At Peace With Christ – I'm Following Jesus

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, June 09, 2018
Chapters: Proverbs 19-21
Message: At Peace With Christ

Hello My Friend,

This has been a horrible week, I lost hours at work on both of my jobs, my body hurts all over, I have barely spoken to my boyfriend, and I had to spend money I was saving up. All this has been really trying on my faith, as a result I did not go to church Wednesday, I have not really spoken to God much at all, and I have been late getting the devotions written and out. All I have been wanting to do is crawl in bed and sleep all day, and that is pretty much all I did for two days, and here it is Saturday, I am trying to play catch up, but all I keep doing is falling further behind. Talking with God this morning I admitted what my problem was, my heart. My heart is not into my work, my boyfriend, taking care of my body, or even talking to God. You see, the more we try to handle things on our own the more tired we get, the more tired we get the more faith we lose, the more faith we lose the harder it is to get motivated to do anything, and this is where depression overtakes us and we stop wanting to try to do anything. We can overcome these things, but we cannot alone, the only one who can fix our heart is Jesus. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27.

“my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,” More often than we care to admit we often search for peace from the things of the world. When we are in need of money we search for the money lenders, when we are in need of comfort we search for the comforters, when we are in need of healing we search for the doctors. Did you know that Jesus us all of that? He is our Comforter, He is our Doctor, and He is even our Lender. When we look to Him He will, yes, use the things that are in the world to bring us peace, but it will be a peace that is gives rest to our heart and soul. Through the Proverbs we can learn a thing or two about what leads our heart and soul away from the LORD.

“Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.” – Proverbs 19:1-5,15-16.

“and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” We do not care to admit it, but it is often slothfulness that keeps us from some of God’s blessings. Yes, we get busy, in fact, we get so busy that we become idle to the things that really matter. For two days I had no phone so I could not do my work, I sulked those two days and ended up laying around the house instead of doing something else with my time. When our soul is hungry our body looks for anything to feed on, and that is when we can easily take our eyes off Christ and end up making bad decisions. That is why it is important to be productive in the things that bring rest to our soul, and the only one who can give rest to our soul is Jesus. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30.

“all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” The reason we get so tired is not because our bodies are not capable of doing the work, it is because we lazy, and yes, that is something we do not want to admit either. I get lazy, not because I do not want to work, because I get so tired of working so hard for what seems to be nothing. If we are not careful we will become so idle that we stop being productive in everything. Do you ever wonder why people are so willing to stand on the street corners begging for money rather than working? They got idle.

“The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD. Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.” – Proverbs 20:4-7,10-13.

“herefore shall he beg in harvest,” Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that it is wrong to help out the poor, God does want us to help the poor, but we also have to be careful not to help someone who is idle themselves. Those who get idle stop working, when they stop working they start begging, and all we are doing when we help them is support their habits. As Christians we are taught to love one another, to be kind to those who are not so kind to us, to help those in need, but is there a line to be drawn on how far we are to go. I believe that God is the one who directs us on who to be charitable and what to give, and since He knows what we all need He will tell us what to give. “And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” – Acts 3:2,5-6.

Okay, we must admit it, we all have something that we desire in life, and the longer we go without getting it the more trying it is on our heart. And some of us have done things less desirable to try to get them. Let me tell you, not everything we desire is good for us nor is it something God wants for us because it has to do simply with pleasing the flesh. Some of us take a little longer to break from habits that make us desire to please the flesh to begin with. God knows this, He knows our heart, what we really want deep inside, and He is going to test us on this.

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly. A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way. There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD. The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.” – Proverbs 21:2-5,27-31.

“The horse is prepared against the day of battle:” If we want the things we desire, we must prepare for them, with Jesus directing us, and having some faith. Sure, Jesus is with us, but works without faith is dead. We will get nothing if we do not prepare for it, likewise, we can wear ourselves out trying to get the things we desire, but without faith we get nothing. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” – James 2:17-18.

“and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” If you want peace, trust Jesus and let Him guide you in the work that you do. Our faith is dependent upon the work we do in God’s hands. Yes, this was a horrible week, but I did discover some things, my bosses do, in fact, appreciate my work, and because I am a hard worker they do whatever they can do to help me, I got extensions on my work for next week, and God provided enough for me so that all the bills got paid. Plus, I enrolled in college and got accepted for financial aid, will be working my way toward the career that I really want. Oh. And my boyfriend, he is doing the best he can with what he has to deal with, and God has shown me what he is dealing with. You see, Jesus is always working on us, and He gives us peace when we look to Him. Sometimes, He does not remove the problems we face, rather gives us the grace to keep going. “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – II Corinthians 12:8-10.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.” – Proverbs 20:22.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your grace, and the peace You give us when we turn to Jesus for the things we need and desire. Lord, we all have needs and desires, lead us and guide us so that we can obtain them in Your will. Give us patience to wait on Your timing and let us not become idle in doing what is right. Nothing is impossible with You on our side, in fact, Your grace is sufficient enough to see us through. Give us Your strength and power to remain faithful and not become weary in well doing. Let us not be tempted to seek help from the world, but seek You, who will give us all we want and need simply by trusting You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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