Day 14: Pray and Rejoice
Jeremiah 1:1-2:30
Philippians 4:1-23
Psalm 75:1-10
Proverbs 24:17-20
Yay Jeremiah! Another book I've never read, and I'm so excited. This first passage of Jeremiah is exciting!
I was very much reminded of when God called Moses. Jeremiah said "Alas, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am too young" (Jer. 1:6). And who could blame him for hesitating? Right off the bat he is saying some difficult things.
Right now in my life I'm relating to this hesitancy I see in Jeremiah and Moses (granted, Moses hesitates way more than Jeremiah). Blogging terrifies me! What is God going to ask me to say? What is God going to ask me to do? To be a truth teller is sometimes a very scary and isolating thing.
But how awesome to hear from God, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you [Jeremiah] as a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5)? Awesome. How scared can he really be? And how isolated can he really feel?
Which leads me to my favorite passage in the Bible!
Philippians 4:4-8
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say is again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
I could probably write a book about this passage...so I won't really begin to even touch on everything this passage means to me in this little blog post.
Paul is another Bible character who probably had reason to be afraid to speak the Word of God. He probably had reason to believe it would isolate him. Actually, he had more than reason. He was isolated, persecuted, and his world was flipped upside down when he became a follower of Jesus. And yet he says here to rejoice.
Because we have such a precious gift. It doesn't matter what perils we must face or how isolated we might feel: we have Jesus, a constant Companion and a mighty Defender.
My favorite part of this passage is when Paul says to pray about all our worries and concerns, thanking God, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.
The peace of God WILL guard our hearts and minds. This is a promise! I want to take Him up on this!
I've got to say also, I've often struggled with verse 8. But it's only been 14 days of this project and I already feel my actual thoughts becoming more positive. Reading the Word of God every day has affected me, motivated me, and encouraged me. I know when I truly have a bad day in this upcoming year, which is sure to happen, I will have a storehouse of true, pure, noble, praiseworthy, right things from God's Word to cling to.
And of course, if I offer whatever it is up to God, I will be guarded with a peace that doesn't make sense.