Place of Perfect Peace

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. – (Isaiah 26:3, NIV)

God, You give true peace to people who depend on You, to those who trust in You. – (Isaiah 26:3, ERV)

You will keep the peace, a perfect peace, for all who trust in You, for those who dedicate their hearts and minds to You. – (Isaiah 26:3, VOICE)

 

Perfect peace. When we feel it, we know it, for there is no comfort that comes close to that of His peace when we are quiet in His presence and able to simply settle in and soak in the sweet safety of knowing He is near. I wish that I could tell you that I am constantly hanging out in this space, but alas, I am not. Yesterday began well, as I spent time in the word and the tone for my day was embedded in truth. However, by early afternoon, the weight of all I had carried throughout the week caught up with me, and I had a mini melt down. Everything felt like it was too much. Hours on end each day, seated in one place, staring at a computer screen, trying to learn and make sense of this new platform for instructing; monitoring incoming daily messages from my mom’s senior living community, and struggling to actually contact and communicate with mom this past week, as we played phone tag more than we spoke live; and finally, not getting out of my house except to exercise or to make a grocery run was all at a point of stealing my peace. Part of me wanted to get in the car and just drive. I didn’t care where, just go and see and that there was more to existence than the walls that shelter and protected my family. Sometimes, as it seems, God uses people to bring us back to His perfect peace. My husband came in, hugged me and listened to me, then told me to get ready to go. He took me for a drive along the water, as he knows that is where I am reminded of God’s peace best, and we enjoyed fresh air and quiet as we traveled along. It took little time before we were talking and laughing, and noticing things along the way. We actually spotted a wedding on the waterfront, as two people, a clergy, and a few socially-distanced witnesses were standing in the pagoda by the Puget Sound, exchanging their vows. Our outing ultimately took us to a Fred Meyer for some needed groceries for the week, before returning home for dinner with the family. The evening was sweet and settled, and peace was again present in my heart. This morning, I am grateful for the family that I am blessed to call my own, and will continue to pursue the Lord any time I feel His peace wavering. May we seek the Lord and trust in Him, for He is our place of perfect peace.

 

The Lord is our peace,

In Him, we can thrive;

As we choose to trust,

Each day of our lives.

For circumstances,

Come and go like rain;

But as we choose trust,

His peace shall remain.

Choose trust in the Lord,

Place all in His hands;

His strength, hope and grace,

All we need to stand.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can trust in You and depend on You to be our perfect peace. Thank You that no matter what we are going through, we can still know Your perfect peace. Forgive us for allowing our hearts to become overburdened by the weight of the world. Teach us to place all in Your hands, so that we may know Your peace and only carry that which we are meant to shoulder. Show us how to come alongside those around us and help extend strength, hope and grace in Your love, so that they too, may feel and know Your perfect peace. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust and depend on You in all things and at all times, giving You praise for the perfect peace that Your presence brings. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace. – Psalm 29:11

Persevere in Love

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – (1 Corinthians 13:6-7, NIV)

Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. – (1 Corinthians 13:6-7, ERV)

Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. – (1 Corinthians 13:6-7, TPT)

 

The last few weeks at school have been particularly rough. My resolve to hope and persevere have been wavering. Yesterday the enormity of the weight, somehow hit me like a ton of bricks. I found myself in a funk that I could not escape. God, in His kindness, continues to surround me with amazing friends and colleagues. Throughout the day, I had kind and encouraging interactions that propelled me to press on. I do not know what the solution is going to be to my current dilemma, but God does. He is love. He does not delight in the wrong that is going on. Because He is my safe shelter, I need never stop believing the best for others. Though this season is difficult to walk through, it is not the time to give up and lose hope. Love always hopes and always perseveres. It may require action and interventions, but it does not mean to lose heart. My trust is in God, not people; for humans are fallible, whereas He is not. Additionally, He has provided a husband and home that are the safe shelter I imagine He intended. No matter how my day has gone, I can speak freely without judgment and know that I will be loved and cared for well. May we seek the Lord, who is love, so that we may rejoice with the truth, believe the best for others, never lose hope and never give up.

 

True love celebrates,

“Home” – photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

Truth and honesty;

It always protects,

With ferocity.

Love chooses to trust,

Hope and persevere;

Seeks God and His strength,

Knows that He is near.

