God’s Peace    

If our minds are stayed upon God, His peace will rule the affairs entertained by our minds. If, on the other hand, we allow our minds to dwell on the cares of this world, God's peace will be far from our thoughts.  Woodrow Kroll

I started thinking about the peace that can be found in God.  When we dwell in His presence, we no longer worry about what others may think of us.  Why is it that we place more value on the opinion of others in this world than we do the opinion of the God who created us?   

I think we place so much value on what people on earth think because we want to be accepted by others.  We want to belong to a close knit family who love us through the challenges of life.  The problem with this is we look at others in our life as our source of strength.  The next problem is we expect them to always love us and be there for us but that doesn’t always happen.  If you can get one important piece of wisdom it is this: The people you surround yourself with are sinners and so are you.  If you keep that in mind, your interactions can be different.

The second thing is the God who created us didn’t make a mistake.  I was watching a show on TV about how food products are made.  One segment showed a lady with a hairnet, white coat and gloves who was picking out the bad or damaged fruit that was traveling down the conveyor belt before the good fruit traveled down the line to be placed in boxes.  They didn’t show what happened to the bad fruit, but the correlation here is that God doesn’t only select the good fruit, he wants the bad too.  He wants every one of us.  And guess what?  We are all bad fruit at one time or another, yet He still pursues each of us like there were only one of us.

You are worth God’s time.  When you finally realize that He wants you to come and lay it all at His feet; a peace that surpasses all understanding will be your reward.  If you take the shame, pain, sorrow and heartache and lay it at His feet, He will give you rest.  He will give you strength and He will give you peace.  All you need to do is ask.  The comfort of knowing that there is One who loves you without reservation and who is waiting for you to turn to him is beyond comprehension. 

    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, over the years I have learned that You are my refuge.  You are where I go when everything seems to be falling apart around me.  You are also where I go in times of great joy because You celebrate with me.  I give my struggles, sorrows, heartaches and pain to You.  I lay it at Your feet.  I praise You with all my heart for saving a wretch like me.  Thank You for the peace that I can only get through You.

Scripture:  Jesus Gives True Rest

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:25-30