Lord, Heal In Me What I Can't Even Name

Maybe there's so much going on inside that you can't separate one thing from another anymore. Old wounds mixed with new worries. Past trauma layered with present anxiety. Grief you thought you'd processed resurfacing. Pain you didn't know you were carrying until something triggered it.

And when someone asks, "What's wrong?" you don't know how to answer. Because it's not one thing. It's everything at once. A tangle of hurts you can't unravel, let alone name.

But what if you don't need to name it to bring it to God?

God hears every quiet prayer. But sometimes you don't even have words for a prayer, quiet or otherwise.

That's where Romans 8:26 comes in: "In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered."

When you can't articulate what hurts, the Spirit can. When you don't have words for the tangle of pain, anxiety, and old wounds, God already knows. You don't need to diagnose your own brokenness before asking Him to heal it.

God sees what you can't see in yourself. He knows your heart better than you know it. He understands the unnamed pain, the accumulation of everything you're carrying, past and present, better than you ever could.

You don't need to separate the old trauma from the new anxiety. You don't need to identify which wound needs healing first.

You just need to bring all of it, the named and unnamed, the understood and mysterious, to the One who sees it all clearly.

Today, if you're carrying a tangle of pain you can't sort through, bring it to God anyway. You don't need words. He already knows.

Provided by "Faithful Grace"

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"Draw near to Me with a thankful heart, aware that your cup is overflowing with blessings. Gratitude enables you to perceive Me more clearly and to rejoice in our Love-relationship. Nothing can separate you from My loving Presence! That is the basis of your security. Whenever you start to feel anxious, remind yourself that your security rests in Me alone, and I am totally trustworthy."

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

"Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young

Bring Me Back Lord

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You.”

Isaiah 26:3

God, You see how restless my mind can become.

There are moments when my thoughts race in every direction. I replay worries, imagine outcomes I cannot control, and try to solve problems with strength that was never meant to carry them.

I confess the times I have chased every anxious thought instead of bringing them to You.

Bring me back, Lord.

Back to Your peace.

Back to the quiet safety of Your presence.

Teach me what it means to rest my mind on You. Not because I have everything figured out, but because I trust that You already know what I cannot see.

When panic tries to knock at the door of my heart, let Your peace be the one that answers.

Slow the storm in my thoughts.

Quiet the noise inside my mind.

Remind me that I am held by a God who never loses control.

I am tired of trying to build peace on my own understanding.

So build my thoughts on Your promises instead.

Piece by piece.

Day by day.

Even when I don’t have all the answers, it is enough to know that I am kept by You.

Provided by "God's Grace"

In The Middle Of The Noise

When your mind will not slow down, it can feel exhausting in a way that is hard to explain. Your body might be still, but your thoughts keep moving. You try to rest, but your head fills with reminders, worries, conversations, plans, and fears. One thought leads to another and then another. Before you know it, you feel overwhelmed and worn out, even if you have not done anything yet.

You want to pray, but it feels hard to focus. You want peace, but your mind keeps running back to everything you need to do, everything you forgot to do, and everything you are trying to figure out. It can make you feel distant, distracted, and tired.

God understands what it feels like to carry a restless heart.

In Psalm 94:19 it says, “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” That verse does not pretend that the thoughts are not there. It says a multitude. A mind full. Thoughts layered on top of each other. And right in the middle of that, God’s comfort is still present.

You do not have to wait for your mind to be perfectly calm to come to God. You can come with all the noise. You can come with every anxious thought. You can come when you feel scattered.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Peace is not something you force. It is something God holds for you. When your thoughts start running in every direction, you can gently bring your attention back to Him again and again. Even if it lasts only a few seconds at a time.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says we can bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” That does not mean you will never have anxious thoughts. It means you are allowed to hand them over, one by one. Every fear. Every pressure. Every what if. You do not have to carry them all by yourself.

And in Philippians 4:7, there is this promise: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Not peace that makes sense. Not peace that comes because everything is figured out. Peace that stands guard over your mind when it feels like too much.

If your mind will not stop racing, you are not failing. You are human. You are carrying a lot. And God is not standing far away waiting for you to get it together. God is near in the middle of it.

Even if your prayer is just a deep breath.

Even if your prayer is just, God help me.

Even if your thoughts are still loud.

God meets you there, in the middle of the noise, and holds you with a gentleness that does not rush you or shame you.

- Ellie Mont

Faith Is...