Love does not give up,

But keeps pressing on;

For God’s love endures,

Hope to depend on.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are Love. Thank You that You show us again and again what love really means. Thank You that You delight in the truth, You always protect, You are our reason to trust, the One in whom we hope, and our strength to persevere. Forgive us for our frustration and our lack of faith when it feels like love fails. Teach us to trust You more, as You are working and moving far beyond what we can see. Show us how to love those around us with a love like Yours. Grant us the strength to never lose hope, and to always persevere. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we choose to persevere in love. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23:6

Hold On to the Faith You Have

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. – (Revelation 3:11, NLT)

I am coming soon. Hold on to the faith you have, so that no one can take away your crown. – (Revelation 3:11, ERV)

 

Our hope is found in Christ alone. What we have is the security in knowing that no matter what happens in the here and now, our ultimate destination is assured if we have given our heart to Him. There are days that faith is the only thing that we have to hold, as what is seen seems to dictate anything other than hope. However, when we know the Lord and have seen the work of His hand in our lives, we can trust His word to be true and hold fast to the faith that we have come to know. May we trust in the One who has given us life and breath, as He will be the One to ultimately lead us home.

 

The God of all grace, 

Has promised to us;

A future secure,

Through our Lord Jesus.

The part that’s required,

Is we must hold fast;

To the faith we know,

For His word shall last.

If to Christ we’re true,

Hold tight to what’s found;

Our future’s secure,

As is kingdom crown.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that in You, our future is secure. Thank You that we have faith for today and hope for tomorrow. Thank You that we are called sons and daughters when we choose to follow You. Thank You that no one can take away our faith. Forgive us for being fickle or wavering in our walk with You. Teach us to trust You in all things, so that we hold fast to all that we have in You. Show us how to love others with the same grace and fervor by which You love us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we hold on to what we have in You forever. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. – 2 Corinthians 3:5

Secure in His Hand

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me. – (John 10:28, NLT)

I give My sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of My hand. – (John 10:28, ERV)

I give them a life that is unceasing, and death will not have the last word. Nothing or no one can steal them from My hand. – (John 10:28, VOICE)

 

Once we commit our hearts and lives to the Lord, no one can take His love, hope nor peace away from us. Our future is secure in His hands. Eternity is promised in His presence, when our trust is in the Lord. No matter what comes, we are His. There is much comfort in the blessed assurance that the Lord holds us in His hands and will not allow anything nor anyone to steal us away from Him. May we trust all that we are in His hands, and allow the hope found in Christ alone, to permeate every pore of our being.

 

The Lord gives us life,

for eternity;

as we give ourselves,

His love sets us free.

Free to embrace hope,

by truth, we are found;

no more set to die,

in His life, we’re crowned.

And beyond the hope,

He holds us secure;

nothing can remove,

our future’s assured.

All glory to God,

our Savior and King;

Protector, defense,

from trials life brings.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You give eternal life, and that in You, we will never truly die. Thank You that nothing and no one can steal us from Your loving and protective hand. Forgive us for seeing You as less than You are and making You too small in our own understanding. Teach us to begin to grasp the greatness of who You are and how You love, so that we would trust without wavering. Show us how to love others in a way that highlights the hope we hold in You. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we receive all that You offer, and trust in You with all that we are. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23:6

Hold Onto Hope

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. – (Hebrews 10:23, NLT)

We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what He promised. – (Hebrews 10:23, ERV)

Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. – (Hebrews 10:23, VOICE)

 

Our hope ought to be held close to our hearts and ready on our lips, as we can be certain of what God has promised because He is faithful to do what He says He will do. There is something so reassuring in knowing that Christ is the anchor of our soul. We need not struggle nor strive to earn what is promised, but rather we are to embrace what we have already received, which compels us to speak truth in love to those who still need to hear. The Lord is faithful forever, and we can always trust that He will stay true to His word. May we rise up in faith and hold fast to the truth, as we go forth trusting the Lord’s promises and share of all that He has done.

 

Let our hearts hold fast,

image from quotespictures.com

to our hope that’s true;

for God is faithful,

what He says, He’ll do.

Let’s not hesitate,

His hope, let us share;

for Christ’s the answer,

for all in despair.

Christ does not waiver,

His truth shall remain;

His promises true,

the hope we can claim.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can hold tightly, without wavering, to our hope in You. Thank You that You can be trusted to keep Your word. Thank You that You are faithful, always. Forgive us for our hesitation to speak of the hope that we hold in You. Teach us to trust You more, so that those who know You not, may be given the opportunity to hear the truth of the how great Your grace is for all who call on Your Name, and how ready to receive each who seek, You truly are. May many receive what You are freely offering. Be glorified O God, as we hold fast to the hope we have in You, and speak freely of Your faithfulness. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. – Psalm 69:16