Infusions of Peace
The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water. Isaiah 58:11 (NET)
Do you all remember school picture days? I do! It seems like yesterday. Oh, my bad! It was yesterday! The girls arrived in their cute little dresses; the boys donned plaid shirts, nice sweaters, etc. We were the last to go for photos—right after gym class. Nice curls drooped. Spikey hair flattened. The pictures took forever because they couldn’t contain their excitement and apparently, they left their listening ears in gym. Somewhere in all this, I misplaced my patience and jokingly asked my co-workers to help me find it. They had none to spare or share. All I could do was pray for the children and my own neediness. What a day!
My devotion today (Sarah Young, Jesus Listens) was a perfect reminder of my need for a peace infusion.
*****
Beloved Lord Jesus,
Please infuse Your Peace into my innermost being. As I sit quietly in the Light of Your Presence, I long to sense Your Peace growing within me. This isn’t something I can accomplish through self-discipline and willpower; it’s a matter of opening up myself to receive Your blessing.
In this age of independence, it’s countercultural as well as counterintuitive to acknowledge my neediness. However, You have taken me along a path that has highlighted my need for You—placing me in situations where my strengths were irrelevant and my weaknesses were glaringly evident. Through the aridity of those desert marches, You drew me closer and closer to Yourself. Moreover, You provided lovely surprises in that scorched land. I discovered plants of Peace blooming in the most desolate places.
You’ve been teaching me to thank You for hard times and difficult journeys—trusting that, through them, You accomplish Your best work. And I’m learning that needing You is the key to knowing You intimately, which is that gift above all gifts!
In Your incomparable Name,
AMEN
John 14:27 NKJV Ephesians 5:20 NIV