We have this picture of the Super Christian who never doubts and never worries. We think faith looks like a superhero standing on a mountain with a chest full of confidence. So when we feel anxiety or dread, we think, I must not have enough faith

But that is a lie. The heroes of the Bible were not fearless; they were obedient. Moses stuttered. Gideon hid in a hole. Esther was terrified to go before the king. Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweat drops of blood because of the weight of what was coming.

​Faith is not about how calm you feel. It is about who you follow. It is the grit to say, God, I am terrified of this next step, but I am going to take it because You said so. The fear doesn't invalidate the faith. In fact, trusting God when you are scared is the deepest kind of faith there is.

​So stop beating yourself up for being human. Let your hands shake. Just don't let your feet stop.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid... for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Provided by "Divine Insight"

An Unexpected Bloom

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 (NKJV)

There’s a small orchid plant sitting snug in its base by our kitchen sink. My husband keeps pointing out the slow progress it’s made over these winter weeks. What started as five green buds tightly shut has transformed slowly, opening into a beautiful arrangement of white flowers with delicate pink centers.

I’ve watched this growth while struggling with crippling anxiety, battling against my mind as I grip tight to the Truth of God’s Word. These petals blossoming in the bleak winter remind me that like these little buds, I, too, am coming into something good.

When it comes to healing, it is often slow, even imperceptible. Yet we can watch and wait and notice the small changes.

In my healing journey, I’ve noticed a few things:

1. Healing takes time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 says: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; …”

Like the orchid coming into bloom, God often accomplishes His work on an organic, day-by-day timeline. Many times, we don’t even notice the changes until we observe that something is different - we have a little more energy, our thoughts seem a bit clearer, or we’re able to get more good work done without feeling overwhelmed.

2. Healing is not linear.

Psalm 147:3 tells us God “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. He will bring healing one way or another, but it is not always a continual upward trajectory. Decline and ascent, doubt and belief, worry and wisdom - duality weaves within the waiting, the living. If you feel down one day, this doesn’t erase the progress you’ve made.

3. Healing happens in ways we may not be expecting.

Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us our ways and God’s ways are not the same. Look at where God has brought you, look at His presence and hand in your life, and lean into it. Healing is happening, though the way it looks may surprise you.

Whatever your journey, here’s the core of it: Healing points to the Healer. Ultimately this is where our hearts land if we search for Him in the suffering and seek to dig to its root. God is our anchor, our sunlight, our reminder of what - or who - matters.

No matter what healing looks like, God is in the middle of it all.

Father, I am tired of this healing journey. Sometimes it feels like I’m not making any progress. Remind me that You are the Healer who brings growth and recovery in unexpected ways and that this is a process, not a one-time event. I’m trusting You for my healing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

- Sarah Freymuth
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Peace doesn’t come from having fewer worries... it comes from bringing them to God.
Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us that when we pray instead of panic, God’s peace doesn’t just calm our thoughts… it guards our hearts.

"Anchored in Peace Devotional" was written for the moments when anxiety feels loud and trust feels hard - offering gentle scripture, mindful practices, and space to breathe again. You don’t have to carry it alone. Let peace anchor you.

Provided by "Mindful Christianity"

Prayer: Rest and Restoration

Father God, I come before You in the powerful and holy name of Jesus Christ. I thank You for sustaining me through every season, both the joyful and the painful. You have carried me when I was weak and remained faithful when I felt uncertain. Today, Lord, I ask You to quiet my heart and calm my mind. Teach me how to truly rest in You and not strive in my own strength. Remove every heavy burden, anxious thought, and inner struggle that weighs me down and steals my peace. Help me to trust You fully, even in areas where I struggle to let go. I release control into Your hands and surrender every concern to You. Restore my soul where it has grown weary, heal the places where I have been wounded by disappointment or loss, and renew my strength where fatigue has set in. Fill me with Your perfect peace and remind me that You are my Shepherd, my Provider, and my Protector, and because of You, I lack nothing. I receive Your rest and restoration today. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

Provided by "Christian Inspiration Ministries"

Lord, Silence my worries...

Lord, silence my worries so I can hear Your voice.

My mind is so loud with distraction and fear, and I long to hear You clearly.

Silence the noise within me, the anxious thoughts that spiral, the fears that shout, the doubts that whisper.

Teach me to be still in Your presence, to quiet my heart enough to listen for Your gentle whisper.

I confess I often fill the silence with my own plans and solutions, when what I really need is to hear Your wisdom and guidance.

Help me create space in my day to sit with You, to wait for You, to tune my ear to Your voice above all others.

