If applied correctly, this secret will affect everything you do, every thought you have, and every word you speak.

This is the most important, life-changing truth I can pass on to you:

Are you ready?

Everything will be alright.

That’s it.

I know…mind blowing, right!

Every day our world, especially here in America and in the western world, everyone is freaking out about something. It’s like everyone is one spilled coffee cup, or one Donald Trump tweet away from total, nuclear meltdown.

As if that isn’t stressful enough it’s like they all want us to be freaking out as much as they are. If you aren’t outraged by the latest political poll or stockpiling gold to survive the impending economic doom, then you’re no better than a bird-brained ostrich with its head in the sand.

Our world wants us to freak out as much as they do. And it’s not just the mainstream media. It’s our friends and our coworkers. It’s our siblings and our parents.

It’s even our pastors.

In religious circles, it takes a different form. It often seems that if you aren’t going to the ends of the earth to save every soul or right every wrong, then you’re basically wasting your life.

And if we don’t surrender to this pressure or temptation to make everyone else’s concerns our own, then they get defensive and indignant that the tsunami headed for their shores has not disrupted our still waters.

Rather than give in to this, let me remind you:

Everything will be alright.

It is incredibly tempting to give in to the doom and gloom around us. Everything in our fast-paced world has an added sense of urgency to it. If we don’t finish that project at work on time and present it with perfection and earth-shattering innovation; if everything we do doesn’t blow people away and make us an expert, then what’s the point in living?

How will we ever achieve some financial stability, reach our dreams and live a life free of stress if this next thing turns out to be a failure?

This way of thinking is so swift and subtle that we don’t even realize we’re sinking in it until things start falling apart at the seams. I do it. You do it. And the people we look to for help certainly do it too. It’s become the American way of life.

But I’ll bet you anything I own that if you take a moment, gain some perspective, and look back on your past, you’d be tempted to say something like:

“Well, it wasn’t that bad in the end.”

Or

“It all worked itself out eventually”

Or even

“I’m grateful for that challenge. It led to something even better.”

The truth, of course, is life IS difficult. Tragedies do strike and can strike often.

But time, forgiveness, and love really do soothe and heal.

Every day we are confronted with difficult challenges, unforeseen circumstances, and things we’d rather just flush down the toilet with last night’s ethnic food.

But in the end, we learn. We adapt. Eventually, we rise above the struggles of life.

Life will never perfectly reflect our utopian dream, but when we stop trying to control life and instead choose to live with the ebb and flow, life is full of beautiful moments and opportunities we would never have imagined.

And when it comes to a life pursuing the love and truth of God, there is even greater hope.

Several times in scripture Jesus compares us to sheep. Do you know anything about sheep?

Tim Challies tells a story on his blog Challies.com of 1500 sheep who all walked casually to their deaths. One sheep started walking until there was no more ground beneath his hooves, at least not for another 50 feet. And one-by-one the rest of the herd followed suit.

Sheep are dumb.

God knows this.

And He knows we are similar.

In life, especially in our pursuit of God and His will for our lives, there is NO pressure to get it right. Especially if God knows our human limitations better than we do, then it follows that He expects us to get it wrong more than we expect to get it wrong.

To live as if God expects us to figure it out or to get it right is absurd.

Worse yet, we live as if every time we mess up He is suddenly angry or disappointed in us. Like a father ashamed of his son for not being the star football player, we cower in fear that God is ashamed of us when we make mistakes.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Imagine a new parent watching his or her child walk for the first time. The child stands up, shakily, and takes 2, maybe 3 steps before they fall flat on their face without even attempting to catch themselves.

No parent thinks to themselves, “Oh my god. What an idiot I have. My dumbass child can’t even walk without looking like a drunk moron. I’m so ashamed. I’m so disappointed.”

NO ONE!

NOT ONE parent in their right mind would think that. Any good parent would be leaping with excitement and pride that their child just walked!!

“DID YOU SEE THAT” they would exclaim.

“MY KID JUST WALKED! DID YOU SEE IT? He’s brilliant! I can’t believe he walked all by himself!”

Throughout the course of this blog, we will often address issues that some would rather avoid. We will bring up controversial beliefs, difficult conversations, and uncomfortable ideas.

In our search for something more –for a more honest faith– we will sometimes get it wrong.

Afterall, we are sheep.

The good news is, God knows this.

And He is a good shepherd.

He cares for us more deeply than we could imagine.

He is FULL of grace and patience.

And He has promised to make all things right

(Rom 8:28, Rev 21:5, Isa 65:17)

So as you step into the fear and challenges of this day, remember this:

Everything will be alright.