Don’t Be Troubled

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Stop allowing yourself to become upset by people and by circumstances.

Jesus gave us a gift. The gift of peace of mind and peace of heart.

We can embrace this gift and choose every day to move around and carry this peace with us wherever we go and through whatever we encounter.

If we choose to stay focused on Our Lord and the gift that He has provided, we live in contentment, regardless of our situation. We don’t need to feel annoyed, bothered, or troubled.

We can allow our circumstances to shift our mindset, or we can cause our mindset to change our circumstances.

Dear Jesus, I am so grateful for Your gift of peace. This is a blessing that is so underrated in the world of nonstop busyness and constant stimulation by our surroundings in the world that we live in today.

Lord, sometimes I forget that this peace is available. When I feel anxiety, worry, and fear creeping in, please remind me that I have a choice to make. I can focus on You and Your words: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” or I can focus on my troubles and stay stuck in the pit of uneasiness and panic that I have fallen into.

Lord, I choose Your peace. Every chance I get, I’ll hold on to this wonderful gift. Amen

When I Am Weak, He Is Strong

“But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 GNT

We have all felt, at some time in our lives, that we are not enough. That we don’t have enough. We feel weak and helpless in some of the situations that we face. 

“I’m not smart enough to figure this out.“

“I’m not strong enough to get through this.“

“If only I had more time.“

“If only I had more money.“

“I’m not qualified for that promotion at work.“

“I don’t have what it takes…“

As hard as we try, not one of us is perfect. And we don’t have to be perfect, because our God is! God gave us our abilities, and He gave us our flaws, because His power works best in our lives when we admit our own weakness and turn to Him. Once we realize this, we can look at it like Paul does in the Message version of this verse: 

“I quit focusing on the handicap and begin focusing on the gift.“ 2 Corinthians 12: 9b MSG

Giving our attention to His wonderful gift allows us to be content, and even cheerful, rather than feeling like a failure. It allows us to feel blessed instead of feeling like we are lacking. When I feel I’ve reached my limit I will pray: 

Dear Lord, I’ve done all I can do, and it’s not enough. I need to feel the protection of Your power working in my life. I am laying this at Your feet and I know that however it turns out, You are working it for my good. It brings me so much joy to know that when I am weak, You are strong. Thank You so much, Lord, for Your amazing gift of grace. 

Amen

Receiving Blessings

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Abram is a pretty ordinary guy. Up until now, we don’t really hear anything special about him. We don’t hear of him having a great faith or being righteous so far – nothing that explains to us why God chose him as the man that He would make into a great nation. God chose someone ordinary and imperfect, just like you and me, to bestow blessings upon.
God doesn’t bless us because we deserve it. He doesn’t bless us because we are worthy. We’re not worthy.
Like God’s grace, there is nothing we can do to earn His blessings.
If you think that God will never bless you because you are not spiritual enough or because you don’t deserve to be blessed, God has a surprise in store for you! He sees something special in you, and, out of love, He wants to bless you.
God’s blessings are free. They are His gift to us, and we should receive them with joy and a grateful heart.

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father…
‭‭James‬ ‭1:17‬a ‭NLT‬‬

Thank You God for all the blessings in my life. I joyfully receive everything You have given me, not because I have earned it, but because You are good. 💜
Amen