Remind me that Your voice brings peace, not panic; clarity, not confusion; truth, not worry.

Give me the courage to trust what You say, even when it asks me to let go of my need to control.

Let me find rest in knowing that You speak to those who listen, and You guide those who wait on You.

Amen

- Provided by "Faithful Grace"

 Verse: 1 Peter 5:7
..casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Application:

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need, and to let others in God's family help you. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, he will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passivity. Don't submit to circumstances but to the Lord, who controls circumstances.

Casting our cares is a choice. It means consciously handing over our anxiety to Christ and allowing Him to carry the weight of our problems. God does not differentiate between problems we should handle on our own and God-sized needs. He asks us to turn them all over to Him. God sees you as His frail child, burdened with a load that surpasses your strength. He stands prepared to take your load and to carry it for you. Will you let Him?

Cultivating The Fruit Of The Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.”

Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)

What happens when a garden is neglected? Weeds choke out flowers, thorns overtake pathways, and what was once beautiful becomes a tangled mess.

Now imagine stepping into a well-tended garden - vibrant colors, sweet fragrances, and life flourishing everywhere. The difference isn’t simply in the soil’s potential but in the gardener's care.

The Apostle Paul used agricultural imagery in Galatians 5 to remind us that Christian life, in a sense, is like a garden. We have two potential influences vying for control of our hearts: the sinful flesh and the Holy Spirit. Each produces dramatically different fruit.

Philosopher and writer James K. Smith, pulling from Saint Augustine, uses this illustration: Think of your heart as a “love pump.” When the flesh is in charge, that pump is constantly working to draw love, attention, and validation toward itself. The result? A scarcity mindset that produces jealousy, strife, selfish ambition, and envy - what Paul called “the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

But when we follow the lead of the Spirit, something beautiful happens. That same love pump begins working differently - our hearts draw from God's infinite love and pump it out toward others. The result is this: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things” (Galatians 5:22-23).

An interesting detail is that "fruit" (in Greek, karpos) is a singular noun here. This isn't nine separate fruits we must strive to produce independently. It’s singular because it’s ordered and produced by one Spirit of peace. One fruit with nine expressions - all driven and framed by love.

Love is mentioned first in Galatians 5:22 because it's the source from which all other spiritual virtues flow. Love is the greatest virtue, according to 1 Corinthians 13:1, by which we live and execute the gifts of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25 gives us the practical steps: “Walk by the Spirit … led by the Spirit … live by the Spirit … keep in step with the Spirit” (CSB). All of us are walking toward something and being led by someone or something - the question is what and whom.

The beautiful truth is that every morning, we can decide: Will I choose the anxious striving of the flesh, or will I invite the Spirit to cultivate His fruit in me?

This choice happens in the small moments when someone cuts us off in traffic, when we’re overlooked for recognition, or when relationships disappoint us. We can either react from the flesh's scarcity mindset or respond from the Spirit's abundance.

No matter what condition your life is in right now, the Spirit of God stands ready to pour out His life-giving presence.

Holy Spirit, I invite You to tend the garden of my heart. Help me walk in step with You today, producing fruit that nourishes others and brings glory to God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Dr. Joel Muddamalle
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Prayer: God's Got You!

Tending To The Inner Storm Of Anxiety

“But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat,
and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping …”

Mark 4:37-38 (NLT)

It was a chaotic day, and my body was holding the stress. I felt like someone had plugged me into a jolting electrical socket.

Do you know that feeling of being both “tired and wired”?

Anxiety can feel deeply disorienting and disconnecting. I’ve often returned to one scene in the Gospel of Mark that puts vivid imagery to the landscape of an anxiety-riddled inner life.

Jesus and His disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm came upon them: “High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping …” (Mark 4:37-38).

This fierce windstorm mirrors what happens in our bodies when we’re anxious. Anxiety is the body’s way of responding to threats, real or imagined, that trigger the nervous system into survival mode. Our bodies tighten and our minds race because deep down, we don’t feel safe. Anxiety is always about a felt sense of catastrophic aloneness and isolation.

When I feel those churning waves and stormy waters brewing within, I relate to the disciples’ desperate cries: “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38, NLT).

God, do You see me?
Do You care?
Why aren’t You doing anything?
How long will this go on?

With the simple command, “Be still,” Jesus calmed their external environment (Mark 4:39, NLT). He moved toward them, bringing His presence to their fear. But what captures my attention is how we find Him just moments before: asleep.

