In my area of work, I come across many people in emotional pain created by a wide variety of circumstances.  Each of us, at some point during life, go through periods when we feel oppressed, almost crushed by the weight of the circumstances.  In Scripture, Paul talked about his feelings in such circumstances,

We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, yet not destroyed. (2Cor.4:8)

Since we each face “crushing” circumstances at times, it would definitely be beneficial to be able to go through them as Paul did, not denying the gravity of the situation, but not allowing the situation to destroy him emotionally. Paul’s faith, or hope, kept him from losing heart in trying times.  Faith is defined in Scripture as not only believing God exists, but that He responds positively to those who seek Him. (Heb.11:6)

It is knowledge of the nature of God that gives one hope during times of brokenness or oppression.

It is the difference between knowing without a doubt that someone cares about you and what is taking place, especially Someone with greater abilities and resources, as opposed to feeling there is no one to care at all.  Jesus purpose while on earth, other than the plan of salvation, was to illustrate in living form the nature of God to us.  Listen to this quote of how He did that:

Jesus…with the Holy Spirit and with strength and ability and power…went about doing good curing all who were harassed and oppressed. (Acts10:38 Amp)

Jesus both illustrated the nature of God to bring us out of oppressing circumstances and broken hearts, but proclaimed it to be a part of God’s nature.

This is a quote of Jesus speaking to those who are broken hearted, oppressed, and crushed by calamity:

Father God has anointed Me to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity, to proclaim the year of the Lord, the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound. (Lk.4:18,19)

Notice a couple of points from this quote:

 -It is God’s desire to help you and bring you out of that hurtful situation, ie. “send forth as delivered”

 -God wants you to not try to handle the hurt yourself, but look to Him for help, as is meant by the references to God’s intervention, “year of the Lord,” and the “day of salvation.”

 -The type of help God wants to give you is not minimal, but “profusely abounding,” or more than you would expect to receive.

Looking at this quote a little more closely brings an even greater realization of how personally involved God wants to be in your circumstance.

I decided, for my own benefit, to look up the definitions of certain words in the Greek, since this passage was originally written in Greek.  The term “year of the Lord” actually means “a whole new age (1).”  Through Jesus, God proclaimed a whole new age of His involvement in your life.  What is this involvement like? 

First, it is continuous.  The Greek word for day in this passage means, “perpetually present,” or continuously present. In this whole new age, God’s help is continuously present to deliver you, and bring you profuse salvation and free favors.

Second, the word for salvation includes deliverance, provision, rescue, aid (1).  God’s perpetually present help brings you whatever you need in your oppression and broken heartedness.

Third, though many people who seek after God still struggle with the question of whether or not God will help them or whether they can possible earn His help, the phrase “free favors” is defined as unmerited gifts (1)!  No, you do not need to struggle under condemnation feeling that you must try to earn God’s help and still fall short; God has proclaimed to you that the help in your crushing circumstance is an unearned gift!

Let’s look at a paraphrase of this quote, including the Greek definitions:

Father God has anointed Me to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity, to proclaim to you the whole new age of the Lord, the perpetually present time when salvation – deliverance, provision, rescue, aid — and unmerited gifts from God profusely abound.

You can be free from emotional harm though dealing with life’s oppressive circumstances. 

Hope is there for you, as it was for Paul, to be hard pressed, yet not crushed, not in despair.  The realization that God, through Jesus, announced a whole new age of God’s continual offer of profuse unearned gifts, deliverance, provision, rescue, and aid for you!  Believe His offer!  Ask Him for what you need in your circumstance!  Look for the answers with expectancy!

1. Strong’s Dictionary of Greek New Testament Words

As I was going through journal notes this morning from the past several months, I came across several quotes on peace that I thought I’d share with you. This is an unusual type of post for this blog. My desire is that these points will help to solidify your peace of mind when fear tries to rob it. Following most quotes, I’ll have some comments to ensure the steps for attaining peace are as clear as possible.

Peace of Mind Begins by Your Communication with God Controlling Your Thought Life.

Col. 3:15 Let the peace of Christ continually act as umpire in your hearts, settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds…and be thankful, giving praise.

