The God of Peace

When we are not enveloped by the peace of God, which has nothing to do with human reasoning or our circumstances (Philippians 4:7), we cannot abide in the rest of God (Hebrews 4:10). Entering His rest is imperative and quite easy (more to come).

Stress is often called the "silent killer". It destroys our body, soul and spirit with its relentless, negative bombardment. We control stress by what we eat, drink, think about, and the kind as well as the amount of activities that we introduce into our daily schedule.

Anxious situations and thoughts keep us in continual turmoil. Our Father God speaks to this issue in so many places in His Word. He used Paul to remind us not to allow anxiety to permeate our thoughts and activities (Philippians 4:6).

Jesus taught us that worry and anxiety cannot change any aspect of our life (Matthew 6:25-26). He taught us that the antidote for the poison of stress is to enter God's rest by seeking first the Kingdom of God. Then, the Trinity will supply all of our needs (Matthew 6:33).

When we focus on the Lord (Isaiah 26:3-4), regardless of the situation going on around us, we allow the peace of God to rule in our heart. Gratitude and forgiveness are two characteristics that help us to access that peace (Colossians 3:15).

When we live in mindfulness of the moment, we view God working out everything for our eventual good (Romans 8:28). By finding items for which to show gratitude, we live in constant praise to our Daddy God, and our inner joy grows incrementally.

With joy in our heart, we have less of a struggle with negative thoughts, stress and worry. We have faith in our Heavenly Father, because of His faithfulness to us in every area of our life. We live in incomparable peace and joy each moment of the day.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to limit our activities to only those in which You lead us to participate. Help us to put Your will above our own and above the constant needs of everyone around us. Remind us to put all of our concerns in Your heart, through turning them over to You every time we find our mind obsessing about them.

Give us the courage to follow Your direction for our life, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel. Remind us to love our self, so that we will have the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy to love other as You love them - nonjudgmentally, whole-heartedly and with Your unconditional Agape love.

Thought for the Day:

Living in the moment, fully engaged in and abiding in the rest of God, we realize that He has everything in His control, and nothing can harm us, or invade our life without His knowledge; He works out even negative issues for our ultimate good. - Romans 8:28

Strength that Never Fails

 

God is the stronghold of our life (Psalm 27:1). His strength comes to us in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-11). The eyes of the Lord actually search the earth in order to show Himself strong on behalf of those who love Him with a loyal heart (2 Chronicles 16:9). As we surrender our life to Christ, He leads and guides us by His Spirit and gives us the peace and power to do all that He calls us to do (Philippians 2:12-13). God equips us with everything we need and makes our way blameless. He gives us constancy in these unstable times in which we live (Psalm 18:32-33).

God never grows weary and never sleeps (Psalm 121:4). He shares His power with the weak and increases the strength of those who have no capability. He causes us to rise up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:28-31). When we are weak and anxious, there is no need to fear, because God is our strength. He helps us and upholds us in His mighty hand (Isaiah 41:10). He is our salvation and song, our Father, and worthy of our exaltation (Exodus 15:2).

There are Biblical examples of God strengthening His Saints. We can strengthen our self in the Lord, just like David did when the people were bitter in soul and wanted to stone him (1 Samuel 30:6). Peter served God with the strength given to him by the Lord, so that he could speak the oracles of God and glorify Christ (1 Peter 4:11). The Lord strengthened Paul when he was very near death, so Paul could preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (2 Timothy 4:17). When Joshua commanded the officers and the people to prepare for taking possession of the land, which God gave them, he told them to be strong and courageous because God was with them (Joshua 1:9-11).

God is always with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5-6). We have no need to fear or dread tomorrow, because the Lord goes with us to make us strong and courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6). We have peace in the world, regardless of whatever tribulation life sends our way. We can take heart, because Jesus is our great High Priest and He already suffered everything we will ever experience (John 16:33). Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He will be there with us, comforting us with His discipline and guidance (Psalm 23:4).

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Even if He allows someone to threaten our life, we can still hope in Him (Job 13:15). His hope does not bring us shame, because His love pours out in our hearts though His Holy Spirit, whom He gave to us (Romans 5:5). God empties us of our self before He can mold us into His Son (Romans 8:29). We must be conscious of our lack of strength and cast our burdens upon Him, before He can fill us with His power and might as we stand against the devil. Then we can accomplish all that He calls us to do (1 Peter 5:6-8).

Prayer:

Lord God, You are always in our midst. You are the Mighty One who saves us. You rejoice over us with gladness and You quiet us with Your love. You exult over us with singing so we do not lose heart (Zephaniah 3:17). Though our body wastes away with age, you renew our inner spirit every day. You give us an eternal inheritance with Jesus. Remind us not to focus on the temporal problems of life, but on the eternal, lasting issues instead (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Thought for the Day:

Seek the Lord and He will fill you with His strength and presence continually. – 1 Chronicles 16:11