Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take 20 seconds to take in a YouTube version with images and lyrics from Don Moen singing … poignantly singing of how we can find God’s peace to rest our anxieties in Him.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 126:2 [NLT] … 2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night … anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.
… And according to John 14:21, those who love the Lord and experience His peace are those who are obedient to His commands.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 127:1-2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Our reliance on God is the only way we can find peace in our lives.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 26:3 [NLT] … 3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, … all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
… Trusting and focusing on Christ is the only way to find lasting peace in life.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:28-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus invites any/all to find rest and peace in our relationship with Him.
Reference Passage : … John 14:21 [NLT] … 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
… Those who truly love the Lord are those who are obedient to His word.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, promises us His peace (i.e., His rest) if we set aside our anxieties and, trusting in Him, bring our troubles to Him in prayer … from a humble/thankful heart.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Will Collier, uses a rather humorous example of finding restful slumber in our anxiety ridden lives. The ODB author writes … Finally, on January 8, 1964, seventeen-year-old Randy Gardner did something he hadn’t done for eleven days and twenty-five minutes: he nodded off to sleep. He wanted to beat the Guinness Book World Record for how long a human could stay awake. …
Many of us struggle to get a decent night’s rest. Unlike Gardner who deprived himself intentionally, we might suffer sleeplessness for a number of reasons — including a mountain of anxieties: the fear of all we need to accomplish, the dread of others’ expectations, the distress of living at a frantic pace. Sometimes it’s hard for us to turn off the fear and relax.
Can any of my readers identify, or even empathize, with that last statement? I certainly can! But in His word God gives us some fool-proof prescriptions to find peaceful rest; … and yes, … even restful slumber, like a little baby sleeping in the attached photo. And being one of those “fools,” who too-often allows myself to get wrapped up in self-driven anxieties, I need God’s “fool-proof” prescriptions to seek after what Don Morn sings in the linked song … His “Wonderful Peace.”
The Psalmist in today’s highlight passage sings that God gives rest to “His loved ones.” Well, who are they? … And Jesus really defines that in John 14:21, doesn’t He? So, … the ones whom He gives His rest are those who show our love for Him in our obedience to His word. Hence, knowing His word is a key to finding His peace.
Next, Isaiah prophesied (in Is. 26:3) that those who focus on the Lord are those who will find His peace. And so, seeking peace, we need to get our focus off of self and onto the Savior.
And finally, God’s truth, thru Paul’s writing in Phil. 4:6-7, clearly prescribes that we are to continually be willing to bring our anxieties to the Lord in heartfelt, humble, thankful prayer. Because when we do, He can - and will - guard our hearts with His unfathomable peace.
So, anybody out there looking for a good sleep tonight? If so, God has shown us His perfect remedies to take away our anxieties. Now, it’s up to us to follow them, isn’t it?
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your promise of Your peace.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to obediently focus on our relationship with Christ in order to find some peace today (and tonight too!) . … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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