God encourages us in this quote to allow His peace to umpire the fearful thoughts that battle in your mind. When faced with fear, one has a choice to let the fears in his mind run rampant, or allow God’s peace to put those questions and fears to rest with finality.

Ex. 14:13,14 Fear not; stand firm, confident, undismayed and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the oppression you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.

See in this peace quote the instruction from God to not fear or be dismayed. More importantly for this section of our discussion, He says, “You hold your peace and remain at rest.” Again, some disciplined action on your own part to control your thoughts is necessary for peace of mind.

Peace of Mind Comes from a Knowledge of God’s Character and Your Reflection of His Character:

2 Tim. 1:5,7 I am reminded of your sincere faith, the leaning of your entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, goodness, faith. God did not give us a spirit of timidity but He has given us a spirit of power, love, of calm and well-balanced mind, discipline, and self-control.

If you still struggle with religious misconceptions from childhood of an evil, unforgiving, condemning God, it will be difficult to obtain peace. You need to resolve those with truth. As this peace quote says, God’s desire is that your entire personality relies on His ability and goodness due to you having a state of total confidence in His character.

Knowledge of God’s Favor Brings Peace of Mind:

Ps. 97:11 Light is sown for the uncompromisingly righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart, the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection.

Consciousness of God’s favor and protection brings peace resulting in great joy; the consciousness of God’s favor precede the peace and resulting joy.

Sensing the Depth of Father God’s Love for You Brings Peace:

Jn. 17:26 [Jesus prayed...] I have… revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make You known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be felt in their hearts.

Just as in a healthy marriage, knowing the depth of your spouse’s love for you brings peace in many situations, so it is with knowing God’s love. In this quote, Jesus is praying about His revealing the character of Father God to mankind; notice the purpose-that the same amount and type of love Father God has for Jesus Himself would be felt in our hearts.

Jn. 16:24,27 Now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy, gladness, delight may be full and complete…For the Father Himself tenderly loves you.

Knowing You have Reconciled Matters between You and God Brings Peace:

Rom. 5:1,2 Since we are acquitted and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy through Jesus. Through Him we have by faith into this state of God’s favor in which we firmly and safely stand.

God expects us to derive joy and peace from the knowledge that we have a right standing with God, that the relationship between us and Him has been reconciled and made right. Notice that this healing of the relationship is through faith; also take note that this state of favor with God is rock-firm and safe, not unstable like relationships are with people. Knowing we have His favor means knowing we have His attentiveness and help. The result is inner peace.

Dependence on God Brings Peace:

Col. 3:17 Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in dependence upon His Person, giving praise…

If you continually feel that you must solve the insolvable of life on your own, peace will come and go at a moment’s notice. When suddenly hit with a situation that brings fear or dismay, one’s first response should be that you are not in this alone, you have a higher power upon which to depend, and countless promises from Him for whatever the source of your fear.

Jn. 16:33 In Me you may have perfect peace and confidence…Be of good cheer-take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted-for I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of the power to harm you.

Visualize the level of comfort that a fearful child receives from being held in the arms of a loving father. Visualize the comfort a grieving person receives in the arms of a loving friend or spouse. Now visualize the comfort that a newborn baby receives when placed in the arms of its mother so that he can hear her heartbeat and know that safety and loving nurturing is still there.

This is the same visual picture God gives of Himself in His relationship with us.

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him. The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. (Deut.33:12)

Where is your source of comfort and what is its depth?

God desires that we receive whatever comfort possible from our human relationships, but whether that is available to you or not, nothing can compare to the comfort you can receive from resting in the arms of your loving Father God, resting between His shoulders — a level of closeness in which you can “hear His heartbeat” and know that all His nurturing love and safety is there for you. God does bless our lives with His love through other people, but He also provides a level of comfort that does not exist anywhere else other than by taking time alone with Him in undisturbed meditation, allowing His Spirit to communicate to your mind and spirit His thoughts of love, wisdom, encouragement, comfort, and inspiration. Remember, you can hear His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” He would not have said that if God did not speak. Also, He said that God’s Spirit would reveal or disclose to you things of God, things only God knows (Jn. 16:13,14; 1 Cor. 2:9.10)

Comfort and/or peace are a rarity in these days in which we live, yet something most people are desperately longing for. Slow down, listen, take time to hear God’s heartbeat and allow Him to speak comfort to you!

