“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a
river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” (1 Nephi 20:18)
I’ve learned some things about stress. Stress from the outside—job, kids, finances, etc.—doesn’t harm me nearly so much as stress from the inside—guilt, shame, etc.
When I am right with the Lord—keeping His commandments the best I can, praying and reading the scriptures daily, capturing, seeking His will for me, then doing my best to carry it out—then it doesn’t much matter what’s going on around me. I feel safe, like there is a buffer zone, a bubble of protection around me, a demilitarized zone where the enemy cannot get in to attack.
But if I’m not right with the Lord, I lose my protection and the slightest breeze of conflict or trial sets me in a tailspin.
And here’s something else I’ve learned. I don’t have to be perfect to be protected. I only have to do the best I can and let God take care of the rest. He will let me know, with a little twinge in my heart and mind, that I’ve stepped off the path, that I’ve poked a little hole in my protective bubble.
And when I repent, He seals that leak right up.
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