In January Ann Kirby gave me a birthday card- Loved it! I love the verse on it and I love the picture. The more I look at it the more I see. The verse Isaiah 55:12- What a promise. We should grab onto it and claim it. I love the picture- the heart wreath, the basket with lace and flowers- the bouquet on the step- the angel- the key and the heart- the beautiful old door- old door knob and casing. (Editors note: actual image could not be found)
Isaiah 55:12 “You will go out in joy and peace. The mountains and hills, the trees of the field- all the world around you- will rejoice.”
The verse IS the KEY- to the peace we can have in our HEART…
Psalm 91:9-11 “Because you have made the Lord your refuge- the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he gives his ANGELS charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.”
He wants us to go out- from our devotion time- from our homes- IN JOY and BE LED FORTH in PEACE.
What a wonderful promise. Going out IN JOY (that joyful state of being)- then BEING LED. I love it!! We can be at peace- for no matter what comes in our life this day, He is leading us and we are following and not just charging out on our own. Not wondering what kind of mess will I get into today. But in Peace knowing He is in charge.
I have given you previously the “Practical Side of Devotions” of committing your work unto the Lord and letting him establish your plans. We will go over that just a little now. When I made that study I felt strongly that was what was needed as I felt many people were missing the practical daily guidance the Lord can give us. But that is only 1/2 our devotional time. Now I feel just as strongly to deal with the spiritual side- where He changes us into His image. That is what we will be talking about tonight. As women we are emotional creatures. Often triggered by circumstance and sometimes by hormones. We have heard it said that the Christian life is not based on emotions. That is true as far as salvation goes. If we confess our sins and believe that Jesus died for those sins, ask him to be Savior of our lives, He will save us, regardless of if we feel like it or not.
But “living” the Christian life has a great deal to do with feelings and emotions. Joy is a feeling. Peace is a feeling. As you enter your devotional time, how are you “feeling”? Check your emotional temperature. If you are feeling any negative unhealthy feelings, God has a remedy for them, so we can claim Isaiah 55:12.
Grab His answer and cling to that promise:
If you are feeling: Read:
- Exhausted Jeremiah 31:25
- Anxious Phillipians 4:5-6
- Grief stricken or sad Matthew 5:4
- Perplexed James 1:5
- Lonely Psalms 25:16-18
- Depressed Psalms 42:5
- Dismayed Isaiah 41:10
- Angry Proverbs 19:11
- Jealous I Corinthians 13:4 or Gal. 5:20
- Not understanding something Proverbs 20:24
- Weak & Helpless Phillipians 4:13
- Worried about the future Jeremiah 29:11
- Worried about finances II Corinthians 9:8 or I Peter 5:7
- Feeling sick Jeremiah 30:17a
- Afraid Isaiah 52:12 or Joshua 1:9
- Embarrassed and Humbled Matthew 23:12, Proverbs 29:23, James 1:9
- Full of Praise Psalms 150
Peace and Joy don’t happen instantly. Persevere until it does…..
Luke 11:7-12
He would call down from his bedroom, ‘Please don’t ask me to get up. The door is locked for the night and we are all in bed. I just can’t help you this time.’
“But I’ll tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. Everyone who asks, receives; all who seek, find; and the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
“You men who are fathers—if your boy asks for bread, do you give him a stone? If he asks for fish, do you give him a snake? If he asks for an egg, do you give him a scorpion? Of course not!‘
We must learn to crucify our flesh with its passions and desires…..
Galatians 5:24
Those who belong to Christ have nailed their natural evil desires to his cross and crucified them there.
But even if our prayers are never answered- We know…
Lamentations 3:22-24
His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day. My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him.
Also- Even though- We love Him….
Habakkuk 3:17
Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit; though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty,
Isaiah 12:2
See, God has come to save me! I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord is my strength and song; he is my salvation.
We must crucify our bad feelings and rise above them and be the women (and men) God would have us be- being able to go out in Joy and be led forth in Peace.