Gary Thomas will return to his alma mater for a book launch February 24.
Gary Thomas has enjoyed considerable success as an author since he graduated from Regent College in 1988 – and he will be back to launch his new book, at an event sponsored by Regent Bookstore February 24.
Following is an except from The Life You Were Born to Live.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. – 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Our friends are asking me the question directed to many people my age: “So what’s your number?” “Your number” is the amount you hope to save up before retirement (which I’m not sure I’ll participate in anyway).
So you do what you’re supposed to do and put money away instead of spending it all, slowly climbing toward that number – and then a bad economic year happens in the country, and 30 to 40 percent of your number disappears. Poof. It’s gone.
A little advice: Don’t ever add up what you could have purchased (the vacation, the new car, the addition on the house) with that money. You’ll just torture yourself.
Some friends of ours had millions saved up. It’s a long story, but they’re now paying rent (they had to sell their home), and it’s a monthly struggle. The wife told me that Psalm 23:1 builds her up when money collectors tear her down: “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
Lacking nothing won’t happen because they’re going to hit their number. It won’t happen because she and her husband are clever businesspeople who can earn it all back again. It won’t happen because they have a huge inheritance coming (they don’t).
They’ll lack nothing because God is their Shepherd, and that’s a truth that will never change. Peace is a person. It’s not possessions, health or acclaim. It’s putting your security in a person and recognizing that if you have him, you already have enough.
Even if you lose it all, even if nobody notices you, even if the world around you collapses, you already have everything you need.
Peace is so much better than money, acclaim or even favour with your loved ones. After that really bad investment year a while back, I exchanged anxiety for peace. I already have something much better than my ‘number.’ I have peace in God.
God desires all his children to experience deep, soul-refreshing peace. He grieves that we allow anxiety to pollute our thoughts and ruin our days. Has anxiety ever served you? Even once? Psalm 23:1 isn’t just about money; it’s about relationships, fulfillment, your loved ones. It’s about everything you need: “I lack nothing.”
When God’s peace washes over me and I know I don’t need anyone else’s approval; I don’t need my loved ones to make the decisions I want them to make to follow God; I don’t need to perform to secure a happy eternity; I don’t need a book to sell a certain number of – I don’t need anything that I don’t already have – it’s like losing 50 spiritual pounds. It’s amazing!
My life was upended in a marvelous way when I learned that peace is relational, not situational. Peace is a person. When I could finally say, “Everything is well; all is okay; I have everything I will ever need at this very moment,” I was able to stop striving, worrying, clawing, and fretting right now.
Taken from The Life You were Reborn to Live by Gary Thomas. Copyright © (October, 2025) by Zondervan. Used by permission of Zondervan, www.zondervan.com.
Gary Thomas is an author and speaker who strives to bring together Scripture, church history and classic Christian literature to foster spiritual growth and deeper relationships within the Christian community. He has written more than 20 popular and award-winning books on marriage, parenting and spiritual formation. His works include Sacred Marriage, Authentic Faith, When to Walk Away, Cherish and Devotions for a Sacred Marriage.
Gary holds an MCS in theology from Regent College, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Western Seminary. He is currently on the teaching team at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Gary enjoys running in his spare time and has completed 14 marathons, including the Boston Marathon three times. He and his wife Lisa have three adult children and two grandchildren.