Scriptures: John 14:27, John 14:1

An Untroubled Heart 

Right now your heart may be troubled and burdened with worries. My prayer is for God to bring relief and peace to your heart in this moment and as we walk through these five days together. 

The well-being of your heart matters to Jesus. When the Bible talks about “the heart,” it is referring to the very core of who we are. An article I read explains this further: “The Bible mentions the heart almost 1,000 times. In essence, this is what it says: the heart is that spiritual part of us where our emotions and desires dwell.” * 

Twice in John 14, Jesus said to “not let your hearts be troubled” (vv. 1, 27 NIV). These words He spoke to His disciples are encouragement for us today as Christians on a journey through an anxiety-ridden world of brokenness, hardships, and worries. His words reassure us that it is possible to have untroubled hearts in this life, in these circumstances, in the middle of trials and uncertain outcomes. 

Jesus promised His peace, a peace radically different from the peace the world gives. The peace of this world is fleeting, unreliable, and deceptive, and it ultimately leaves us empty. The peace of Jesus is lasting, dependable, true, and satisfying. We can trust the words of Jesus. We can stop and breathe. We can be overwhelmed not with worry but with divine peace. We can exchange a troubled heart for an untroubled heart. 

Prayer 

Lord, I pray for an untroubled heart: a heart that is not easily disturbed or worried, one that resides in Your peace and makes its home under Your wings. Only You, and You alone, can speak to my heart, making me feel safe and calm. I have succumbed to the cycle of anxiety, but in this moment I ask You to break this cycle and any learned habits or tendencies of anxiety. 

I surrender to the truth that Your peace is attainable in this world. Not because of perfect circumstances or a life without stress or hardships but because You give us Your peace. Because You— the One who created my heart, my very being—bring me the deepest peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

Would You show me if there are things of this world I trust for peace more than You? Help me to no longer trust in this false peace but in You, my true peace. As I begin this journey over the next five days, I ask that You would transform me by the power of Your Spirit to be someone who carries Your peace daily throughout all circumstances. 

I pray to continually seek You as my peace, to trust in Your care, and to remember that despite the troubles of this world and this life, I can have an untroubled heart in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Scripture: Psalms 34:4-5

Meeting God in Your Vulnerability 

The human experience is layered with emotions that can draw us near to God. Part of being human is experiencing emotions like worry, fear, sadness, and anxiety at times. Given the brokenness of this world and life’s difficulties, uncertainties, trauma, and pain, it’s impossible to escape such emotions. 

It is the God we turn to in our painful emotions that makes all the difference. Emotions tell us of our need for God. Because how would we know we needed God’s help, strength, comfort, protection, peace, and rest if we didn’t first experience an emotion that told us we needed those very things? When we experience worry, we realize we need God’s peace; when we experience fear, we need God’s help; when we experience despair, we need God’s comfort; and so on. In this world we will have troubles (John 16:33). And we lean on God when troubles come, when worries come, when fears come. We shouldn’t try to bypass these emotions, or we run the great risk of missing out on an abiding, deep relationship with our Father. 

Instead of looking to God for help, we may attempt self-reliance. We may try to pacify our worries quickly on our own or try to numb them. But we don’t want to fall into the trap of robotically pushing past our emotions, because our emotions should lead us to God. Our human experience is the framework for our relationship with God, and the emotions we experience can lead to a growing intimacy and a real knowing of Him. If we stuff our feelings down or try to handle them in our own strength, our mental, physical, and spiritual health are at stake, as well as a genuine relationship with God. 

In today’s verses from Psalms, we see that the key is to “look to Him for help” when we experience painful emotions. The psalmist, David, was experiencing fear, and by looking to God, he was freed from all his fears. Not only that, but he told us we will be radiant with joy when we look to God for help. What a contrast—from fear to radiant with joy! Only God can do that. Notice also how David wrote, “No shadow of shame will darken their faces.” Shame that comes from experiencing anxiety and fear can place us in bondage right along with the anxiety and fear. If we try to hide our worries instead of going to God, that can steal the very freedom we are seeking. There is no shame, ever, in needing God and seeking His help. 