I mention in various articles on this site how our view of God can either aid or hinder our healing. If we doubt God’s love for us, feel unworthy of His goodness, or struggle with poor childhood teaching which portrayed God as evil and vindictive, such ideas actually affect our ability to receive good from God. It is much like the psychological concept of projection. I’ll just briefly touch on it here; a person is hindered from good, positive progress in life with regards to jobs, relationships, etc. because he/she projects negative feelings and perceptions from past experiences into present job situations and relationships. Without realizing he/she is doing this, the person actually recreates a constant cycle of problems in the present situations similar to ones in the past. To put it in simplest form, a negative view of how others want to act toward you can cause people to “treat you poorly” and create more negative experiences; however, it is your own response and actions based on your negative perceptions from the past that make people again react negatively toward you.

In a similar way, our projection of negative feelings or actions onto God which do not exist in His person affect our receptibility to healing and other good from Him.

As I cover our own perceptions more in other articles, my purpose here is to briefly provide some comforting, health-giving passages about God’s activity in our environment that relay how much God desires that our lives be safe, well, happy, and whole.I’ll put the concepts into a paraphrase here with the verses of origin below it.

As you progress in your daily journey through life, God says that He will make the rough places in your path smooth. The crooked paths that slow your progress He will make straight. Those mountains that seem so overwhelming will be leveled; the valleys that have caused you heartache will be raised up. Even your darkest moment will be turned into light before you. God says that He will be a shield “around” you, encompassing you with protection. He will impart glory on you and lift up your head when life’s pressures have weighed you down. Not only will God go before you, making a good path for you, but He will be your rear guard; He will watch your back. His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. He is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you, so you do not need to be afraid o discouraged.

In spite of how others have treated you in life, regardless of past poor input that may have created negative perceptions of God’s feelings for you, allow these truths that He Himself speaks about His loving care for your life replace the negativity of the past and make you receptive to His goodness. Let the presence of God grant you a full comprehension today of the loving care He wants to actively display in your life for your whole life!

• Isa 42:16 I I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
• Lu 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
• Ps 3:3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
• Isa 52:12 The LORD will go before you; God will be your rear guard.
• Ps 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
• De 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Making a difference in the world — in the lives of all the people with whom you come in contact in a day – is not difficult to achieve. Everyone appreciates being shown a simple kindness, such as being treated with respect. It does not take any extra effort on your part, just a decision to live by the golden rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you (Lk. 6:31).” In other words, these simple words give us a life guideline of treating people with the respect with which we ourselves desire to be treated. Most people will appreciate it; a few will not. But it is still well worth it to give people a gift that everyone inwardly desires and, hence, meet a basic human need. You, personally, cannot solve all the problems of humanity. Yet you can meet the innate daily human need for respect in those with whom you come in contact.

Show proper respect to everyone.(1)

You may not know the person at all to know if they are worthy of respect in the various aspects of his or her lifestyle, but in your daily business and community contacts, “proper respect” is responding to the fact that the person is a human being with the basic need of being shown respect. The Greek word for “respect” in this quote is timao, meaning to “fix value upon, to be peaceable, to show respect to people in general (3).” General respect, just showing a little bit of respect for the fact that they are a human being who needs it, is valuable in and of itself.

Another quote says, “Encourage one another daily.” (2)

The Greek word here, parakaleo, means to “give comfort or exhortation (3).” You can show simple respect by being an encourager. Thesaurus.com defines encourage as “cheer, praise, advocate, inspire, motivate, perk up, show favor, smile upon, support, strengthen.”

As I go through the day, whether it is with cashiers, clerks, bank tellers, waiters, neighbors whose paths I cross, or in business phone conversations, I make sure to tell everyone to have a good day. Why? Because I want a good day, so I speak that blessing on others. They want a good day, too, even if they haven’t consciously thought about it. I make an effort to compliment those who are cheerful, as it is a rare quality. I thank those who are quick and efficient at their job, giving them credit for their efforts. If a teenager has a complex hairstyle, I’ll compliment him or her on it.

The responsive smiles are reward enough, but I know what I am doing goes deeper.

