Wrong Place at the Wrong Time - Martin Wiles

Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. Mark 14:68 NLT

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can have life-altering effects.

As I backed out of the driveway, I saw a blur in my rearview mirror. Knowing a stop sign was only fifty feet away, I stopped and quickly turned my head. I knew the car didn’t see the stop sign. I also knew the chances of a crash were high.

Sure enough, another car approached the intersection from a different direction. What took only a few seconds seemed like an eternity. The car that ran the stop sign T-boned the other vehicle perfectly, causing every glass in the car to explode.

Like both these drivers, I’ve unintentionally been at the wrong place at the wrong time—or at least something I’ve owned has. My portable cassette tape player was once in the wrong place at the wrong time, and someone lifted it. My car was once in the wrong place, too, and someone busted the back glass looking for something they didn’t find.

Peter was at the wrong place at the wrong time—but intentionally. He should have stood near Jesus, not with those who were probably His enemies. Though Peter temporarily stood up for Jesus when the mob arrested him, he quickly turned tail like the other disciples. When questioned several times about his connection with Jesus, he denied knowing him.

Finding ourselves unintentionally in the wrong place at the wrong time is an inevitable part of living. In those times, we must trust God for protection and wisdom in proceeding. Intentionally placing ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time is a different story. Several things can happen when we do, and Peter experienced most of them. We can fall into sin, our witness can be silenced, Satan may cause us to doubt our salvation, we can confuse others about Christianity, we can distort other’s views of sin, we can end up in unhealthy relationships, and we can make unwise decisions. But ensuring we’re at the right place at the right time will reverse all of the above.

Ask God for wisdom so you will not intentionally find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Father, guide my steps so I might always be where You want me to be. 

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Axing Anxiety - Martin Wiles

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. I Peter 5:7 NLT

“Your wife and daughter have been in a wreck.”

Frank listened to the voicemail. Anxiety crept up his throat. He and his brother had been hiking in a place with no cell phone reception. He could see he had voicemail but couldn’t listen to them. As soon as they left and reached a place where reception was possible, he dialed *86. But he wasn’t prepared for what he heard.

Two hours stretched between him and the hospital where he needed to go. All types of thoughts meandered through his mind as he drove. He attempted to place matters in God’s hands, but it didn’t seem to work. His gut wrenched, his mind raced, and his hands oozed.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as he imagined. His daughter only bent her glasses, but his wife broke a foot and crushed her wrist. Frank discovered his anxiety hadn’t changed a thing. 

Peter wrote to first-century Christians who suffered miserably for their faith. He encouraged them to give their cares to God because he cared about what they faced.

Peter’s encouragement is still appropriate twenty centuries later. God cares about what happens to his children. Sure, I sometimes wonder why he allows certain things to happen if he cares so much, but that’s not for me to know. He is God; I am not. Since he is loving and kind, we can trust his heart even when we can’t see the reason behind what he does or allows.

I’ve learned being anxious won’t solve anything either. Anxiety didn’t undo the wreck Frank’s daughter and wife had. It won’t undo the effects of a natural disaster nor stymie the blows of a bully. Neither will it put money in our bank accounts for monthly bills.

In fact, anxiety impairs our judgment. An anxious mind can’t make good decisions. Anxiety will lead us to unhealthy habits in an attempt to soothe our troubled feelings or to unwise decisions in an effort to undo what has been done.

Believing God cares about what we’re facing will replace the anxiety with peace—peace that can’t be explained or understood, but peace nonetheless. When we take our needs to God, he transforms the anxiety into peace—regardless of the nature of our circumstances.

Let God teach you the art of axing anxiety.

Father, soothe my anxious moments with the assurance of your love and control. 

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