Do you remember that children’s chorus, ‘I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul…?”  Another verse goes, “I’ve got joy like a fountain…”  Do you ever feel like the river is more like a dried up creek bed and the fountain a stagnant pool?  May I first suggest that you accept God’s permission to worry about nothing, His invitation to ask HIm for anything and His provision as a reason to thank Him for everything (Philippians 4:6-7).  But obstructions may also need to be removed, in order for the Living Water to supply peace and joy to your soul.  Here are a few obstructions—

  1. Sin that you won’t release in repentance  (Psalm 32:4-5)
  2. A body waiting to be redeemed (Rom 8:23)  Chemical imbalances, chronic or intense pain and fatigue are some of the physical obstructions to soul-filling peace and joy.  The most spiritual thing you can do sometimes is take your meds and take a nap.
  3. A compulsion to take care of or manage everything and everyone in the world, or at least, in your part of it.  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) and remember that you are not.
  4. A habit of writing a mental script for tomorrow or tomorrows (which often looks like a disaster movie), and living today as if those scripts were true (James 4:13-15, Matthew 6:34).