In order to live in peace and happiness and without fear, you must have faith. And if you do not have faith, ask God to strengthen your faith. In faith you can conquer anything because the Bible teaches us that “all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).
You should also respond to the fears that come upon you, and you should not give up to thoughts of despair, tiredness, fear but instead respond to these thoughts. Responding to these thoughts is a great spiritual exercise. “Many are they who say of me, There is no help for him in God.” (Psalm 3:2). This is what “many” say and this is what the evil thoughts in your head tell you. However, you should respond to these thoughts by saying “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. (Psalm 3:5). When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. (Psalm 27:2). Our enemies are our evil thoughts, and the thoughts that hurt us but they stumbled and fell! Remind yourself of these things when you are struggling.
You can always respond to your negative thoughts with Bible verses. The person who can memorize and recall many verses can live a happy life. Whenever a thought enters their mind, they can respond with a Bible verse. A thought of fear? But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” (John 6:20) or “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5). Make sure you have a large bank of Bible verses to use for every situation and to respond to the attacks of the evil one. When you get a thought of fear, remind yourself that the children of God must be strong and courageous. Strong in spirit, strong in their faith, and strong in their emotions.
Always remember God’s promises, remember God’s strength and all He has done. And remember the fruits of the Holy Spirit which among them are happiness and peace, and recall these fruits when you are struggling. Meditate on the works of the Lord and on his beautiful virtues. Strive hard to be far away from weakness. Many people confuse humbleness with weakness. Do not say I am weak or I am not able, but say even though I am weak, God’s strength will work through me. Even though I am weak, and I cannot fight for myself, but with God on my side, I can fight! You cannot simply remember your weakness, and forget God’s power and strength. If you sense that the enemy is surrounding you (bad thoughts), say “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped.” (Psalms 124:7). Use Bible verses to fight any thoughts.
These Bible verses will strengthen you because the word of God is strong and effective. Always remember that God is good, and he will do good to you. He is a loving father that takes care of His children, a shepherd that takes care of His sheep. Be also at peace with God. Do not think that God will not listen to you or He will not take care of you because you have sinned or you have been far away from Him.
When you have a problem, you might not know the good that will come from it at the moment. And if you prayed, and God does not answer you, then even that will be for your own good. With faith, you will find that everything will eventually turn for the good. This is how you will continuously live content. You will be reassured that God takes care of you, reassured that he loves you, reassured that he will save you, reassured of His abilities and reassured that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).
– Notes and excerpts from a sermon of Pope Shenouda III, his blessings be with us.
Chrism 