The Lord promises to be with us, even through the veil of
death (Psalm 23:4). Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans
8:35-36). There is no insult, adversity, persecution or difficulty
that we cannot rejoice in for the sake of Christ; because when we are weak,
that is when He is strong in and through us (2 Corinthians 12:10). In any
type of trial or trouble, Jesus gives us His peace, which surpasses all human
understanding (John 14:27).
God’s peace is our solace at home, at work and in the
community, even when hardships come our way. The first principle of living in
victory over Satan and the world is wearing Jesus’ peace as a cloak against any
stressful situation we encounter. The Lord is always with us (Psalm
118:6). His peace quells all of our fears, worries and setbacks.
He causes our persecutors to stumble, so that they do not prevail in the end.
They will not prosper, and they will fail and be disgraced (Jeremiah
20:11).
However, even the Christian life gets overbearing at times.
We had so many expectations and ministries to fulfill that we neglect our quiet
time with the Lord. We are burdened by expectations from our parents, pastor,
friends, employers, children and church family. We get overly committed and
start to drown in our myriad of responsibilities. Satan whispers false
accusations in our ear and we believe what he says as truth. We start to resent
all of these demands and the pressure they put on us to be everyone’s beck and
call.
Jonah had these same feelings (Jonah
1:3). In fact, he ran from God and from the ministry God called him to
accomplish. He got himself in all sorts of trouble. He even cost his fellow
shipmates the loss of their income and almost their very lives. God knows how
to take care of us, however, even in the difficulties we tend to create for our
self. He knows how to discipline our iniquities and to help us to see His big
picture. He reveals to us what our obedience means to His Kingdom and for our
blessings.
This helps us to take our commitment to Him more seriously.
We spend time reading God’s Word and listening to the leading of His Spirit.
The Lord guides us and satisfies our needs, even when our strength fails us.
During the dry, parched times of life, He causes water to spring up within us.
We dwell as a well-watered garden, even in the midst of troubles and trials (Isaiah
58:11). God’s Spirit is our guide all throughout our life and
even through our passage from this life into the next (Psalm
48:14).
Prayer:
Father God, Your infinite Spirit frees us from the
restrictions of this world. You transcends time, space and matter (Psalm
139:8), and You fill the heavens and the earth. Your infinite
power works for us, in us and through us as we wait on You (Jeremiah
23:23-24). Thankfully, You are not contained in a building,
restricted in Your movements or denied Your will (Acts 17:24). You are never far from
any one of us, because as Your children, we live and move and have our
existence with Christ in You (Acts 17:27-28: Colossians 3:3). Thought for the Day:
Even if our life does not unfold the way we planned it; God works it out better than our best ideals.
