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“When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.” (Proverbs 16:7 NIV)

One way to find peace from your enemies is to please the Lord.  When you please God, your enemies make peace.  Pleasing God doesn’t mean you are perfect.  Pleasing God means you try.  Nothing pleases God more than when you believe in His Son:

“Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29 NIV)

In other words, the first thing we do that pleases God is believe in Jesus.  When we believe Jesus died for our sins, then overcame death on the third day, we please God:

“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7 NIV)

One way to find peace from your enemies is to please God.  You please God when you trust Jesus.

You please God when you trust Jesus.

Trusting Jesus means you take His advice.  As a female, I look for advice from my friends.  I know which friends will tell me the truth versus those who tell me what they think I want to hear.  Jesus is the friend who always tells me the truth with His gentle love.  I know His advice is the one to follow.  But Jesus’ advice is the hard way, not the easy way.

Jesus’ way takes work.  Me writing these devotionals is work.  I feel called by Jesus to write.  I started reading through the Bible yearly over 20 years ago.  After a few years, I began to journal as well as read.  My quiet time grew from 10-15 minutes to 20-30 minutes, then an hour.   My devotional writing has become an extension of my quiet time with God every morning.  My relationship with God has grown from 10-15 minutes a day to hours.  Jesus’ way takes work, but it’s worth it.

Trusting Jesus pleases God, but also changes your life in ways you can never imagine.  Your enemies are at peace.  Doing the hard work frees you to let go of negative emotions and fill yourself with God’s love:

“and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19 NIV)

When we overflow with God’s love, our enemies can’t help but make peace with us.  They will want what they see in us: Jesus.  You’re heart’s desire and God’s will become one.  As others meet Jesus through you, You’ll rejoice with God.  You’ll begin to understand why God was so pleased with you when you first believed.  

Question of the Day:

Have you pleased God by trusting in Jesus?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 13 NIV, John 17:1-26 NIV, Psalm 119:81-96 NIV, Proverbs 16:6-7 NIV

“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.”  (John 16:33 NIV)

No matter how hard you try to avoid trouble, it’s a part of life.  Jesus knew this, that’s why He overcame it.  Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, and overcame the world.  He fulfilled the law because we can’t.  He sent His Spirit to help us through the troubles we have.  We will have trouble in this life, but Jesus has already overcome it.

Jesus overcame the world for us.

We’re in the midst of a pandemic as I write.  Our nation is in turmoil.  People are on opposing sides of how to handle the situation.  I’m fifty years old.  I’ve never felt tension in our world like I do today.  After 9/11 the world had tension, but it was different.  We identified the enemy to fight, Osama Bin Laden.  With COVID, an unseen enemy by the human eye has affected everyone on the planet.  No one is immune to the illness.  We are all united in the battle, but divided in the plan of attack.  Fear of death is a reality people are living with more than ever.  

In addition to the pandemic, mental illness has skyrocketed.  Depression and suicide rates increased.  Domestic violence has risen.  Drug and Alcohol abuse is soaring. Coupled with ⅓ of our population being unemployed,  lives are in turmoil.  They don’t know how to handle their own personal situations.  They don’t know how they are going to survive.  But God does:

“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” (Isaiah 25:1 CSB)

God knows exactly what is going on in the world.  He’s known since the beginning of time.  He wants us to focus our attention on Him, not COVID. He wants us to praise Him, even in the dark times.  He wants us to trust His love and plan for us.  He sent Jesus as a representative of Himself.  He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide us from within. 

In Jesus, we have eternal life.  No matter what troubles we face on earth, Jesus is the answer.  He is our hope on dark days.  He is peace for our troubled hearts.  He doesn’t want you to live in fear, He wants you to live life to the fullest:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV)

COVID is the thief, Jesus is the answer.  You will have troubles in this world, but Jesus overcame them for you.

Question of the Day:

What is the thief trying to steal from you today?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 12 NIV, John 16:1-33 NIV, Psalm 119:65-80 NIV, Proverbs 16:4-5 NIV

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2 NIV)

If you want to bear good fruit, let God prune you.  Pruning involves removing any dead limbs which no longer produce fruit.  Only God is able to see the dead limbs in our lives.   When pruning, farmers remove branches for two reasons: open branches to allow more sunlight and encourage fruiting spurs to grow.  When God prunes us, the same effect happens.  More Son light flows into our lives, budding fruits of the spirit grow.  If we want to bear good fruit, God needs to prune us.