His sleeping wasn’t an absence of care but an embodiment of the deeper rest He invites each of us into. A kind of rest that can settle our inner world - not in the absence of external storms but despite them.

Here, Jesus embodied the psychological experience of living anchored in God. We can rest in the “still waters” of God’s love and care (Psalm 23:2, ESV) even when the winds and waters of our external world churn. Jesus models what the field of psychology has only recently discovered:

The antidote for anxiety is not calm; it’s safety.

While calm might bring short-term relief, true relief from anxiety comes when our bodies experience and internalize a felt sense of safety.

Some of us have been taught to view anxiety as a character flaw, but it’s not. Anxiety is appropriate in situations that are unsafe or overwhelming. God's invitation is not to pretend there is nothing to fear. Rather, when we feel the storm of anxiety churn within us, we are invited to sink into the indwelling presence of our Resting One, who can help us navigate our fear.

I wish I could tell you that I stay in this grounded, connected place all the time. I don’t, but I’m learning to return more quickly. We can come back to this still and holy place within, experiencing an internal sense of safety with the God who never leaves — who has been there all along.

Dear God, help me rest in You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Taylor Joy Murray
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Giving Up Anxiety

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;

yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

There’s nothing about a circumstance that automatically creates anxiety. Anxiety occurs because of the way we respond to a problem or troubling situation. Your ability to choose is part of God’s gift of free will to every human being. You can choose how you feel. You can choose what you think about, and you can choose how you will respond to a circumstance. It certainly isn’t God’s purpose for you to feel anxious - He doesn’t allow situations in your life so you’ll have anxiety. The Father may allow a situation in your life to develop stronger faith, grow and mature, or change a bad habit or negative attitude. But God doesn’t set you up for anxiety. He’s always at work to bring you to a place where you’ll trust Him more, obey Him more fully, and receive more of His blessings.

- Dr. Charles F. Stanley

(Excerpt from reading plan “Finding Peace" [Day 7]) 

Trusting God When You Are Tired Of Trying

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

Jeremiah 31:3

That morning, I picked up my phone off the nightstand with dread. Anxiety filled me at what I knew I would find there - other people enjoying their lives while I cried about mine.

Lord, am I going to feel like this forever?

I made a mental list of what I felt like I could no longer handle: battling relentlessly with my mental health, juggling two kids under 5, my husband’s unforeseen job loss, the sudden passing of my father-in-law, and ongoing financial pressures - just to name a few things.

There was no relief in sight, and it was hard not to feel frustrated, fed up, and forgotten by God. My soul was exhausted, and I was tired of trying. It seemed I had prayed every prayer I knew how to pray and studied every scripture about my circumstances. And yet nothing seemed to change.

Maybe you know this season all too well. You’ve been hurting deeply for so long. You expected to handle this better, to be stronger when everything came crashing down. But it’s OK that you’re feeling weak and unsure. God wants you and me to let go of having to figure it all out and instead let Him do what He does best: save us.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites never expected their freedom journey away from slavery to take so long or be so hard. But God took them through the wilderness to teach them dependence on Him and ultimately bring them into the good land He had prepared for them.

In reference to that time, the Lord said: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. 
(Jeremiah 31:2-3).

God hears our cries for deliverance. He has grace for us in our wilderness.

As I walked through my own wilderness, I realized that all the things I thought were breaking me, God was using to make me more like Jesus. I was exhausted because I believed it was all up to me. But as I chose to trust God to hold my broken heart and I received His grace each day, He revealed the good plans He had all along.

Will we dare to remember the heart of God when we don’t understand why He’s not fixing our most hurtful situations? Will we trust that we’ll find grace in our wilderness? Will we believe that God has rest for our worn-out souls and that He will never stop loving us?

Regardless of how we feel, we can stand in confidence that God will continue to be faithful.

Lord, thank You for hearing my exhausted prayers when life feels like it’s just too much and I’m desperate for solutions. Help me to hold on to You in faith and to stand on the truth of who I know You to be: a good, faithful, and loving Father who always has my best in mind. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Ashley Morgan Jackson
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Comfort in the Wilderness

 suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”

1 Kings 19:5b (NKJV)

Sitting on my bed with tears streaking down my face, I remember feeling tired, emotionally and spiritually spent. My husband sat in front of me, looking concerned.

“I think I’m depressed,” I said.

For so long, I had been holding those words - carrying the weight of them. I couldn’t help but feel like a failure. This wasn’t my first bout with depression. I had struggled postpartum. Feelings of anxiety and sadness weren’t new to me, but I thought I had overcome them.

