Dear Ones,
Hope you have a peace-filled day! I am going to do food prep, shop, and go to an appointment. Our daughter is in Washington DC and going on a tour of the White House this morning.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How often do we get upset and loose our peace? Maybe things didn’t go our way, or someone close to us said a hurtful remark and we could feel ourselves getting angry. Jesus didn’t promise we would have peaceful circumstances all the time, but He did promise to be our peace. Fortunately for us He never changes so we can bank on His peace even in the midst of the worst times. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:14 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” We are to let his peace is rule in our hearts (Col 3:15) rather than getting agitated and upset.

When we feel our peace disrupted, we can ask ourselves, “What am I hanging onto that is not yet dead in me?” If we don’t care what others say about us because we belong to Jesus, then we can forgive what is said against us and receive comfort from the Lord. Or maybe we are troubled because of something we have done that was unkind. We need to be quick to apologize and ask forgiveness. We need to pursue peace and ask the Lord to show us if there are hidden things within us that have robbed us of our peace with Him and need to go to the cross.

Often bad things happen outside of our control and our first response should be to run to Jesus. Share with Him and instead of getting upset, let us pray and let go of negative thoughts. If we think about ourselves all the time, we will be filled with self-pity every time things don’t go our way. That is not a happy way to live, but it is our choice. Do we want to feel sorry for ourselves or do we want to have an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness. A thankful heart is a peace-filled heart.

Challenge for today: Pursue peace and give up anything in your life that is robbing you of His peace.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy