In early September I’ll be releasing a 40-day devotional called She Laughs: A 40-Day Journey to a Heart Filled with Joy and Peace!!! My heart in writing this devotional is that as you dive deeply into God’s Word, you will experience a deeper joy and peace than perhaps you ever have before.
The past two weeks I’ve shared some sneak peeks of my devotional (which you can find here and here). For our final sneak peek today, we’ll look at Day 25 of the Devotional! You’ll notice that the day is broken down into several sections (most of the days of the Devotional follow this pattern):
Search My Heart: a time for you to write out everything on your mind that is causing you stress, anxiety, or fear
Scripture for the day: the most important part of each day!
Devotional: a short commentary on the Scripture
Meditation: a way to think deeply and intently on that day’s Bible verse (several meditation styles are used throughout this Devotional)
Reflect: ask yourself, “How does this apply to me today?”
Pray: a prayer thanking God for that day’s truth and asking him to help impress it on your heart and put it into practice
Let’s dive into Day 25!!
Search My Heart
(Really pause and take a moment to think about what is on your heart and mind. If you have a notepad or sheet of paper, jot down all of the things that come to mind.)
Scripture
“You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
Devotional
This verse has steadied my heart many times over the years. A year ago, when my daughter Haven wasn’t quite a year old, I clung to this verse on nights when I was crushed by anxiety that she would pass away in the night while she slept. I would lie there late at night, staring at the baby monitor, my heart racing, and my imagination cruelly turning my thoughts against me.
I would repeat this verse over and over, reminding myself to trust that the Lord was taking care of my baby girl and that he was with her. As I played this verse on a loop in my mind, my heartbeat would slow down, my imagination would stop running wild, and my eyes would be able to finally close in a peaceful rest.
We all face circumstances that tend to cause anxiety or stress to well up inside of us. But whenever you face those situations today, as quickly as you can, friend, turn your focus back to the Lord. Trust in his goodness, his love, and his promises. Steady your mind on who he is as your loving Father, faithful friend, and beautiful Savior. He is the Giver of the coveted perfect peace that you so desperately want and need. And he gives it freely with great tenderness and care.
Meditate
Look up the word steadfast in a dictionary of your choice. Write down its definition and a few synonyms. Do any of those synonyms stand out to you? How do they help you understand the verse better?
Reflect
(How does this verse apply to you today?)
Pray
(You can pray silently, out loud, or by writing down your prayer.)
I hope you enjoyed getting a third (and final) Sneak Peek of my brand new Devotional!! I hope that even this little peek helped you feel more peace and joy today!
Pressing on in faith, Jennifer