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

Heart and Soul

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others. – Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This verse applies to more than our career.

We have to apply this principle to all that we do.

Our relationships,

our health,

our acts of service,

taking care of the home that The Lord has blessed us with.

All of these things are from God, and the bottom line is – we ARE working for Him in all things. When we work wholeheartedly to nurture the things He has provided, we are not just “clocking in.” When we go through each day with a willing and grateful heart, we are not just “doing our job.” Our efforts and our attitudes should reflect the pleasure of serving our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Dear Jesus, I pray that I serve you well today, with a heart full of thankfulness, no matter what circumstances I face. I woke up today, so I know You have a job for me to do! What an honor to be able to serve you today and every day. Lord, I know that to serve you, I must serve others. Help me do so with a heart full of loving kindness and a smile on my face. If I come across a difficult personality or a task that I wouldn’t normally look forward to, keep me focused on You instead, so that I may find the good in the situation.

Amen

The Lord Determines Our Steps

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” — ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬‬

We all have hopes and dreams. Plans for our future.

We can map out the course to arrive at that destination that our heart desires, but we can’t anticipate what unknown circumstances we will face along the way… All the things that life throws at us that we just can’t plan for.

We don’t always know God’s plan for our lives, or if it aligns with the goals that WE have set out to achieve.

John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

Sometimes when we work towards goals that we are sure will line up with God’s purpose for our lives, we become so focused on that end-result that we forget to be present. The excitement and fervor of what lies in our future can blind us to the treasures right in front of us in our everyday lives.

Life doesn’t begin when I

– finish school

– start my dream job

– buy my first home

– retire

– meet the love of my life

We spend so much of our lives trying to get to the next big milestone, that we let the blessings of the present day pass us by.

Lord, please help me to slow down and embrace each day, and the beauty within it. Your plans for me are not to be fulfilled all in one day far off in the future. Every day that I deliberately live for Your purpose is one more little nugget of fulfillment in your master plan of my life. Please help me recognize these opportunities and embrace them as enthusiastically as the big accomplishments that I strive toward in my future.

Amen

My Helper

But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive! — Psalms 54:4

My favorite Bible version for every day reading is the NLT version. For me, it’s just the version that’s the easiest read. But when I sit down to study a verse or a passage, I like to compare several different versions. Sometimes the use of one different word will inspire me and, move me, or connect with me on another level that I would have missed by just browsing through on one version alone.

This verse today is just 2 short, but powerful sentences, but I had SUCH a hard time deciding which version spoke to me the loudest! Which version do I put in ink at the top of my page? I decided to go with my standard NLT, and then add some of my other favorite versions here.

Look at all the wonderful things that this verse tells us in its various versions…

– God helps me.

– God keeps me alive.

– God keeps me going.

– God keeps me from falling.

– God takes care of me.

– God upholds my soul.

– God sustains me.

I don’t know about you, but I need ALL OF THESE THINGS! Our God is so wonderful! There’s no question on where to turn when we need help. When we can’t handle things on our own, our helper is God.

No matter what we need from Him, He’s got us!! 💕

“But I know that God helps me. The Lord is the one who keeps me going.” – Psalm‬ ‭54:4‬ ‭NIRV‬‬

“You will help me, Lord God, and keep me from falling;” – Psalms‬ ‭54:4‬ ‭CEV‬‬

“But I know that God is the one who gives me help. My Lord takes care of me.” – Psalms‬ ‭54:4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those that uphold my soul.” – Psalms‬ ‭54:4‬ ‭JUB‬‬

“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” – Psalms‬ ‭54:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being my crutch, my refuge, my comforter, my provider, and my safety net. Let me never forget that You are the first place to turn to when I am in need! Amen

Everything Is Possible

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” — Matthew 19:26

This verse starts by saying that Jesus looked at His disciples intently.

Because He really wanted to make sure that they were getting the message.

We need Him. We need to live our lives WITH GOD. Without Him, it is impossible to have eternal life.

But He didn’t leave it at that. He went on to say that EVERYTHING is possible with God.

Everything!

Things that defy every law of nature. Things that we can’t even imagine. Everything becomes possible when God is involved. And that means that I can do the impossible when I am with God.

I can’t. But WE can.

When I feel hopeless…

When I fail…

When there are insurmountable obstacles in front of me…

I will pray:

Jesus, I know that I can’t handle this on my own. I’ve tried everything, and I can’t do this alone. Lord I know this is under your control. Lord, my God, please make the impossible possible. Amen

Greater is He

“You are from God, children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” – 1 John‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭TLV‬‬

What a feel-good verse!

So much inspiration packed into one passage. Let’s break down some of this positive message.

We belong to God –

We don’t belong to this world, to the people in it, or even to ourselves.

We.

Belong.

To God.

We come from Him; and everything in our lives that truly matters also comes through Him.

We have already won a victory –

With Him, we can overcome anything and anyone. He fights our battles and conquers our enemies.

His spirit lives in us!

He’s not just in our thoughts when we read the Bible or worship Him.

It’s not just a feeling in our hearts when we perform an act of kindness. His Spirit dwells in you. It is a part of us that we carry with us wherever we go.

He is greater than anything we will face!

He’s more powerful than everything that stands against us.

Everything that brings us down.

Everything that threatens to tear us apart.

Everything that feels like it has an unbreakable hold on us.

Even our own fears, sadness, and anxiety.

Our God is greater.…

And He lives in us.

And we belong to Him.

And He has already defeated our enemies.

Holy Spirit, I feel you working inside me. Help me live this day in a way that is worthy of Your presence. I am in awe of Your greatness, Your power, Your victory over it all. As I go through my day, I will share the positive energy of Your power that I carry within me. Amen

Choosing Joy

“Everything seems to go wrong when you feel weak and depressed. But when you choose to be cheerful, every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.”

