Jesus invites us to abide in Him while He abides in us. He spoke about this in John 17: 25-26 in his prayer for believers at the Last Supper:

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them and will continue to make you know in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Moses spoke of it as well in his last prayer in Deuteronomy 33:27, repeated in Psalm 90:1. He says, “Oh Lord, You have been our dwelling place for all generations.”

God dwells within us. But we also dwell with our own thoughts, fears, emotions and concerns. Here’s some good news: Your mind is not all there is to you. Your thoughts are just thoughts. No matter how loud, they are not masters, giving orders that have to be obeyed.

Brooding about why things happy and worrying about what’s likely to happen next … focusing on anxiety, tiredness, etc., strengthens the negative as you focus on fear rather than the reality of God’s desire to be present with you. Fighting and flaying about in our own mind does not make an environment where the Prince of Peace can abide.

If we are to do this, we have to be willing to die to ourselves, our own ideas, our projects, our doings and the struggles of our loved ones so we can open to God.

The best way to cope with any suffering is a continual conversation with God about everything, big or small, all day long and in every place you go. This is the practice of the presence of God.