If we want to bear good fruit, God needs to prune us.

God prunes our relationships by removing people from our lives.  One way God taught me this happened when I was single.  I went on blind dates, I used online services and joined singles groups.  I was intentional about forming relationships.  However, my heart often was hurt by the rejection I received.  Blind dates I thought went well, never called back.  Online matches would close the connection before a date happened.  I met a lot of friends in singles groups, but no love matches.  I didn’t understand why, then I realized, God is pruning me.

I learned, God knew more than I did about the people I was interacting with in these situations.  He knew the conversations they had I didn’t.  He knew the activities they did.  He knew their hearts.  He removed these people from my life because they were bad branches for me.  He knew if He allowed them to grow in my life, they wouldn’t produce good fruit.  Instead, He used this as a way to draw me closer to Him.  I learned to trust Him more.  Once I realized, He was protecting me from heading in the wrong direction, I accepted the rejection easier.  As a result I produced good fruit.

God prunes bad relationships from our lives.  Unhealthy people cannot have healthy relationships. My pastor used this analogy to help me understand.  Two friends are driving down the road.  The car gets a flat tire.  They pull over to fix the flat.  Once repaired, the driver is ready to continue on the journey.  The passenger decides he doesn’t want to go any further, he likes the scenery on the side of the road.  The driver now needs to decide: do I stay with my friend or continue on the journey?

The driver doesn’t want to leave his friend behind, but in order to continue growing, he must.  We make the same decisions when in relationships that aren’t healthy.  We can’t force people to take the journey with us.  Fortunately, God does the pruning for us.  Our job is to let Him.  

Question of the Day:

Who has God pruned from your life that you’re still holding onto?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 9-11 NIV, John 15:1-27 NIV, Psalm 119:49-64 NIV, Proverbs 16:1-3 NIV

“Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.” (Psalm 119:34 NIV)

If you want understanding, ask God for it.  Understanding is important.  If we understand our circumstances, they are easier to accept.  If we understand other people’s perspective, they are easier to love.  Only God knows the complete picture.  He is the only One who knows why you are in your circumstances.  He is the only One who knows why that person did what they did.  No one else.  If we want understanding, we must go to the One who knows.

God wants us to understand.  Ultimately, the law God wants us to keep is to love Him and love others (Mark 12:30-31 NIV).  Accepting our life circumstances affirms God’s purpose.  Like a seed planted in a garden, God wants us to grow wherever He plants us.  We can’t grow if we’re rebelling against our lot in life.  We grow when we accept God placed us where we are for a reason.  Our reason is to love those God has placed in our lives.  Loving the people in our lives is easier when we understand them.   In order to understand other people, we need God’s intervention.  In order to understand, ask God for understanding.

In order to understand, ask God for understanding.

God intervenes when we begin to pray.  Prayer is how God helps us understand.  As we shift our focus from ourselves to Him, He transforms us.  He opens our eyes to things within ourselves we don’t see.  He shows us ways to love, not by changing others, but by changing ourselves.  Controlling other people’s thoughts, emotions or actions is impossible.  Controlling ourselves is possible.  Prayer is what makes positive change in ourselves possible.    

I had an individual in my life I felt feelings of hatred towards.  The fact I felt hatred made me angry.  My mother raised me not to hate anyone.  Yet, hatred for someone consumed me.  I started to pray about the situation.  I asked God for clarity and understanding.  I asked Him to remove the hatred from my heart.  He did.  Not immediately, but over time.  He revealed things within me that needed attention.  I began to understand why I was feeling the way I did.  I identified triggers in my life which were adding to these negative feelings.  I started viewing this person differently.  Over time, the hatred turned into love.  The person didn’t change at all, but God changed me.  He used this situation to grow me closer to Him.  He helped me understand, which allowed me to turn hatred into love.

If you need understanding about a situation or person in your life, go to God.  Ask Him for clarity and understanding.  Let Him reveal His understanding to you.

