“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  Matthew 7-13:14

Yesterday morning I started to think about the narrow gate to life and the wide road to destruction which Jesus talks about early in Matthew 7.  The context of all of 7 seems to be about faith. I used to think that the narrow gate and the few people that enter was referring to those who get into heaven, but Jesus is talking about the road to life versus the road to destruction. It occurred to me that in this context , Jesus may be saying that those who develop unshakable faith are few.....that the goal should be, and the road to life, is to develop the kind of faith whereby nothing can steal our peace.  If this is true, then few people ever  arrive.  However, those who do possess such faith are certain to show the fruit of the Spirit that Jesus also discusses.  It is far easier to be patient, kind, gentle and self controlled if your mind is not caught in the vice grip of anxiety. 

Additionally, it stands to reason that in order to  enjoy life to its fullest, anxiety and fear must be overcome and replaced by the kind of steadfast faith in God that leads to the "peace that passes all understanding."  

While it is true that anxiety and fear are hard wired into us, partly that to survive we do have the "fight or flight" hormones to deal with, in excess they can cause us real problems, both mentally and physically.  Fear and anxiety are also prime weapons in the arsenal of our enemy who roams the desert looking for "whom he can devour."  Clearly, fear and anxiety are real life stealers, hence the wide road to destruction.

Realizing that we are biologically predisposed to fear and anxiety, and knowing that the enemy sometimes has the advantage over us, I wondered, how on earth do we conquer these conditions?  

Jesus addresses that in Matthew 7:7-8.   "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Simply put....pray for it, because no one can overcome worry without the help of the Holy Spirit.  In fact, if we could achieve ANYTHING without Him, we would not need Him and Jesus' death would have been all for naught. 

So if you find yourself struggling with anything in your life that causes you fear or anxiety, here are two verses that are worthy to meditate upon:

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

The Creator of the universe cares for YOU!  So start casting!