because in the moment we feel like they do, and we are completely out of control. You see God's promise to Joshua was a guarantee of his presence, God's presence, right? And that same promise stands for you today. He will never leave you nor forsake you. When doubts attack and worries flare because they will, if you're not in the midst of it now, you're going to be or you're coming out of it, right? So when all of this is happening, you have a spiritual anchor to hold fast.

8:19You have your Heavenly Father. The peace God offers is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Himself in the trouble. My friend, if you find yourself stuck replaying troubles over and over again, cut an endless what-ifs, put down the script, and pick up God's promises, pick up God's Word, pick up the Bible, and then breathe and courage. Use not to dwell on the storms, but on the one who commands them. Let Joshua, right, be your reminder here. You don't face struggles alone. And when you stop rehearsing trouble, you begin to experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. Go in peace, be present, be incredible, be you.

9:19I love you so very much. I cannot wait to see you on the other side, blessing tugs and lots and lots of love. Hey, have a beautiful blessed weekend and a blessed week to come. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Feeling inspired and ready to train for life and love your journey, visit createyournow.com for more incredible resources to help you along the way. We'll see you next time on Create Your Now Your Best Selfie. And remember, always be sure you consult your physician before beginning any health and fitness plan.