Question of the Day:

What do you need God to help you understand today?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-8:18 NIV, John 14:15-31 NIV, Psalm 119:33-48 NIV, Proverbs 15:33 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NIV)

People will know Jesus in your life by love.  How you love others is a reflection of Jesus’s presence in your life.  He has shown us how to love people, now we’re to do it.  Jesus was present with people.  He listened to them (Luke 24:17-20 NIV).  He had compassion for them (Matthew 9:36 NIV).  He set healthy boundaries, allowing people to make their own choices (Mark 10:21-22 NIV).  He didn’t enable people in their sin (John 8:11 NIV).  He loves deeply (John 3:16 NIV).  He spoke truth (John 18:38 NIV).  He did everything with grace and mercy (Mark 6:34 NIV).  If you want people to know Jesus, love like He did.

If you want people to know Jesus, love like He did.

I can’t love people like Jesus if I don’t spend time with Him.  I don’t want to love everyone in my humanness.  None of us do.  People in our lives who hurt us deeply, are hard to love.  But Jesus loves them too.  We don’t get to pick and choose who we love, Jesus doesn’t give us that option:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)

Who is our neighbor?  Everyone.  The person standing in front of you at the grocery store is our neighbor.  The poor driver who cuts you off in traffic is our neighbor.  The family member who constantly causes trouble is our neighbor.  The ex-boyfriend who cheated is our neighbor.  The person who murdered my good friend’s son is our neighbor.  How are we to love people who have caused us pain in our lives?  We let Jesus show us the way.

The first part of the great commandment is: “Love the Lord your God…” (Mark 12:30 NIV).  In order to love others, we have to love God first.  We have to seek Him daily, asking Him to fill us with His love.  We can’t love others without first receiving love from God.   He will show us how to love those who have hurt us deeply.  He will help us forgive those who have committed unspeakable acts against us.  He will protect us from further harm by helping us set appropriate boundaries.  Through Jesus, we can love anyone.   He doesn’t intend us to be their Savior, that’s His job.  He just expects us to love. 

Question of the Day:

Who do you need Jesus’ help loving today?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 4:1-6:23 NIV, John 13:31-14:14 NIV, Psalm 119:17-32 NIV,  Proverbs 15:31-32 NIV

“After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:5 NIV)

If you want to set a good example for others, live it.  Many people in today’s world know how to talk a good talk.  They know all the right things to say.  What they don’t do is live up to their word.  Jesus lived up to His word.  He set a perfect example anyone can follow.  Actions speak louder than words.  Whatever example you’re trying to set, live it.  Live the example you want others to follow.

I was a store manager for years.  I led by example. I greeted customers when they walked in the door.  I dusted shelves, vacuumed floors and cleaned bathrooms.  I was on time for my shifts.  I didn’t leave early.  I respected my supervisors.  I never asked my employees to do anything I wasn’t willing to do myself.  If I didn’t do it, they didn’t have to do it.  As a result, I had a very successful career.  I lived the example I wanted my employees to follow.  Jesus’ actions convey the same message: live the example you want others to follow.

Live the example you want others to follow.

I saw a reenactment of Jesus’ washing feet over 15 years ago.  The pastor, in the middle of his sermon, asked for a volunteer.  He sat them in a chair, lovingly took off their shoes, and washed their feet.  He didn’t speak, He just did.  I have never forgotten the visual story he told through his actions.  Jesus’s disciples, I imagine, felt the same way.  With awe and wonder they watched as Jesus prepared Himself to wash their feet.  This man, who had performed countless miracles, served them humbly.

Jesus leads with grace and humility.  His willingness to complete an undesirable task for another is a symbol of His gentleness.  Jesus didn’t consider Himself “too good” for menial work.  He was willing to do whatever was needed:

“Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1 NIV)

The greatest example Jesus set for us was on the cross.  He died so we can live.  Jesus knows the troubles we face today.  He knows the hopelessness we feel.  His desire for us is to trust in Him:

“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.” (John 16:33 NIV)

To set the right example, do what Jesus did.  Follow Him and He’ll show you the way.