Many people do not have a good core of loving people in their lives who daily show them any respect. Or, even if they have a good core of family and friends, many people are not even treated with respect as a person on the job by their employers.

No, none of us can meet all the needs of the world, but you can make a difference in the lives of everyone you meet each day.

Show a little respect; encourage or compliment them. Meet their basic human need for respect and both you, and the world with whom you rub shoulders, will feel the benefits!

1. Quote from 1 Pet. 2:17.
2. Quote from Heb.3:13.
3. Strong’s Dictionary of New Testament Words

I read a great post the other day by fellow SelfGrowth.com expert, Jaqui Duvall, on moving from self-criticism to positive self talk, along with the benefits of it and the how-to’s.  I’m going to give you a few highlights of her article here.  Please use this link or the link below to read Jaqui’s full article, “Proactively Start Your Day with Positive Self Talk.”

Though the old saying about sticks and stones says, “Words will never hurt me,” words do hurt; often, our own words hurt the most.

This is the premise for Jaqui’s article.  The words we speak to ourselves in our minds are often even more harsh and more harmful than the words of other people.  Interestingly enough, she has found that many of her clients admit that they are their own worst critic instead of their own best friend.

There is a common source for this type of inner, self criticism.  Psychologists say that it is directly linked to how we were talked to as children, that we “imitate the parenting we received inside our own heads, continuing the practice of praising, disciplining, etc.”  Any nurturing voice in one’s mind is usually drowned out by the critical ones.  If fear is involved, such as about finances and the economy, self criticism can quickly spiral out of control with negative inner monologues.

Deliberate, intentional action can change the inner critic to a nurturing, supportive role, leading one to positive outcomes. 

Jaqui says,

The good news is we can actually change our inner self-talk and we can change what comes out of our mouths. Catching the inner critic before it starts beating us up and shifting our words to nurturing, supportive direction, like a coach would give, can lead to more positive outcomes in our lives. Being conscious, deliberate and intentional about what we say and what we think takes raising awareness, making a choice and acting differently.

There are several specific suggestions Jaqui makes to break the self critic pattern:

1.  Observe Yourself – Pay attention to your inner talk, how you interpret situations, and what you are saying when no one is around to hear you.

2.  Journal Your Inner Talk – Re-reading the inner talk you’ve journaled helps you see more easily when thinking becomes distorted.

3.  Get an Unbiased Opinion – We cannot always be objective about ourselves; get input.  For example, when Jaqui had a lull in class attendance, an outside source essentially told her, “You can view this personally which will bring discouragement and be disempowering, or admit that people are being more cautious in this economy and use the extra time wisely.”

4.  Act Differently – You must go beyond noticing the inner criticism and follow through with new affirmations — out loud.  Speaking positively out loud is essential to establishing new patterns.

5.  Be Proactive, Not Reactive – If you allow self-critical thoughts to start, it is more difficult to change to a positive direction. Choose to be self-supportive first.

6.  Start the Morning with Positive Self Talk – Speak empowering affirmations first thing in the morning, which is a negative time for most people.

Following Jaqui’s advice can take you from the self-defeating habit of being a self-critic to developing a new positive pattern of self talk, creating better self-esteem and positive, empowering outcomes!

Jaqui Duvall is an author, life coach, and counselor.  Read her full article online here, Proactively Start Your Day with Positive Self Talk 

It is an essential part of our healing, whether physical, emotional, and/or spiritual, to be able to believe that God wants our lives to be well.

I mention in various articles on this site how our view of God can either aid or hinder our healing. If we doubt God’s love for us, feel unworthy of His goodness, or struggle with poor childhood teaching which portrayed God as evil and vindictive, such ideas actually affect our ability to receive good from God. It is much like the psychological concept of projection. I’ll just briefly touch on it here; a person is hindered from good, positive progress in life with regards to jobs, relationships, etc. because he/she projects negative feelings and perceptions from past experiences into present job situations and relationships. Without realizing he/she is doing this, the person actually recreates a constant cycle of problems in the present situations similar to ones in the past. To put it in simplest form, a negative view of how others want to act toward you can cause people to “treat you poorly” and create more negative experiences; however, it is your own response and actions based on your negative perceptions from the past that make people again react negatively toward you.

In a similar way, our projection of negative feelings or actions onto God that do not exist in His person affect our receptibility to healing and other good from Him.

