Week 1 | Day 5 | Light in the Darkness

Command:

Do not worry about your life. Luke 12:22

Read:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Reflect:

At the end of 2020, our growth group made containers labeled “2021 Gratitude” to reflect our hope that the new year would hold fewer challenges. In January, I began filling my gratitude jar. Within the first month my jar was almost full, but by March our family had entered a season of major battles on every front. I stopped adding to my jar. My prayers were often merely “Help!” as so many of our difficulties were out of our control. It was a dark lonely season for me.

Then one morning, I felt led in a new direction. In prayer, I told God who I knew him to be and thanked him for the times he had answered my prayers in the past. I started doing this every morning. I would pray, “God, you are faithful. You love me. Lord, you are generous and you provide in ways I don’t expect.”

Obviously, God knows who he is, but when I began affirming who I know he is, praising him and thanking him, his light began restoring the light in me. He restored my peace in the midst of a difficult season.

React:

What hard road are you walking? Ask God for help to recognize who he is, praise and thank him. Jesus tells us to bring our requests, honor, praise and thanks to God in order to change our hearts. Then, in ways we don’t understand, he bring us peace.

Pray:

Holy Spirit, please help me through the challenges I am facing. You are faithful. Your power and grace are unlimited. Thank you for the many times that you have walked with me and given me strength. Thank you for loving me beyond my comprehension.