Peace in the valley!
Verse for Today: Friday, November 11, 2011
John 20:26b – Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
The world can lock the children of God up, but it cannot prevent the peace of God from coming to them. Our circumstances might create darkness around us, but it cannot prevent the brightness of God from coming into our hearts. Situations might try to isolate us in a dark valley, but it will not be able to keep us away from the fellowship we have with our Lord. His presence is available to us whether we are locked up or cornered against strong walls all around us. Our Lord comes to us in all our circumstances to give us His peace which no force on earth can take away from us. The fear that governed the hearts of the disciples made them hide from the authorities, but it did not prevent Jesus from coming into their midst to dispel their fears. He comes to us in the midst of all our fears, confusions, doubts, hesitations, apprehensions, anxieties and loneliness and releases us from all these intimidating forces and gives us spiritual freedom and victory. King Darius could seal the mouth of the den where Daniel was thrown in, but he could not prevent the angel of the Lord from entering the den to shut the mouths of the lions. The loneliness of Patmos was no deterrent for the revelations of the Lord to come to John. The mighty Roman Empire could not stop the revelations of God from coming to Paul in his dungeons. The Roman soldiers could not prevent the ministries of Paul even when he was chained to them. Herod could not prevent the angel of the Lord from visiting and releasing Peter from the prison cell where he was awaiting execution. Our Lord gave the peace that passed all understanding to Joseph and Jeremiah when they were in the dungeon and the broken cistern. The same Lord who gave peace to His children in their times of isolation, rejection and fear is with us today to give us peace beyond all human comprehension and fill our hearts with confidence and courage to keep going in our times of adversities.
Dear reader, are you being cornered, isolated and sealed up from the outside by the world around you? In your lonely nights when there is no one around you, is there a feeling of suffocation and fear in your soul? Are you loosing confidence and courage to keep going? Is your situation tempting you to give up hope and conclude that there is no future for you? Remember, the Lord who came in through the locked doors and surrounding walls to visit His beloved disciples is with you today. No force around you can prevent His peace from coming to you. No matter what your circumstances are, your Lord will penetrate through the walls around you to come to you with His peace. His presence will fortify you from negative thoughts and doubts of any kind. His Spirit will stand garrison around you to prevent discouragements from troubling you. Remember, God’s Spirit is not the Spirit of intimidation or fear, but freedom, courage, strength and hope. Our Lord will help you to meditate on His glory and catch a glimpse of His brightness and power even through the dark clouds around you. His power will release you from the frozen situations and emotional paralysis and give you the warmth of His fellowship. In your loneliness, He will give you divine fellowship just as He gave to Peter, Paul, Joseph, Jeremiah and David. He will transform your darkness into brightness. He will open new doors for you. He will give you the strength to handle the seemingly impossible situation that confronts you. Moment by moment, new mercies will be showered upon you. In His light, you will see the brightness of God to see the way forward. No matter what you are going through right now, Jesus is in it with you and will not leave you alone until you come out of the present dungeons. Remember, our Lord is with us inside and outside the prison cells the world creates for us and He will see us through.
Psalms 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Thought for Today
Prisons, caves, cisterns and dens of circumstances will not prevent the brightness of our Lord’s glory to shine upon His children.
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