Proverbs 15:15 TPT

Some of the things that steal our joy are the circumstances we face in everyday life. But what about when all is calm and we are just WORRYING about the next disaster? These worries, doubts, and negative thoughts steal our joy one little nugget at a time. Before we know it, a beautiful day can turn into an imaginary catastrophe.  

“The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”

Psalms 27:1 NLT

Why SHOULD I worry? I have The Lord on MY SIDE!  If we take comfort in knowing that He is beside us in every battle, then why spend our time worrying when we are in between battles?

God wants us to be FILLED with joy!

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

John 15:11 NLT

Through His love for us, He wants us to experience so much joy that it overflows us and spreads to others as we show God’s love to them. 

If we are too busy living in the negatives of our lives, we are not living the joy-filled life that He intended for us. 

We may not be able to share His message effectively.  

We may miss an opportunity to help those that He wants us to help. 

We might not be there to encourage our friends when they need our support. 

We may be failing to serve our purpose. 

We don’t have to pretend that our lives are perfect. We don’t have to hide our struggles. But we should be reflecting His light and revealing His joy in the midst of these struggles. 

We can’t dwell on the bad things that have happened to us in the past. We can’t let our worries linger. 

Choosing to live with the stress and the worry weighing us down is the SELF-focused choice. 

If we find ourselves focused on OURselves and OUR problems, we can be certain of one thing – we are not focused on Him. 

If experiencing joy is limited to times when everything that you’d hoped for is going exactly as YOU planned, then you have got to adjust your definition of what joy is and where it comes from. 

We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control our attitude. We CAN choose joy. 

We start by:

– Choosing HOPE over worry

– Choosing FAITH over fear

– Choosing GRATITUDE for what He has blessed us with over grief for what we have lost 

– Choosing SURRENDER over control 

Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to start my day by praising Your name and thanking You for all of the blessings that You have brought to my life. I want to embrace the joy that You provide. Let it flow through me to everyone I encounter today. Amen

Strength From Joy

“…so don’t be sad. The joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong.”

Nehemiah 8:10b GNT

Sometimes our bad days turn into bad weeks or bad months. Many times we ask God to take our problems away or to give us strength to endure. But we can still suffer while we endure. Having the strength to get through our struggles doesn’t remove the distress we sometimes experience. And God doesn’t want us to spend our lives engulfed in sadness. He wants us to enjoy life! He gives us joy to make us strong enough for any troubles we face. The strength that comes from the joy that we find in The Lord is not just a strength that allows us to endure bad day after bad day. It’s more than a strength that allows us to just survive problem after problem. This strength allows us to take pleasure in every day despite any circumstances we encounter.

So how do we turn a bad day into a joyful day? Where do we find joy when we feel like we have run out of it? 

1. CHOOSE  When we are sad, we feel helpless and weak. But the joy that comes from knowing Him gives us strength.

Everything seems to go wrong when you feel weak and depressed. But when you choose to be cheerful, every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.“ – Proverbs 15:15 TPT

2. SEEK

“All who seek The Lord will praise Him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.” – Psalms 22:26b NLT

3. SPEND TIME Joy is not found in the absence of problems. Joy is found in His presence.

“You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in Your presence; You always give me sheer delight.” Psalms 16:11 NET

4. PRAY Ask God to give us the joy to love our lives while we endure the trials we face.

5. OBEY

“So rejoice in The Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!“ – Psalms 32:11

6. BEAR FRUIT

“22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23a NLT

7. SERVE We serve The Lord by serving others. 

“As you serve him, be glad and worship him. Sing your way into his presence with joy.“ – Psalms 100:2 TPT

8. CONTINUE Practice. Continue to choose. Make a conscious effort to repeat these sources of joy until it comes naturally. 

Thank You, Lord, for the joy You bring and the blessings You have given me. Please help me to remember to continue choosing joy, no matter what I face. Amen

He is the God Who Makes Me Strong

“He is the God who makes me strong, who makes my pathway safe.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭18:32‬ ‭GNT‬‬

Our paths won’t always be free of obstacles, but He will guide us through safely.
Our lives will never be completely trouble-free, but He will arm us with the strength to prevail.
Our journey may seem littered with potholes and roadblocks, and we may even begin to question if this is really the road that God intended us to travel.

This verse reminds us of three key things:
– He is God. This is all under His control. And He wants the best for us, who love Him.
– He gives us strength. And power. And victory. We can overcome any obstacle with the strength that He provides.
– He makes our pathways safe. He guides us and delivers us. He helps us navigate through the trials and tribulations. Even when it looks like there’s no way – He MAKES a way.

When I think that I’m not strong enough, and I’m tempted to stop moving forward on my journey, I will pray:

Thank you, Lord, for arming me with Your strength and then aiming me in the right direction. I love you, Lord, and I will follow Your path for all the days of my life! ❤️ Amen

He Renews My Hope and Cheer

“When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”
– ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94:19‬‬ NLT

Stress, worries, doubts, fears… it’s easy to allow these things to fill your mind to the point of feeling hopeless. But allowing yourself to suffer isn’t going to solve your problems.
Turn to His comfort and make room in your head and in your heart for hope, cheer, and even joy!! Deal with the problems that are causing your anxiety and doubts…but do so with the right mindset, knowing that God’s promises are true.

When my head is full of worries and doubts, I will pray:

Lord, please renew my hope.
Comfort me in my distress.
Bring me joy in my sadness.
Help me to push the stress out of my head and remind me to hold on to my hope in You, Lord. Amen