His Encouragement #153

Welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.

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You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV

Perfect peace … I crave perfect peace. Honestly, at the rate I’m going, I’ll take just plain old, regular peace. Anything to get to me to stop feeling the way I have been for a while.

What is peace anyway?

If you visit the dictionary there are actually five definitions for peace. Here is my favorite of the five as found in the Miriam Webster Dictionary: “freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.”

Right now I am the opposite of this definition. Here’s why — I don’t trust people anymore. This past year of pandemic and politics has shown me who people truly are. And, because of this, I have lost my voice. I do not speak anymore cause I cannot. If it was just a matter of someone disagreeing with me I wouldn’t have silenced myself. Unfortunately, people’s true colors, even those who call themselves Christian, are to be angry and violent and mean. I cannot stomach violence and anger coming at myself or my family.

When you can’t trust those you thought were your friends and family, when you can’t trust your neighbors, and you certainly cannot trust Society at large, what do you do? Who do you turn to?

It’s such an easy answer, but it is SO hard to do.

The easy answer is to trust God and to trust His plan.

When people tell me to trust God I get angry. “Oh, it’s that simple, huh? Just trust, huh?” Well, what does that look like? What does that feel like? When you know with every fiber of your being that very bad things are coming for you and your family, what does it mean to trust God? What are the actions I take to prove I’m doing that?

The answer is found in Isaiah 26:3 — remain steadfast. Steadfast means to be “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” I must keep my mind steadfast. In other words, I have to force my mind to be unwavering when it comes to God and His promises. I cannot let in one doubt-filled thought or idea. I must be resolute every single second of every single day. And how do I do that? By being in God’s Word and by being in prayer ALL day long. I have to saturate myself in God’s promises so I keep my eyes focused on Him and not on what is coming my way. When I do this, God will grant me His perfect peace because He sees that I actively am trusting in Him no matter what comes.

Friend, are you struggling today with fear? Do you long for a moment of perfect peace? Then crack open your Bible and spend some time with Jesus. Trust that when you do, He will deliver His perfect peace upon you!

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NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?