As I covered our own perceptions more in other articles, my purpose here is to briefly provide some comforting, health-giving passages about God’s activity in our environment that relay how much God desires that our lives be safe, well, happy, and whole.I’ll put the concepts into a paraphrase here with the verses of origin below it.(1)

As you progress in your daily journey through life, God says that He will make the rough places in your path smooth. The crooked paths that slow your progress He will make straight. Those mountains that seem so overwhelming will be leveled; the valleys that have caused you heartache will be raised up. Even your darkest moment will be turned into light before you. God says that He will be a shield “around” you, encompassing you with protection. He will impart glory on you and lift up your head when life’s pressures have weighed you down. Not only will God go before you, making a good path for you, but He will be your rear guard; He will watch your back. His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. He is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you, so you do not need to be afraid or discouraged.

In spite of how others have treated you in life, regardless of past poor input that may have created negative perceptions of God’s feelings for you, allow these truths that He Himself speaks about His loving care for your life replace the negativity of the past and make you receptive to His goodness. Let the presence of God grant you a full comprehension today of the loving care He wants to actively display in your life for your whole life!

(1)
*Isa 42:16 I I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
*Lu 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
*Ps 3:3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
*Isa 52:12 The LORD will go before you; God will be your rear guard.
*Ps 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
*De 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Is your life focus right now on the main problem area of your life?

What is that controlling area? A job, finances, marriage, other personal relationships, health? Though we must give attention to the problem area if it is going to improve, it is healthier and more effective to be focused on completeness or wholeness than give the totality of your attention to a problem.

Since the beginning of creation, God’s desire for mankind is to be complete.

At the beginning of creation, all was in perfection and harmony. Everything mankind needed was readily available. Yes, man’s rebellion brought devastation, but God still desires for your life to return to a state of wholeness or completeness, and so should you.

Look at this greeting out of Scripture:

1Sam. 25:6 And say this, “May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.”

We are to speak the desire for all to be well in others’ lives; certainly, we should speak and desire it over our own lives.

Let’s take a more in depth look with this quote:

Jer.33:9 They will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide.

God speaks here of people being in awe, both mentally and physically at the prosperity and peace He provides for His people. Sounds simple, but, as I’ve mentioned before, much is lost in the translation to English. Look at the depth and expanse of completeness in life (or wholeness — whichever term is easier for you to envision) that is intended to be ours:

The Hebrew for “prosperity” includes: beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, good, joyful, kindly, loving, pleasure, precious, prosperity, sweet, wealth, well-favored.

The Hebrew for “peace” includes: safe, well, happy, friendly; health, prosperity, peace, favor, good health, rest, all is well, wholly. (1)

Now make a serious evaluation:

If the majority of your life focus is on your main problem, how much of the invaluable experiences in this list are missing from your life?

Next, are you envisioning your life as including all these things to reach the state of being complete?

Enlarge your vision by beginning to be aware of the aspects of prosperity and peace that already exist in your life and being focused on the opportunities to experience the rest of them.

Create a mental picture of every area of your life being as it should be, well, sound, healthy, effective. Envision it. Desire it. Meditate on it. Believe to attain it by listening to the wisdom of God and looking for the right opportunities.

Give attention to your problem area when it is effective, when you can make a significant change. However, let your life focus be on the reach to be complete!

1. Hebrew definitions from Strong’s Dictionary of Old Testament Words.

We each go through times in life in which peace of mind is a little more of a struggle to maintain.

As I was going through journal notes this morning from the past several months, I came across several quotes on peace that I thought I’d share with you. This is an unusual type of post for this blog. My desire is that these points will help to solidify your peace of mind when fear tries to rob it. Following most quotes, I’ll have some comments to ensure the steps for attaining peace are as clear as possible.

Peace of Mind Begins by Your Communication with God Controlling Your Thought Life.

Col. 3:15 Let the peace of Christ continually act as umpire in your hearts, settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds…and be thankful, giving praise.

God encourages us in this quote to allow His peace to umpire the fearful thoughts that battle in your mind. When faced with fear, one has a choice to let the fears in his mind run rampant, or allow God’s peace to put those questions and fears to rest with finality.

