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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the
leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling
together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its
hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy
mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6-9
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today is the eighth devotion in the series, “What We Find in
Jesus,” as we continue to look at the opening verses of Isaiah, Chapter 11. We
could easily say that we find everything in Him because we do but to do so
would miss breaking down the things we treasure most about our Savior, the One
who came to give us an eternal hope that no one can take away, an eternal hope
that brings us peace, the focus of this devotion.
Indeed, we find peace in Jesus and we are harkened back to these
words from Chapter 9 of this book:
For to us a child is
born, to us a son is given - And he will be called Prince of Peace. (taken from
Isaiah 9:6).
Jesus is the Prince of peace sent to us out of love by the
creator of all things including peace, God the Father. The Lord God Almighty
knew of the troubles in this world, troubles that can and do rock the very
foundations of His people’s lives. He knew that without peace, stress and worry
and anxiety and fear would dominate the hearts, minds, and souls of all
humanity, disabling them from their ability to carry out His will and way. And
so He made Himself fully accessible and available to us, ready to leverage
every ounce of His power to help us through times of difficulty and He fully
placed that power on display as illustrated through the Bible, delivering His
people time after time after time after time to show us that there is nothing
beyond the work of His hands.
So with this, why are we so afraid in life? Why do we let
the things of this world unnerve us so much? Why do we refuse to trust the One,
God, who has fully displayed a power to do things far more significant than the
problems we deal with, the only One who can truly bring us real peace?
Perhaps, we need to return to two simple verses in God’s
word and write them upon our hearts and minds. For the Lord has given us a
prescription for the angst this world can bring us and He did so through these
words:
Do not be anxious
about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
It’s that easy, right? All we need to do is bring all our
burdens and troubles to the One who can take care of them, no matter the
situation. There’s no need to be anxious or afraid or stressed or worried
because we have God on our side and as Paul asks the Roman Christians this
basic question, we are asked as well, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans 8:31) Our God has promised not to leave us nor forsake us. He is with
us and wants to work things out for the good of those who love Him in return
(Romans 8:28).
So what are we waiting for? Peace is as close as a prayer, a
petition to God out of a spirit of thanksgiving and praise that we know He is
there for us and readily able to handle what we’re going through so much more
than we are on our own. He’s ready to receive and field our requests. All we
need to do is ask and trust and wait on Him to do His mighty work and reveal
His awesome purposes along the way. When we do this, when we place the fullest
measure of our faith in God, knowing in our hearts, minds, and souls that He is
in control and can do all things, then and only then will we experience a peace
unlike any other, a peace that no one on earth can provide because it comes
from our Father in heaven who is perfect in every way. This is why the peace
from God is beyond understanding because the world does not know of such a
peace. Only believers in the Lord God Almighty and His Son Jesus, the Prince of
peace who guards and protects our hearts and minds, will find it.
Friends, this is not just good news but news we need to
rejoice over today. There is a way to find peace, no matter our circumstances
but it’s only through placing out confidence in a God who can do all things to
include saving us through His one and only Son Jesus, the Prince of peace. Paul
testified to this while he was in prison, persecuted for his belief in Jesus
and not knowing if he would ever see the light of day again. In that situation,
he wrote:
I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any
and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in
want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13
Paul was just like us, a man who had seen his share of good
times and bad times. But unlike many of us, Paul learned the secret to being
content no matter what life brought his way. He found peace even in the darkest
of times through the strength of the Lord who always provided Him the strength
to make it, no matter what.
And so can we. The Lord is waiting to hear from us and bring
us strength and peace today and every day.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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