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Esther 8:1-10:3; I Corinthians 12:27-13:13; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 21:23-24
“Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires…Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil…Better the little that the righteous man has than the abundance of many wicked people. For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports the righteous…A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever, for the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones.” (Psalm 37:1-4, 7, 16-17, 23-28)
Ever look around and sigh, thinking to yourself about a person that you absolutely know is not living for God and yet they seemingly have everything. Here you are loving Jesus with all your heart, doing the right thing, yet struggling to make ends meet. The Lord encourages us to stay focused on Him and on ourselves, not on others. Concentrate on the faithfulness of God in your own life. Every day that I wake up I am grateful. I feel so blessed to have another day to make a difference in someone’s life, to make up for a wrong, to enjoy just being. Thoughts like that help me to stay centered.
My name is not Pollyanna. I have bills to pay, mouths to feed, a call to fulfill. Throughout my life I have been used, abused, and falsely accused. I am familiar with pressure. I know life is not always going to be fair, things aren’t always going to be easy and we may not always appear as prosperous as others. The devil can really get your mind twisted when you get that side track thinking going on. Don’t let him play you like that. We have no idea what the unrighteous person may be going through internally. We do know this though, if that person doesn’t repent and make Jesus Lord of his life, his riches will one day be gone and he will face God for judgment and spend an eternity separated from His presence. No, if you have Jesus, you are rich my friend. You have access to the peace of God in this life and the ability to spend eternity with Him. God is good.
Instead of pursuing the elusive “happiness” and the accumulation of things, our lives need to revolve around advancing the kingdom of God. Then we will find true joy and the blessing. When you tap into that level, the things of this world pale in comparison and you find real freedom. I pray we can all get to that place of call and contentment. May God bless you today and give you His great peace.
PRAYER:
Lord, as the chaos in this world increases, I pray that those in Your Body would walk in a supernatural peace. I pray that in every situation we find ourselves in that we would look for the witnessing opportunity. I pray when we share the gospel and give it all we’ve got, only to be mocked or dismissed, that we won’t be discouraged or disheartened. Help us to remember we are only to put the word and the witness out there; it is by Your hand alone a person is saved. Father, we pray for the peace of Israel (Psalm 122:6), asking You to move on their behalf. Strengthen Your people, secure their borders, order their steps and meet their needs. We love You Lord and give You all of the glory. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
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