You Don’t Have to React
Most of my anxiety doesn’t come from what’s happening.
It comes from how fast I respond to it.
Something gets said. A situation shifts. A thought hits.
And before I realize it, my body has already decided what it means.
Scripture tells us something that sounds simple but cuts deep:
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
— Proverbs 16:32
The Stoics believed that peace came from mastering your reactions.
They weren’t wrong—but they didn’t go far enough.
Scripture shows us something better:
peace comes from surrendering our reactions to God before they rule us.
Most of what we face today is not an emergency.
It only feels like one because our nervous system is firing faster than our wisdom.
Strength isn’t reacting quickly.
Strength is pausing long enough for truth to catch up.
Jesus never rushed His responses.
Even under accusation, pressure, and injustice, He chose restraint—not because He was weak, but because He trusted the Father more than the moment.
Today’s Practice
When something irritates you today, do not fix it immediately.
Pause for one breath.
Ask quietly: Is this mine to control—or God’s to carry?
Then respond—not from fear, but from faith.
Closing Prayer
Lord, teach me to rule my spirit without hardening my heart. Slow me down enough to trust You with what I cannot control. Form strength in me that looks like Christ. Amen.
The Engrafted life 