Peace

Psalm 72:3
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

Peace. People hunger for peace. Nations strive for peace. Why is it so elusive?

Isaiah 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Apart from the Lord, there is no peace. The less our trust in the Lord, the less our Peace.

John 14:27
Jesus said - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

The peace Jesus leaves us is the fullness of a life without fear - if we keep our mind stayed on Him and trust him.

The opposite of peace is not war - but fear which leads to worry, anger, hate. and ultimately separation from God.

Peace from the Lord calms the heart, allows us to rise above the circumstances of life, and overcome the enemy who desires to stir up strife among the brethren.

Keep your mind on the Lord, Trust him, and walk in Peace.

DAY 201

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Still trying to get my trust balanced. Now I find out that not only is my trust rusty it is also picky.

The Lord showed me last night that not only do I need to trust Him, but I need to trust others. Trust that He is at work in the lives of those around me. Regardless of how I see it.

Whoa. God at least is worthy of trust. He does no wrong. But other people, like me, yikes. How am I to trust others?

We know He has placed authorities over us. Like them or not, God is still in control and holds the hearts of the leaders in His hand.

If He is working in my life, then I have to know that He is working in the lives of those around me. I have to relinquish the lie I've swallowed that it is up to me to fix the lives of those around me. Only God can do that.

I guess it all boils down to believing that God knows all things and has all things in His hands. Nothing happens that He doesn't know about.

Trust lives in the belief that God loves us. To the degree we understand God's love for us is the level we can trust.

Words are easy to say. Belief carries them down to the heart.

Romans 5:5

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

DAY 199

Nahum 1:7
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Trust defined - to expect confidently.

The word originated from one that meant - comfort.

Are you expecting? Confidently?

I think many times our trust is little better than a wish. We might call it hope, but scratch the surface and we're really playing a lotto game. Maybe this will work out. Maybe, I wish....

Let's sit by the still waters and think on high things. The Living God who promises to give us Hope not wishes. Who is trustworthy and good.

Expect that He is watching over you. The Author of our faith. He will see us through whatever we are facing.

So, expecting confidently let us be comforted in the knowledge that the Lord sees us, knows us, and that...

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

DAY 198

To be cloudy or not? The question of the morning.

Also a peek inside of my mind this morning. To trust or not.

Bright clear blue skies of truth and trust are at the moment assaulted by gray clouds of doubt.

To Trust or not - that is the place I find myself in this morning.

Duh! I know the answer. Of course I will trust in the Lord. Only problem is my mind and body seem to be lagging behind. They want to say we will trust when we see how it will happen. Which is not trust.

Romans 8:25
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Psalm 91:2
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Hallelujah! My God is All. I place my trust in Him. If He can create all things with a word, how much more can He watch over me and my household!

Setting my feet on the path of trust. Focusing my eyes on the One who is worthy of all trust. And rejoicing that HE would let me slip to fall on my knees so that I can see His goodness.

I love You, Lord. All for You.

DAY 191

Psalm 23:2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

It doesn't get any greener than that. The picture is from the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Pondering the verse, I wondered why He(The Lord our Shepherd) would have to make the sheep (us) lie down in the green pasture?

But isn't that how we are? Jesus came to give us abundant life. So why are we constantly running around trying to grasp what He has already given us? The old grass is greener over there syndrome.

Jesus knows exactly what we need and when. Trust.

Look around and number the blessings and wonders. They are there. Eat of the goodness of the Lord that He has provided.

Luke 12:24

Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

DAY 168

Hope!

How many times have you heard or said - "Don't get your hopes up."

Yet, that is exactly where they are supposed to be. If our hope is in God, then I think that is pretty up there.

To lower our hope is fear that God is not good or worthy of our trust.

Psalm 71:14
But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

Psalm 31:24
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Set your hope high. For we serve a living loving God. He will not harm us. Although His answer may be no, we can trust Him.

Hope big, hope high, hope for the impossible. For with God, nothing is impossible.