Encouragement for Today - Dec. 28, 2006

 

December 28, 2006

 

Encouragement for Today

 

“Hope for the Anxious Heart”

Micca Monda Campbell, Proverbs 31 Ministries Speaker and Author, Director of Outreach

 

Key Verse:

John 14: 1-4, “Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (NLT)

 

Devotion:

Ministry calls me away from home several times a year. My absence sometimes causes my youngest son to experience separation anxiety. As I’m preparing to leave, he often asks, “Where are you going and how long will you be gone?” His questions reveal his concerns about what might happen while I’m away and how will he manage without me.

 

I imagine the disciples must have felt the same way when Jesus told them He was preparing to leave earth and return to heaven. I can almost hear their concerns. “If you go, who will help us if our world suddenly turns upside down?”

 

Jesus comforts them by saying, “Don’t be troubled,” and then shares three reasons why peace should fill their hearts instead of worry.

 

Peace fills our hearts when we take God at His Word.

We forget that God’s Word is living and active. In it we can find every answer to our every need. Sometimes our experiences overwhelm us and we can’t see the whole picture. God’s Word is our guide. Jesus told his disciples, “You trust in God, now trust in me.” He was saying you can always take God’s Word at face value in any situation.

 

Peace fills our hearts when we remember that this world is not our home.

Peter encourages, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials (1 Peter 1:6). Peter reminds us that trials only last for a little while. They are only temporary compared to eternity in heaven, our true home. How is it we endure the cold, flu infested months of winter? We endure because we know it’s only temporary and spring is soon coming! One day when you and I are in the presence of God, there will be no more suffering - no more tears, heartache, sorrow, or death. Keeping the perspective that heaven is our true and final home creates peace during hard times.

 

Peace fills our hearts because Jesus is coming back!

I reassure my son by reminding him that my trip will not last forever. I will return. In the meantime, he can talk to me by phone whenever he needs. Likewise we find comfort in knowing that one day Jesus will return for us. Notice that He says, “I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” Jesus is not going to send for you or me. He is going to come himself and take us to a special place that He has prepared so that we will never be apart again. In the meantime, we have His Word and can talk to Him through prayer anytime at any place.

 

If life’s problems have left you feeling lonely and depressed, remember Christ’s words …"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 

Christ has not left you alone. Trust in God’s Word. Allow these truths to dispel the lie of your emotions, and peace will be your companion until Christ returns for us.

 

My Prayer for Today:

Dear Lord, Thank You for Your Word that never changes and still communicates Your love, truth, and guidance everyday. Thank You for prayer so that I can talk with You anytime.. Mostly, thank You for heaven, my eternal home. Help me not to be overly concerned with this world, but to keep my gaze upward anticipating Your return. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Additional Resources:

Micca Campbell's Testimony DVD

 

What Does the Bible Encourage Us to Think About? ETC CORNER

 

A Busy Woman’s Guide to Prayer   by Cheri Fuller

 

Application Steps:

Search God’s Word until you find a verse or passage that speaks directly to your situation. Ask God to reveal its truth as you mediate on the verse. Then, apply that truth to your situation.

 

Reflections Points:

What causes you to have anxiety, fear, a need to control, or a lack of faith?

 

How do you usually deal with anxiety?

 

How can trusting in God’s Word calm your heart?

 

How does the truth, “I have overcome the world” affect your perspective?

 

Power Verses:

Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (NIV)

 

Psalms 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (NIV)

 

Psalms 32: 8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” (NIV)

 

Isaiah 35:4, “…say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." (NIV)