Believers operate in a dysfunctional environment. One of the reasons why it feels so foreign to us is that although we’re tuned to God’s frequency, we’re surrounded by people tuned in to the world’s frequency. Similar to radio waves in the atmosphere, negative emotions—such as agitation—“floating around” pose a hazard to our emotional peace. We must be on the alert because this emotion isn’t God’s will for us.
Agitation is defined as a state of feeling restless or a state of excessive psychomotor activity accompanied by increased tension and irritability. Focusing on the wrong things opens us up to this without us even realizing what’s happening. However, we’ve received a directive to guard our peace of mind; Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid.
Agitation moves us out of our place of peace and troubles our hearts; as the Prince of Peace, Jesus has specific instructions on how to guard against this. We’re not to let our hearts be troubled, distressed, or agitated. We must stop allowing ourselves to be agitated or disturbed, and stop permitting ourselves to be fearful and unsettled.
God wants us to experience rest, both physical and spiritual. If we’re tired and worn out, spending time with Him shows us how to take a real rest. Taking His yoke upon us and learning about Him lets us find rest for our souls. He also wants us to find peace; He keeps us in perfect peace when we trust in Him and fix our thoughts on Him.
Giving God our agitation and letting Him replace it with peace is a sign of humility; conversely, hanging on to agitation is a sign of pride. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Trusting Him to calm and quiet us when the situation seems out of control keeps us from being emotionally swept away.
Prayer:
Lord, getting too concerned about everything going on around us and not focusing on You causes us anxiety and agitation. By contrast, fixing our thoughts on Your grace and peace gives us peace and protection from negative emotions. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
John 14:1, 27
Isaiah 9:6
John 14:1, 27, AMPC
Matthew 11:28, MSG
Matthew 11:28
Isaiah 26:3, NLT
James 4:6