Day 213: John 14:27

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." ~John 14:27, NIV

We as Christians tend to look to Jesus when we need an immediate source of comfort, and it's no surprise - He did die for us, after all. Not only that, but His death brought about life for us, and life to His words - like the ones above.

In the verses surrounding this one, Jesus is comforting His disciples after telling them He would die. He promises them the Holy Spirit (who IS our current comforter, and an ever present help in trouble) and peace.

Note the verbs are in present tense, so He gave it then and gives it now, as you need it. Perfect!

Day 212: Proverbs 22:4

"Respecting the Lord and not being proud will bring you wealth, honor, and life." ~Proverbs 22:4, NCV

This is a statement of truth, but remember that not all statements of truth in the Bible will apply literally to your life at all times.

Humility and fear of the Lord... these are tough things to own in life. I mean, it seems to be a natural human thing to be proud. We are encouraged to take pride in our actions. But is that all pride is?

Not really. But denying the pride that makes us act poorly and instead taking on an attitude of honor towards God will make our lives infinitely better, and while God might not shower down bricks of gold on your for obeying Him, you'll get a lot of other benefits. Like:

-friendships!

-positive familial interrelations!

-the generosity of others!

-the joy of knowing who you are in God!

-etc!

And all of those things add up to a place in your mind where you will disregard your fears. Which is pretty awesome.

Day 211: Psalm 4:5

"Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord and trust the Lord." ~Psalm 4:5, NCV

Psalm 4 is titled simply as "an evening prayer". It's like a reminder to be calm, believe in God, and go to sleep. This verse in particular, however, is important.

Do what is right as a sacrifice... an interesting phrase, is it not? Doing what's right is a gift to God. And we can't do it because we're awesome, we do it because it's about God. It's not about me or what I can do, it's about God and what He does. Doing the right thing is rough quite a bit of the time. Being honest, sharing His love, standing up for your beliefs; you can't know what's going to happen.

But the fear of "what if" can't stop you from doing what's right. It's the duty you owe God. You do what's right, and trust Him to take care of the rest. That's all it is - your responsibility is to obey, He will do the rest.

Day 210: Psalm 5:11

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." ~Psalm 5:11, NIV

Day 209: Zephaniah 3:2

"She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God." ~Zephaniah 3:2, NIV

This is a description of Israel. She's not doing anything to conquer her fear or to live a life of righteousness. In fact, verse 1 says "Woe!" to this state of existence.

Conclusion: do the opposite of what this verse literally says. This would be to,

Obey all authorities, accept rebukes and correction. Trust in the Lord, better yet, draw near to your God.

There. Now we have a command - a course of action we must follow. Check out the rest of Zephaniah 3 for more!

Day 208: Job 39:11

"Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?" ~Job 39:11, NIV

Job's story is well known as that part of the Bible you read to give yourself hope in dreadful sickness. The tale is simple. Job gets sick. His friends come and console him by telling truths about the world that don't apply to him. He asks God to explain what the devil happened. And God does.

That verse up there... that's God talking to Job. He's basically established that He is God and whatever He does is good, that He is all-powerful and that He knows what is going on in Job's life. As He does this, He challenges Job. "What do you trust in? Oxen? Money? Servants?"

"Is that what you're going to rely on?" He's asking. "I'm your God. I made those things, to show that I love you. So, what'll it be?"

Day 207: Psalm 64:9

"All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done." ~Psalm 64:9, NIV

I love this verse - and this psalm as a matter of fact. David is writing to "voice his complaint" v1 about the wicked. He describes his innocence, then launches into a description of his enemies, how they succeed, and asks God why. Why are the bad-guys winning!?

Then in v7, that all changes, and David pulls out the big picture. "God will shoot them with arrows, turn their tongues against themselves." In other words, God will bring about justice, in His own timing.

And in that moment, not just the wicked or just the righteous, but all the people will fear, will respect God, or at least what He's done. And like all of the posts before this one, they will put into practice what's been preached - announce what's been done (Jesus on the cross, anyone?) and ponder His works (the change in me?). And if God can stop the baddies and leave us with just these two things, then what's to stop us?

What's to stop us from ruminating on His goodness instead of what could go wrong? What's to stop anyone from thinking on what is pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praise-worthy or just plain awesome instead of the "what-ifs"?

What if we shifted our focus from us to Him?