Psalm 118:15 NIV, “Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
This verse always brings me joy! It reminds me of God’s goodness toward us. He is always providing for us, protecting us, and surrounding us with His favor. His unconditional love in our lives is more than enough.
There is always something that we can shout about! Praise and thanksgiving should continually be on our lips because God has done mighty things. He never fails to hear the prayers of his children. In exchange for our prayers, He gives us peace.
Through Jesus Christ we are victorious. We are blessed to know Him. May your heart be filled with hope as you continue to trust in Jesus. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad!
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, KJB)
There are no words more comforting than the words of Jesus. As I was watching the news recently, His words came to my mind, “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” I felt peace knowing that God is still in control.
During times like these, where sin is running rampant in the world, it takes perseverance to hold on and keep trusting in God. Perseverance that can only come from His power working in us. It takes faith to keep believing that God cares and understands every hurt, every struggle. It takes faith to believe that He sees every injustice, yet still has a plan to bring about good in His time and His way.
Photo by: Pixabay
Many of us have had those quiet moments where we question God and wonder “why?” The list of whys can go on and on. However, as I reflect on the words of Jesus, I’m reminded that He has overcome the whys of this world. Knowing that He has overcome brings us hope.
I pray that the joy of the Lord would be your strength. I pray that His peace would guard your heart and mind. I pray that your every need would be supplied. I pray that His words would light your path. I pray that you would fear not as you continue to trust and obey the Lord.
Last week I had the pleasure of participating with fellow bloggers in a Zoom meeting hosted by Matt @ Jesusluvsall. It was great spending sometime getting to know everyone a little better, while exchanging thoughts and ideas about blogging. (Thanks big brother Matt! 😊) If you haven’t already, check out their blogs when you get a chance.
Kelly @ The Simple Preacher, came up with the topic of “Jesus, a donkey, and His Father.” So over the next several weeks on Tuesdays, us bloggers will take turns sharing our thoughts on this topic.
I will post on this topic on 4/28, but will also be sharing posts on this topic from the other bloggers listed above who are participating.
Matt will be hosting another Zoom meeting this Saturday, 4/18 at 10am CST. If you decide to attend, I know you will enjoy the fellowship. Here is the link to the invite if you’re interested in attending: INVITE.
Numbers 6:24-26 NIV, “24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” 🕊❤️🕊
I found this post, “How to Have the Peace of God” by Deb @ Great is God’s Faithfulness to be helpful. I pray that the Lord speaks to your heart through it too.
Thanks Deb! 💚
Discovering the Peace of God isn’t hard at all when we APPROPRIATE God’s Word to our lives. For instance, Philippians 4:1-9 makes it very clear how …
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
As we wait on the Lord, by placing our hope and trust in Him, and expecting Him to do what is best in our hearts, our lives, and the world around us, our strength is renewed. Living our lives in faithfulness to the Lord, especially during times of crisis can be hard. Trusting Him when things don’t make sense can be even harder. However, it’s fascinating to know that when we decide to choose hope in Him, even when things seem hopeless, or faith in Him, even when fear knocks at the door of our hearts, He has promised to renew our strength so that we do not become weary or faint.
Photo by: Tim Mossholder of the USA 🇺🇸
God’s Holy Spirit will empower us with the supernatural ability to soar, while everything else around us is falling down. Knowing that God is in control is really all we need to know to walk in peace. He is a good God who will never fail us. He has promised to never forsake His faithful ones, and supply all that we need. Keep waiting, hoping, and trusting in the Lord.
Philippians 3:13 NIV, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”
There are some things about the past that are beneficial to us, such as remembering how far God has brought us from, remembering the times He has delivered us, or remembering the lessons we have learned as we’ve grown in Christ. However we’re told in this verse, we shouldn’t let anything about our past hold us back from moving forward in our relationship with the Lord.
We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be saddled with guilt and shame from our past sins. Once we’ve repented of our sins, we are to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness and walk in freedom. Of course the enemy doesn’t want us to walk in that freedom, so he will constantly try and remind us of our sins and failures. We must meditate on God’s Word, so that we won’t forget what God says about our past sins….
Psalm 103:12 NLT, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”
Photo by: Sagui Andrea of Italy 🇮🇹
Sometimes forgetting the past can be tough, especially in situations where we are still dealing with the consequences of our sins. But just remember that God’s grace is sufficient. He will provide for you. He will give you strength, hope or whatever it is you need each day. He will never abandon you, so therefore, “keep straining toward what is ahead”, and never forget that God loves you.
Isaiah 43:19 NIV, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Since I just returned to the area, all week I had been using my GPS for the drive to and from work until I get used to the route. Yesterday was the first time I felt pretty confident without it. When I left work, it was about fifteen minutes earlier than usual, so it was lighter outside. It was interesting though, because as I drove home I kept feeling like I was lost. But I really wasn’t. I was on the right path home. It was just that, due to the fact it was lighter outside, I was seeing things that I didn’t normally see. All before I had been driving home in the dark and was not aware of my surroundings. Instead off relying on what I saw, I was relying on the sound of the GPS to tell me where to go.
Photo by: Daniel Frese of Germany 🇩🇪
Through this little experience, I thought about the many times we can be headed down a certain path or going about our daily activities and not even be aware of what’s around us. When we turn off things that are distracting us, our spiritual eyes will be opened and we will become aware of people, things, or even opportunities we had never noticed before. When God brings us to a new place, we have a choice to embrace the new thing or stay comfortable with what we know.
I believe God wants to do a new thing. His people, you and me, are the vessels He will use to help accomplish it. But in order to be part of His vision, we have to turn off any distractions so God can open our eyes to His plans. Often times what we’re looking for is right in front of our eyes, we just need to take time to see it.
I pray that the Lord would open your eyes to see all the opportunities around you to love and serve people in even the smallest ways. As He equips you for your daily tasks, may you find everlasting joy, satisfaction, and purpose in contributing to His vision.
Drawing Closer to Christ 