Question of the Day:

What kind of example is your life setting?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 2:12-3:39 NIV, John 13:1-30 NIV, Psalm 119:1-16 NIV, Proverbs 15:29-30 NIV

“This is the day the Lord acted;  we will rejoice and celebrate in it!” (Psalm 118:24 CEB)

God acts!  Every day, God makes the sun rise and set.  He rotates the earth on its access.  He supplies air to breathe, food to eat.  He energizes us each morning with life.  He grants us sleep to rest.  He provides jobs.  He heals relationships.   He creates a masterpiece of our lives with His presence.  What does God do for you every day?  He acts!

What does God do for you every day?  He acts!

The New Living Translation of Psalm 118:24 uses “made” instead of “acted.”  Both are past tense verbs, meaning He’s already completed the work.  In other words, before you ever opened your eyes this morning, God has completed work on the day ahead:

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16 NIV)

Today may not feel like a day to rejoice for you.   Heartache is weighing you down.  The tensions of the pandemic make peace a far off thought. Fear of the unknown is a constant battle. God still made this day.  He understands what is happening in the world.  His heart aches with yours. He has no fear, nor does He want you living in fear.  He gives us hope: 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

COVID19 emphasizes the fragility of life.  An unseen virus has wreaked havoc with our world.  The reality of death is a topic not easily discussed.  COVID19 forces the conversation of mortality.  None of us know what the future holds, except for God.  God is not afraid of death. God created a way for us to overcome death.  We have eternal life through Jesus.  Eternity is happening now.  Our lives on earth are for a short time.  Our lives with Jesus are for eternity:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24 NIV)

Place your trust in Jesus.  Allow Him to ease your troubled heart.  He wants you to rejoice in this day, not dread it.  Follow Peter’s advice to find Jesus’s joy:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:7-9 NIV)

Question of the Day:

Have you trusted Jesus with your life?

Further Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1-2:11 NIV, John 12:20-50 NIV, Psalm 118:19-29 NIV, Proverbs 15:27-28 NIV

“I will not die but live,  and will proclaim what the Lord has done.  The Lord has chastened me severely,  but he has not given me over to death.” (Psalm 118:17-18 NIV)

Tell others what He does for you daily.  Focus on His goodness in your life, talk about it to others. If you’re still living, you have a story to tell.  God did something for you.  Each day you wake up healthy gives you something to tell.  In this time of COVID19, good health is a sacred commodity.  Those healthy are grateful, those who aren’t, scared.  If you have a job with steady income, you have something to tell.  

I posted an update for friends on my husband and I’s shared Facebook page recently:

“Life is good! Each day we continue to thank God for our health and His provision, then pray for our nation.”

Two simple sentences tells God’s goodness in our lives.  You can do the same. Tell others what He does for you daily.  In the bleakest of circumstances, God is with you.  The health care workers who care for us are gifts from God.  The people God places around us are shards of light in the darkness.  His light shines through them to us.  Even in quarantine, people find ways to connect.  Zoom allows people to see their loved ones.  God gave us a way to stay connected, even when forced apart.  All of these things, God does daily for us.  If you want to talk about God, tell what He does for you daily.

If you want to talk about God, tell what He does for you daily.

To talk about God daily, you have to seek Him daily.  Prioritizing God in your life, prioritizes Him in your speech.  When I spend time with God in the morning, I can’t help but talk about Him in the afternoon.  Each day I read the scriptures, He speaks to me.  A verse will jump off the page, I’ll know it’s meant for me.  Typically, during the day, something happens that reminds me of the verse.  I have an opportunity to apply its truth in my daily life.  As a result, I always have something to tell about God.  But if I didn’t seek Him daily, I wouldn’t have as much to tell.

During COVID, my prayer for our nation is to seek God.  He is the only one who can calm our fears and bring peace to our hearts.  But in order for people to seek God, they need to hear about Him.  We need to talk about His activity in our lives.  When we do, people will want to know Him better.  They’ll want His strength and  peace in their lives.  All you have to do is tell what He did for you.

Question of the Day:

What has God done for you?

Further Reading: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13 NIV, John 11:55-12:19 NIV, Psalm 118:1-18 NIV, Proverbs 15:24-26 NIV

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22 NIV)

You need to seek advice to see all the angles.  Seeing a situation from different viewpoints isn’t easy, but necessary to find the truth. 