Although saying those words brought relief, I also felt overwhelmed with the feeling that I would have to do something about it. I would have to work hard to be happy and rested again.

The prophet Elijah knew about fatigue and despair. In one of the most unbelievable experiences in Scripture, he faced off against 450 of Baal’s prophets at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Fire fell from heaven, and the people watching fell face down, realizing that the God of Elijah was the one true God. This was a great spiritual victory! But soon after, Elijah ran for his life because the murderous King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were out to get him.

In our key verse, Elijah was on the run and exhausted, alone in the wilderness. Thankfully, God brought comfort:

“Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, ‘Get up and eat.’ Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again” (1 Kings 19:5b-6, CSB).

The voice in my head as I read this is that of a loving parent nursing a child back to health. And all Elijah had to do in response was willingly receive nourishment and rest. He didn’t have to muster up his energy to keep going. He didn’t have to prove that he was still faithful. He simply had to receive and rest.

Sometimes the holiest thing you can do is eat a snack and take a nap.

One of the ways my Abuelita Carmen says “I love you” is by serving up a hot plate of gallo pinto (Nicaraguan red beans and rice) and tortillas. There is nothing fancy about this meal, but it’s delicious and nourishing. I lived with Abuelita from the time I was a child until I got married. Through the years and all the ups and downs, gallo pinto was always on the stove, a comforting reminder of her love.

I imagine that when Elijah saw the warm bread and refreshing water God provided for him, it made him feel loved as well.

Reading the story of Elijah and God’s comfort in the wilderness helps us to see that God calls us to rest too. He wants to be our comfort, bringing nourishment and respite when we need it most.

Heavenly Father, You are the God who brings comfort, rest, nourishment, and grace in the midst of our wilderness seasons. Help us to receive Your love, especially in moments of despair and exhaustion. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Kristel Acevedo
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Head Protection

Scripture:

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” - Ephesians 6:16-18

Reflect:

What should we do when negative, destructive thoughts assault us? 

A friend of mine recently told me a story about her struggle with anxiety. She said it feels like her mind is under attack. All of these untrue, destructive thoughts just pop into her mind over and over again. Like Satan is throwing fiery darts of lies at her head. Have you ever experienced this? 

The fact is, we are under attack. But Ephesians 6:12 says that our battle is not physical. It is spiritual. There is a war going on and we need to defend ourselves and fight back. And much of this battle takes place in the mind.

In Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul reminds us that God has not left us defenseless against the enemy. He says to stand firm and put on the whole armor of God. He lists out several pieces of armor. When we get to today’s verses, Paul assures us that the shield of faith can extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one - the lies the enemy throws at us. Your faith in God can protect you so Satan’s lies are not able to penetrate your mind. Your faith shield also has the power to put out the fire! 

The helmet of salvation is also key in defeating destructive thoughts. Satan’s lies may be trying to get you to doubt that God will save you. Don’t let Satan mess with your head. Put your helmet on! Remember that your salvation is secure in Christ and that there is nothing Satan can do to change that. 

In addition to our defensive suit of armor, God gave us an offensive weapon. The sword of the Spirit is His Word. How are we supposed to wield it? 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: “We destroy arguments, and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” With God’s Word, we can demolish the deceitful arguments and faulty opinions that mess with our minds and with the minds of others. When we speak the Word of God, we speak the truth and destroy the enemy's attempt to deceive us. 

Finally, God has given us one more way to protect ourselves from the lies of the enemy and that is prayer. Prayer helps us guard our minds because it shifts our focus from our circumstances and our destructive thoughts to God. When we pray, we meditate on who God is, what He’s done for us, and what He is capable of doing. And when we do that, we experience the peace of God. Isaiah 26:3 promises: “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” 

Every day we have to put on the whole armor of God. We especially can’t forget our head protection! It has always been Satan’s strategy to use deceit to mess with our minds, trip us up, and wreak havoc in our spiritual lives. But God gave us what we need to defend ourselves and overcome. Use your shield of faith to block and extinguish the enemy’s fiery darts, put on your helmet of salvation and remember Who has saved you, wield your sword of the Spirit and speak His truth out loud. And pray, pray, pray. In Him, you can have victory over destructive thoughts. 

Pray:

Jesus, thank You for the protection of Your armor. Help me to use it to find victory over the battlefield of my mind. When I am under attack, bring Your Word to my mind so that I can destroy the lies of the enemy. Amen.

