“The Lord, your God is with you” – what an amazing promise. The Lord God, the Mighty Warrior who saves – He is with us! Emmanuel – God with us. We do not have to run around looking for Him. We do not have to beg and plead for His Presence. We do not have to perform endlessly in the hope that He will come and stay a while with us. Instead He promises us that He is already with us.

Not only is He with us but He takes great delight in us! This seems almost too good to be true but that does not reduce the truth of the statement. The Lord takes great delight in us! We have the capacity to bring delight into His heart. We run around trying to please those in power over us. We try our best to live a life that at least seems perfect on the surface in an attempt to gain the approval of those around us. But how utterly amazing is it that we, as we are, can bring delight to the most powerful, holy, beautiful Being in the entire universe? He takes delight in us!

The Lord promises that He will quieten us with His love. When we are anxious, when we are overwhelmed, when the frustration builds up and threatens to burst out of us – He promises that His love will quieten us. I have a toddler who recently went through the developmental stage of tantrums and overwhelming emotions – this promise reassured me greatly. That the Lord can come alongside her and quieten her with His love. And even as I declare it over her, I hear Him promising the same great promise to me. That no matter what I face, He can quieten me, settle me and reassure me with His love. And He further goes on to say that He rejoices over us with singing. His joy about us is so great that He bursts into songs over us!

His peace is able to keep our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Different translations state that His peace will guard our minds and our hearts. The peace of God is active, it is protective and it is also offensive to the enemy. When the finances don’t add up, when our health is suddenly under attack, when the heartbreak seems almost too much to bear and the betrayal is too deep – His peace is able to protect us. It wraps around our hearts and our minds. His peace is able to keep our hearts from being offended, from being calloused, from being overwhelmed and from being turned to stone. His peace covers our mind like a wrap around shield constantly bringing every thought captive to Christ so that nothing can overwhelm or break us down. His peace is powerful, protective and precious. It surpasses our understanding so we might as well stop trying to understand it and simply give in and rest in it.

Prayer: Abba Father, embrace me deeper with Your peace and allow Your peace to mark my day. Amen.