Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church says people should learn how to keep calm and remain at rest even amid their difficulties because it is the only way God will be able to effectively help them.
"God will fight your battles if you'll stay at rest. If you'll quit worrying about the medical report, if you'll quit being upset over the contract you didn't get, if you'll quit being stressed by those people who are talking about you. If you'll remain at rest, God will fight your battles," he writes on his blog.
This is exactly what happened to Moses and the Israelites who were delivered from the Pharaoh's captivity, says Osteen. Their journey towards the Promised Land was not as easy as they thought it was, and many wound up dead at the Red Sea. The people panicked and asked Moses, "Why did you bring us out here in the desert to die?"
But Moses knew that if they remained upset, fearful and worried, then it would have kept God from working. So he calmed the people down by saying, "Don't be afraid, the Lord will fight for you if you hold your peace and remain at rest."
In the same way, Osteen says people should identify the peace stealers in their lives, turn their mind over to God, and remain at rest.
"What's causing you to be stressed? Are you carrying a load that you're not supposed to carry? Are you allowing someone to dump their burdens on you, trying to be the saviour? Are you allowing traffic, people or a grouchy boss to upset you? They may not change, but you can change," says Osteen.
He adds that life is too short to let peace stealers determine people's destinies. Once people make the decision to stay at rest, they're not only going to enjoy life more, but God will also do for them what He did for the Israelites.
"He'll part Red Seas; He'll restore your health, and He'll bring vindication, promotion and the fullness of your destiny. He'll fight your battles if you'll remain at rest," Osteen says.
