Dec 23 2024

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 16 is an anthem of faith in the Lord. Written by King David, it says that regardless of what happens in life, he will rest in assurance from the Lord. Today's verse is found at the end of the song and shows us that the same assurance is available to us.

The verse begins by saying that the Lord will show us the path of life. This is a common metaphor that we see all throughout the Bible and it means that the Lord will instruct us on the path that we should take throughout our lives as we honor Him. The path of life is not so much about a career or life plan. Rather, it is about constant, growing intimacy with the Lord. He will help us stay near Him in our lives as long as we continue to seek Him with our hearts.

The purpose of the Christian life is to live in the fullness of joy that His presence offers us. We will not experience this fullness of joy completely until we are in Heaven because we live in a world that is marred by sin. Still, it is possible to have joy now because the Lord's presence is available to us now.

Joy does not mean that we don't recognize or acknowledge turmoil or difficulties in our lives. Instead, it refers to having a steady heart and mind, knowing that the pain we experience here is temporary and that the Lord is enduring it with us. It means that we take our sorrows to Jesus over and over again and ask Him to renew our spirits.

When we recognize that Jesus is a wellspring of life, pouring out His love for us day after day, we will start to feel joy even in the most difficult of circumstances. We can continue to set our eyes on the day when we will live in Heaven with the Lord in supreme fullness of joy, and rest today as we dwell in His love.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much for being such a good God. I am so grateful that you are a God who wants His followers to have joy. Help me to have more joy as I dwell in your presence in a whole new way, resting in the confidence that you will provide and that you love us unfailingly. In Jesus' name, amen.

Dec 22 2024

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. :

In this verse, Paul tells the Thessalonians that the Lord is the Lord of peace, that He will give them peace, and He will be with them always. Regardless of where we are in life today, I think we can all benefit from reflecting on what it means to have peace and know that the Lord is always with us.

When you hear the word peace, what comes to mind? I picture something that is still and calm. There's nothing upsetting or jarring; everything is gentle. Well, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is not interested in chaos or turbulence. Rather, He is after steady hearts and minds. Knowing Him leads to peace in our lives.

We can have peace in Jesus because we know that our futures are secure in His hands. We know there is nothing we can do that would separate us from His love. Jesus sealed our fate when He died on the cross for us, making it possible for each of us to have a relationship with the Lord. This relationship is sustained through faith, not by works, and so we know there is nothing we can do that would make us lose our salvation.

Because of this, we can rest in comfort, knowing that the most important thing in our lives is untouchable by the world. When we're facing difficult circumstances, like uncertainty, pain, hurt, or loss, we can take comfort in knowing that the Lord will help us have peace that is beyond our comprehension because it is not of this world. It is far, far above it—and far more precious than anything this world can offer because it reminds us that the Lord is always with us.

Dear Lord, I thank you for being a God of peace. You are my salvation and my strength and you are the reason that I can dwell in peace even when my whole world seems to be falling apart. I thank you that I can rest and know that you are God and let that bring an end to my racing thoughts. I am so glad that you are God. In Jesus' name, amen.