Greetings to you in the wonderful name of Jesus – THE Risen Saviour! Well, here we are at the start of a new month and it starts with a dose of ‘Freaky February’ weather…and yes! this is the day that God created, designed, and presented to us – we will find reasons to give God praise and thanksgiving. I trust that you had a great weekend and received a generous supply of God’s blessings in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to release healing, comfort, peace, and joy to you.
This morning I am pondering God’s ability to weave thoughts and scripture references and devotionals together. I started out with these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do ot be afraid.” – John 14:27 NIV. … “Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts–instead, be courageous!” – John 14:27 TPT. The comments from the devotional writer suggested that…”we have a choice- we let our hearts be troubled…we think a troubled heart is unavoidable, appropriate even – but we have a say in what our heart gives way to” – John Eldredge, Restoration Year.
As I was ‘chewing’ on that God reminded me of another verse: David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 NIV … David strengthened himself with trust in his GOD. 1 Samuel 30:6 The Message. David, it seems, had a choice as to how to respond to a bad situation and he chose to “not let his heart be troubled.”
Then I was directed to another verse…one, by the way I shared with our Monday prayer gathering: Say to the anxious and fearful, “Be strong and never afraid. Look, here comes your God! He is breaking through to give you victory! He comes to avenge your enemies, with divine retribution he comes to save you!” Isaiah 35:4 TPT. Once again i find that we have a choice as to how we respond to life circumstances and our enemies – loneliness, frustration, hurt feelings, grief, pain, loss….
Here is the prayer that ended the devotion: Oh, Jesus, rescue me. Forgive me when my heart gives way to panic. Remind me that I have a choice to turn my troubled heart and eyes to you, God. May I rejoice and trust in you alone. John Eldredge, Restoration Year. Interestingly enough there is a song…and the chorus alows the singer to make a bold declaration: I will praise the mighty name of Jesus-Praise the Lord, the lifter of my head-Praise the rock of my salvation-all my days are in his faithful hands!
Have a blessed day!