My husband and I were camping in Illinois.  We spent the night at  Rest Up Camping and RV Corral.  The campground looks like an old western town.  When you view the front of the buildings, they appear two stories tall.  However, when you see the buildings from behind, you realize, they are false fronts.  The buildings are single story dwellings with a tall front to make them look larger than they are.  In order to understand the full picture, you have to look at it from all angles.  When you view a situation from all angles, you learn the truth.  We learned the buildings were fake.  Seeking counsel from others reveals the lies you’re believing.  In the quest for truth, counsel from others is needed.  Wise advice in your life, helps you see the truth.

Wise advice in your life, helps you see the truth.

Lying to ourselves is easy to do.  We believe a lie without realizing it.  For instance, my husband and I were golfing one day.  My husband texted a friend and his wife to join us.  They never returned the text.  However, when we were on the third hole, we saw them two holes behind us.  My husband immediately assumed we had done something to offend them.  He had no idea what, but for the next 12 hours, my husband fretted.  He automatically assumed the worst.  The truth was nothing like he thought.  His friend had responded to the text.  However, my husband had a new phone.  The response to the text went to his old phone,not the new one.  One glitch in communication caused my husband to believe a lie.  He jumped to a conclusion based on his own perspective that wasn’t true.

We have limited vision of the circumstances in our lives:

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV)

While on earth, we have two options for expanding our view.  We seek God and ask for Him to reveal His truth.  We seek counsel from others who are trustworthy.  Discernment is necessary to receive wise counsel.  Ask those who will tell the truth in love.  People who tell you what you want to hear are not wise counsel.  Choose wisely whose advice you accept.  As my mother said, “Consider the source.”  In other words, if you’re seeking God’s truth, don’t ask an atheist for advice.  Seek wise counsel, from a trusted source, your plans will succeed.

Question of the Day:

Are you seeking wise counsel in your life?

Further Reading: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25 NIV, John 11:1-54 NIV, Psalm 117:1-2 NIV, Proverbs 15:22-23 NIV

“He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 24:6 NIV)

You respect authority in your life because of God’s sovereignty.  Sovereign means supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe.  Supreme, in this definition means highest in authority; holding the highest place in government or power. Therefore, God’s sovereignty means He is the ultimate authority for all of us.  In other words, God knows who the President is.  God knows who your boss is.  God knows who your teachers are.  God knows who the people are in your life who have authority over you.  And He expects you to respect them:

“Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.” (Mark 12:17 NIV)

You respect authority in your life because of God’s sovereignty.

David understood God’s sovereignty.  Today’s scripture comes after a pivotal moment in his life.  Saul, King of Israel, is trying to kill David.  He is in a cave, relieving himself.  David sneaks into the cave and cuts off a corner of the King’s robe.  David felt remorse for disrespecting the Lord’s anointed one.  David understood, God had placed Saul in authority.  When he disrespected Saul, he disrespected God.  David felt this way, even though Saul was actively trying to kill him.  David respected Saul because of God’s sovereignty.

We all struggle with people who have authority over us. Respecting someone we disagree with is difficult.  Respecting politicians in positions of power is difficult if we’re on opposite sides.  Respecting bosses who don’t appear to know what they are doing is difficult.  Respecting our spouses when we completely disagree is hard.  Respecting God’s sovereign authority in our lives is challenging.  

If God is sovereign, why does He allow sinful leaders?  God has no choice, we are all sinful.  The politician is a sinner.  The boss is a sinner.  Our spouse is a sinner.  I am a sinner.  You are a sinner.  We are all sinners.   Anyone in a position of authority is a sinner.  We have sinful leaders because we are sinful people.  Therefore, we pray for all of us:

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  (1 Timothy 2:2 NIV) 

The best way to show respect for our leaders is to pray for them.   Whether politician, boss or spouse, pray for them.  We respect authority because of God’s sovereignty.  Praying for them is our first step.

Question of the Day:

What authority figure in your life needs prayer today?

Further Reading: 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44 NIV, John 10:22-42 NIV, Psalm 116:1-19 NIV, Proverbs 15:20-21 NIV