Welcome back! If you are just joining us, we are using the YouVersion Bible App to follow a devotional together. Read THIS POST to get all the information you need to join in and then you can read THIS MORNING’S POST to see the promises we are focusing on this week.

Did you get a chance to spend some time with this week’s promises. I read them over and over and had such a hard time deciding which one stood out to me the most. Each one is so fantastic but the promise I am claiming this week is….

Don’t fear. I’ve given you peace. Take it.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

It’s not “try not to let your heart be troubled” or “do your best to not be afraid” but DO NOT. Jesus overcame this world. He has brought peace and by trusting in Him, by putting your faith in Him, by accepting Him, you have His peace. Not the world’s peace that lasts for a short while until another conflict or disaster happens, but true peace.

There will always be conflicts, disasters, death, and terrifying things that happen in this world. There is nothing we can do to change that. Yes, we can be a beacon of hope and a light in the darkness to point people to Him, but until Jesus comes again there will not be complete world peace… ever. But we can have peace in our hearts knowing that we are His.

But we are human and our brains do crazy things. We start to focus on weird scenarios or terrible circumstances, even when they are incredibly far-fetched! But when you feel your mind start drifting that way I encourage you to repeat this verse and focus on what is true.

This is a year of big change in our country. People are genuinely afraid for the country’s future. But I said it before and I’ll say it again – God already knows who the next leader of this country will be. We need to pray for our current leader, our future leader, and any leaders that come after that. Don’t be consumed by the “what if’s” because you can be certain of the “what is.”

What is…

Jesus is King. No matter who becomes an earthly leader, Jesus still reigns.
We are forgiven. He paid the price and all we need to do is accept that gift.
He gives us peace. Immerse yourself in His word and feel it pour over you.
He will come back. Someday, though no one but the Father knows the time, Jesus will return.

Father God, thank you for this promise. Thank you that you sent your son to take our place that we may have peace. Thank you that this peace is everlasting and greater than any peace we could ever experience here on Earth. Fill us with this peace. Help us to feel it pouring over us when we start to feel troubled, when life gets difficult or scary. I pray that we could each bury this truth in our hearts so it can comfort us when the fear begins to creep in. In Jesus name, Amen.