Ex. 14:13,14 Fear not; stand firm, confident, undismayed and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the oppression you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.

See in this peace quote the instruction from God to not fear or be dismayed. More importantly for this section of our discussion, He says, “You hold your peace and remain at rest.” Again, some disciplined action on your own part to control your thoughts is necessary for peace of mind.

Peace of Mind Comes from a Knowledge of God’s Character and Your Reflection of His Character:

2 Tim. 1:5,7 I am reminded of your sincere faith, the leaning of your entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, goodness, faith. God did not give us a spirit of timidity but He has given us a spirit of power, love, of calm and well-balanced mind, discipline, and self-control.

If you still struggle with religious misconceptions from childhood of an evil, unforgiving, condemning God, it will be difficult to obtain peace. You need to resolve those with truth. As this peace quote says, God’s desire is that your entire personality relies on His ability and goodness due to you having a state of total confidence in His character.

Knowledge of God’s Favor Brings Peace of Mind:

Ps. 97:11 Light is sown for the uncompromisingly righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart, the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection.

Consciousness of God’s favor and protection brings peace resulting in great joy; the consciousness of God’s favor precede the peace and resulting joy.

Sensing the Depth of Father God’s Love for You Brings Peace:

Jn. 17:26 [Jesus prayed...] I have… revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make You known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be felt in their hearts.

Just as in a healthy marriage, knowing the depth of your spouse’s love for you brings peace in many situations, so it is with knowing God’s love. In this quote, Jesus is praying about His revealing the character of Father God to mankind; notice the purpose-that the same amount and type of love Father God has for Jesus Himself would be felt in our hearts.

Jn. 16:24,27 Now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy, gladness, delight may be full and complete…For the Father Himself tenderly loves you.

Knowing You have Reconciled Matters between You and God Brings Peace:

Rom. 5:1,2 Since we are acquitted and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy through Jesus. Through Him we have by faith into this state of God’s favor in which we firmly and safely stand.

God expects us to derive joy and peace from the knowledge that we have a right standing with God, that the relationship between us and Him has been reconciled and made right. Notice that this healing of the relationship is through faith; also take note that this state of favor with God is rock-firm and safe, not unstable like relationships are with people. Knowing we have His favor means knowing we have His attentiveness and help. The result is inner peace.

Dependence on God Brings Peace:

Col. 3:17 Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in dependence upon His Person, giving praise…

If you continually feel that you must solve the insolvable of life on your own, peace will come and go at a moment’s notice. When suddenly hit with a situation that brings fear or dismay, one’s first response should be that you are not in this alone, you have a higher power upon which to depend, and countless promises from Him for whatever the source of your fear.

Jn. 16:33 In Me you may have perfect peace and confidence…Be of good cheer-take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted-for I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of the power to harm you.

I was reminded today of a quote that clearly describes the Fatherly comfort God desires to bring us.

Visualize the level of comfort that a fearful child receives from being held in the arms of a loving father. Visualize the comfort a grieving person receives in the arms of a loving friend or spouse. Now visualize the comfort that a newborn baby receives when placed in the arms of its mother so that he can hear her heartbeat and know that safety and loving nurturing is still there.

This is the same visual picture God gives of Himself in His relationship with us.

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him. The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. (Deut.33:12)

Where is your source of comfort and what is its depth?

God desires that we receive whatever comfort possible from our human relationships, but whether that is available to you or not, nothing can compare to the comfort you can receive from resting in the arms of your loving Father God, resting between His shoulders-a level of closeness in which you can “hear His heartbeat” and know that all His nurturing love and safety is there for you. God does bless our lives with His love through other people, but He also provides a level of comfort that does not exist anywhere else other than by taking time alone with Him in undisturbed meditation, allowing His Spirit to communicate to your mind and spirit His thoughts of love, wisdom, encouragement, comfort, and inspiration. Remember, you can hear His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” He would not have said that if God did not speak. Also, He said that God’s Spirit would reveal or disclose to you things of God, things only God knows (Jn. 16:13,14; 1 Cor. 2:9.10)

Comfort and/or peace are a rarity in these days in which we live, yet something most people are desperately longing for. Slow down, listen, take time to hear God’s heartbeat and allow Him to speak comfort to you!