Charles F. Stanley - Finding Peace: Gods Promise of a Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and Fear

2003 by Charles F. Stanley

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All Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1979, 1980,1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stanley, Charles F.
Finding peace : Gods promise of a life free from regret, anxiety, and fear / by Charles F.
Stanley.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7852-6100-1 (IE)
ISBN 978-0-7852-7297-7 (HC)
ISBN 978-0-7852-8860-2 (TP)
1. EmotionsReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. PeaceReligious aspectsChristianity.
I. Title.
BV4597.3.S74 2003
248.8'6dc21

2003010035

09 10 11 12 13 QW 12 11 10 9 8 7

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This book is dedicated to my two godly children,
Andy and Becky,
whose unconditional love and encouragement have been a
source of strength, joy, and contentment
to their father.

D r. Stanley, I cant rent you a car.

I understood the words the woman across the counter was saying to me, but I could hardly take in the full meaning of her statement.

You cant? I asked. Why not?

I dont have a car to rent to you.

A sad fact emerged over the next few minutes.There was no car that any automobile rental agency could rent to me at that airport. I had planned this trip for weeks, getting everything in placeor so I thought. I had eagerly anticipated this time alone with God in the Great Northwest, photographing places of wonderful natural beauty. I had everything in orderexcept a car.

I took a cab to the hotel where thankfully, I had a reservation, and went directly to the hotels restaurant to eat a bite and collect my thoughts. Staring at the pouring rain outside the restaurants windows, I silently prayed God,Youre in charge. He knew I didnt want to turn around and fly home. I felt very strongly that the Lord had given His full blessing to my taking this tripI had been very much at peace as I had mapped out various routes and locations.Once again I reflected, God,Youre in charge. I had no idea what to do, but I knew that God knew. I felt totally dependent on Him.

While I was sitting there, a couple of men came by, and one recognized me. They stopped to introduce themselves and talk for a while. One of them asked me what I was doing in Oregon, and I told them the story of what had happened.He quickly responded, Dont worry about that! We have three cars, and Id be happy for you to use one of them. Its in good shape. Ill have a car over here for you in forty-five minutes.

As promised, in less than an hour, the car was at the hoteland it was a very nice car. I was blessed by this mans spontaneous generosity, I knew that God had sent him directly to me. I was thankful to him and even more grateful to God.

I had a fantastic time photographing there for a couple of days. At the end of the second day, I had the idea to set up my camera in plenty of time to get a good sunset shot from one particular spot along the Oregon coast. When I arrived at that location, which was fairly remote, I unloaded my photographic equipment. While I was standing by my car, I was approached by an elderly woman who recognized me, and we talked for a few moments. Then I transported my gear on foot to the particular vantage point I had selected. I took several photographs as the sun was setting, and then packed everything and started back to the car.

As I reached into my pocket for the car keys, I made a startling discovery... no keys. I looked through my bags of camera equipment... no keys. I thought, Did I lean over and drop those keysfrom my pocket while I was talking to that lady? I looked carefully around the outside of the car... no keys. By this time, the sun was setting and it was starting to get dark.No one else was around. But for the first time, I noticed a fairly large sign at the edge of the parking lot that read,Warning! Unsafe area. Do not remain here after dark.

Great! I thought. Im alone. Its getting dark. And now I learn Imin an unsafe area. It was at that moment I saw my keys dangling from the ignition inside the locked car. My heart momentarily sank and I thought,What a mistake to leave the keys in the car!

I prayed, God,You know my location.You know the situation. You know what that sign says.You see my keys.You see me. I know You are 100 percent in charge of my life. I dont know what You are going to do, but Im trusting You to help me.

I felt impressed to walk around the car and try all the door handles, which I had already done. This time, as I pulled on the back passenger-side door latch, to my great amazement it opened. All the other doors were locked tighter than a drum. But that one door opened. I retrieved the car keys, threw my equipment into the car, and drove back to my hotel, praising God all the way!

Two more great days of scenic beauty and photography passed and I found myself following a road next to a river that had a number of waterfalls. It was just about dawn as I entered this beautiful area, but the light wasnt exactly what I had envisioned. I checked my map and saw that Mount Hood was in that immediate area. It couldnt be seen from where I was along the river, but I had a hunch that if I would just follow a back road in a particular direction, Id come to an area that would give me an open line of sight to the mountain.

Finally I rounded a bend and there it was, Mount Hood, with a field and trees in the foreground.Absolutely beautiful! I continued along the road, hoping for a small body of water that reflected the mountain.To my delight, a small lake soon appeared. I took several photographs, and then I got back in the car, intending to retrace my route, when I happened to notice the gas gauge. This was the first time that day I had looked at it. Unfortunately it was on empty.

I thought back over the route that I had taken to get to that point and realized that I hadnt seen a gas station all morning. For that matter, I had no idea even where I was! I had just been following the roads as I came to them, looking upward and ahead to try to spot the mountain and find a lake.

Again I prayed, Dear Lord,You are in control. I was keenly aware that for the third time that week, I was in a desperate situation and only God could help me out of it!