Devotional 260809

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is a joy to rest in His presence with a cup of tea. Knowing God is always in control and we are His beloved children, we can relax and enjoy the life that He is preparing for us to live today. It may come with ups and downs experience, but it will never come short of God’s presence and His grace. Our Father in Heaven is always our faithful and almighty God. Praise His wonderful name!

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When Our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace, His words are ever "spirit and life." Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? "Peace I leave with you" - it is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realizing His undisturbedness.

Are you painfully disturbed right now, distracted by the waves and billows of God's providential permission, and are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; it seems to be all unproductive even though you hold on to the boulders of your belief? Then look up and receive the undisturbedness of the Lord Jesus. Your peaceful reaction is the proof that you are right with God because you deliberately turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. If you allow anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you, you are either disturbed or you have a false security.

Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious benediction of peace in and through you. But if you try to worry it out, you shut Him out and deserve all the problems you get. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one talks with Jesus Christ the confusion goes, because He has no uncertainty, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him, and in the face of difficulty, bereavement and sorrow, hear Him say, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

We seldom take God’s word and His promise literally. We tend to look at them as some good wishes type of encouragement or teaching – it just makes you feel good. But in reality, God’s promises are true and reliable. We can count on His words if we turn our eyes to Jesus in the face of our troubles. We usually react to trouble by worry or fear instead of turning to Christ in prayer. We pray only when all possible solutions fail. And even when we pray, our mind still allow doubts and worries remain. Peace and joy enable our mind to work better; a panic person cannot think right. Therefore, it only makes sense to first turn to God in prayer and receive peace from His presence, in stead of reacting in panic or fear, when we encounter problems in life. Medical research already confirms the fact that joy will empower your immune system that can resist majority of known diseases, including cancer. But how often will we react with joy when we are ill with severe disease like cancer? God wants to give you this gift of peace and joy that can empower your body to do amazing things; it all up to you to receive them by faith or not. Let’s trust in His Word and His promises for all of us today.

Love you in accordance to His Word,
Lawrence