Mar 24 2022

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

This verse from Isaiah gives us hope. It contains several promises from God that we can take hold of wherever we are in our lives. God promises to always be with us, to strengthen us, and to uphold us. Today, we will look at each of these three promises to understand what they mean for our lives.

The first promise that the Lord gives Isaiah is that He will be with the Israelites. This remains true for us today. In every circumstance and in every situation, we know that the Lord is with us. He will never leave us. Knowing that we will never be forsaken by the Lord helps us to not be afraid. It reminds us that we are always in God's protection and that nothing will happen to us without His consent. Because He is near to us, we have no reason to be afraid.

The next promise is that the Lord will strengthen us. Have you ever felt like you were at the end of yourself? I know I have. Sometimes it seems hard to carry on, especially when life becomes very difficult. However, in this verse from Isaiah, the Lord has promised that He will strengthen us. He will help us continue doing right, even when it seems impossible. In our weakness, He shows us His strength. We can have confidence that if we ask for strength, the Lord will give it to us. We know that when we call out to the Lord, He will give us exactly what we need to carry on and accomplish his will.

His final promise in this verse is that He will uphold us with the right hand of His righteousness. This means we will continue to be covered by the salvation He has given each of us. Our sins have been taken care of once and for all by Jesus on the cross, and we will continue to be held in His salvation because of His promises. Nothing we do can separate us from the Lord.

These three promises show us that the Lord is dependable in all circumstances. We do not have to be afraid because we serve a God who is faithful. He loves us and will never never leave us or forsake us.

Dear Lord, thank you for these three promises that we have in Isaiah. Thank you for being a faithful God. Nothing can stop your faithfulness or your love for me. Help me to rest in these promises when my heart becomes fearful. I love you, Lord, and I thank you for all that you have done for me and your people. In Jesus's name, amen.

Mar 23 2022

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. :

Is this verse from Colossians, Paul instructs the church at Colossae to let peace rule in their hearts and to be thankful. His instructions apply to our lives today. Does the peace of God rule in our hearts? Are we thankful? These questions are an opportunity to honestly assess where we are. Today, we'll think about what peace means and what thankfulness looks like.

When you think of peace, what comes to your mind? I think of a tranquil landscape, perhaps a soft river and clear sky. There is nothing disruptive about that environment; everything is gentle and calm. In the same way, our hearts should be calm, meaning they are not easily disturbed. Even though this world is full of surprises and some of them are not good, we are able to remain confident and firm in our beliefs and hope in the Lord. This brings us peace.

It is possible to have peace in all circumstances when we recognize that God is working through everything. Nothing happens that is beyond His jurisdiction. He knows and cares about everything in our lives and He will sustain us through everything that comes our way.

If we hear tragic or disturbing news, it is not possible to have peace—unless we have an anchor that goes deeper. The love of the Lord is this anchor. Nothing can compromise His love, and nothing can ever take it away. His love is the firm foundation on which we can build and return to our peace.

The second instruction Paul gives is to be thankful. As Christians, we have much to be thankful for. Because of Jesus, we have new life. We are no longer enslaved to sin, and we are loved by God more than we could ever understand. We should respond to His love with gratitude because the grace that He has shown is better than we could ever have imagined.

Thankfulness is the natural response to the saving grace of God. A heart of gratitude changes the way that we respond to adversity and other trials. It helps us recognize that our current circumstances are in the hands of a loving God who can always be trusted. Because of this, we are able to put on both peace and thankfulness in our hearts.

Dear Lord, I thank you for being so good to me. I want to have peace in my heart and to be thankful. Bring this verse to my mind when I struggle with that. I want to honor you, and I know that I need your help. I thank you for Jesus's life, Lord. In Jesus's name, amen.


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