- Nat Crawford

Provided by “Back To The Bible”

Meme: Lay it Down

How To Maintain The Peace Of God In Difficult Times

Whenever we go through difficult times, peace often gives way to anxiety, stress and fear. It happens to the best of us. But the apostle Paul was able to sleep through a shipwreck. What is the secret to maintaining the peace of God regardless of what we are going through?

𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗲

In 1993, Tropical Storm Brett was threatening my country Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad is located just below the hurricane belt, so we are not accustomed to hurricanes. Many of us were afraid, worried whether the storm would hit and whether we were even prepared to deal with the aftermath. Some of us barely slept that night.

But there were other Trinidadians who left their homes to party in the streets of Port-of-Spain (our capital city). They were not in the least bit worried about any hurricane, “God is a Trini”. Brett veered north at the last minute and missed Trinidad.

Were these unsaved, ungodly people privy to some secret to peace that the rest of us Christians didn’t have? How could they be so calm knowing that a hurricane might hit and destroy everything they worked so hard for all their lives?

As I thought about it, I realized the answer is no, they do not have some secret to peace. What they have is not peace at all, it is denial. Their assurance was based on the assumption that no hurricane was coming. Based on history, every time a hurricane threatened to come near to Trinidad, it would eventually veer north and miss us. Their comfort was based on their belief that no hurricane was going to hit.

𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀
BUT, if instead of a hurricane, they had received a phone call stating that a hitman was coming to wipe out their families, I can guarantee you that they would not be partying in the street. They would be in a mad panic, scrambling to get the next flight out of the country. They would be terrified.

What they had is the kind of peace that the world gives. Jesus gave us real peace – the kind of peace that could sleep through a storm and not in the least be worried or anxious. What is the secret to that kind of peace? In a world of global terrorism, economic recession, job layoffs, divorce, troubled and troublesome kids; how do you not go insane with worry and depression? What is the secret to having peace when everything is falling apart?

𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – John 14:27

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-9

You Will Get Through This

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)

I’ve had anxiety over many hard things in my life. But some of the most difficult situations are the ones where someone I thought I could count on broke my trust and my heart.

You only have to be betrayed one time to start feeling angst and fear over the risks of relationships.

I remember being a young child on the playground at school, and a girl who I thought was my friend started making fun of me in front of the “cool kids.” I’ll never forget the feeling I had when they walked away together, all laughing, and she didn’t look back at me.

I think that was the first time I realized sometimes people just want what they want, and if they hurt me in the process of getting it, they can justify that because they feel it's worth more than their relationship with me.

Maybe you have a story of broken trust like this.

In the Bible, the Hebrew word for “trustworthy” is batah. When that word is directed toward God, it’s always in a positive sense. But when that same word refers to human relationships, it often has a negative connotation, carrying the sense that people will not always be trustworthy.

The trustworthy nature of God is certain. Sometimes the trustworthy nature of others is not. This doesn’t mean trust is impossible with others, but it does mean all relationships will need to be handled with grace, wisdom, forgiveness, healthy boundaries, and an understanding of how trust works.

If you’re walking through trust issues on any level today, consider what my friend Dr. Joel Muddamalle once said in a conversation about getting over heartbreak, hurt and disappointment: “One of the most powerful prepositions in the Bible is the word ‘through.’”

The Israelites had to go through the Red Sea to escape Egypt.
They had to go through the wilderness to the promised land.
Jesus had to go through the suffering of the cross for our redemption.

Isaiah 43:2 also says: “When you pass through the waters, [God] will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (emphases added).

Sometimes we have to walk through something even when we desperately want to get over it quickly. Going through gets us to the other side with a greater understanding that God has always been and will always be with us.

I know it’s tempting to isolate. The story I used to tell myself was that relationships were just a recipe for eventual pain, and I didn’t want to experience that pain again; therefore, the risks of trusting others were too high. If you were to share similar concerns with me today over coffee, I would listen with great understanding and zero judgment. Working through broken trust is hard. But, friend, it is possible to trust God even when we have doubts about what He’s doing.

And I know you will make it to the other side. You didn’t choose what happened when others broke your trust. But you do get to choose how you move forward. You will heal. You will get through this. And you won’t be alone for a single part of it.

Heavenly Father, I give You my anxieties, fears and doubts related to trust. I don’t have to feel ashamed that I have trust issues. I also don’t have to move forward more quickly than I’m ready to. But at the same time, I’m not going to make excuses for not healing. I’m taking one step at a time, moving forward with You on this journey of growing in trust. Give me the courage, wisdom and hope I need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Lysa TerKeurst
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"