Allow your emotions to bring you truthfully and vulnerably to your Father. Embrace the intimacy that comes when you go to a holy, kind, and sovereign God to free you from all your fears, a God who shows compassion toward you in those moments, not condemnation. 

Prayer 

O Lord, 

I am comforted today knowing that You walk with me in my human experience. You are already aware of what I am going through. You are already aware of my emotions. You know them and see them because You made me and know me. 

Freedom from all my fears is found in You. You hear when I call to You; You do not turn Your face away when I experience emotions because of life’s difficulties and pain. 

Please guard me from the lie that I can handle my fears and worries in my own strength. Please guard me from suppressing or bypassing my emotions. I trust in You, not myself, to relieve my worries. 

When I look away from my fears and to You, I am radiant with joy! How I see Your glory and give You all the glory, my loving Lord. Amen.

Scriptures: Psalms 94:19, Philippians 4:6-7

When the Cares of Your Heart Are Many 

So much is happening in the world on a global, national, and personal scale. Sometimes it feels like we can’t go a day without something attempting to fill us with worry, fear, heaviness, or sorrow. But as care upon care begins to weigh on our hearts, Scripture reminds us time and time again to pray and seek the One who can truly comfort and uplift our souls. Another translation of Psalm 94:19 shares this sentiment in such a lovely way: “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul” (nkjv). From the heavy weight of many cares to the deep joy of His consolations, His presence ushers in peace. 

Have you ever experienced the joy and peace that come from sitting in the Lord’s presence and turning all your cares over to Him? One day as I was praying, I felt God invite me to share with Him all the worries in my heart. I thought I had surrendered them to Him already. But the Holy Spirit revealed I was still holding on to them and encouraged me to pray through and hand over each worry. Once I gave those fears, worries, and burdens to Him, I experienced the promised peace of God relieving my heart. 

Philippians 4:6–7 instructs us what to do when the cares of our hearts are many: 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

In this passage, we see that the relief, comfort, and answers all lie within Him. We pray, laying our requests before Him, humbly asking Him to help us. The Greek word translated here as supplication refers to a “heart-felt petition, arising out of deep personal need.” What a perfect word to express our state of being when our cares are many. Philippians 4:6–7 also says to let our requests be made known with thanksgiving. Why might that be? In the middle of feeling anxious, my natural inclination is to focus more on what I’m worried about than on giving thanks to God. 

Yet when we approach God with thankfulness, a heart shift begins. It enables us to pause our anxious thoughts and, instead, fill our minds with thoughts of God and His goodness. Thanking God in the middle of feeling worried makes room for peace in your soul. I’ve been working on thanking God in the middle of feeling worried. I push aside the anxiety by sharing with Him the things I’m grateful for, and it significantly changes my perspective and reminds me of His faithfulness. Thankfulness proves to be a balm for the anxious heart. 

Today, as you pray, identify what you are anxious about. Hand over every worry. Release your grip, and empty your heart of all the cares you’re carrying. With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. As this becomes a continual practice, the treasure of consolations in God multiplies. 

Prayer 

My Lord, my Consoler, 

When the cares of my heart are many, You are the One who comforts my soul. 

You are my lasting comfort. Nothing else cheers my soul like You do. Nothing else encourages my heart to keep going like You do. 

Nothing else diminishes my anxieties like You do. May Your Spirit remind me to pray and release any worry or care to You. Help me to not be anxious about anything but lay my requests before You with an offering of thanksgiving. Because yes, Lord, I am so thankful for You and the abundance of Your love, grace, and blessings. 

Your consolations delight my soul and take away the troubles of my heart. Amen.

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3

A Mind Stayed on God 

When I was a child, I was in gymnastics for several years. After the floor, the balance beam was my favorite event. I was taught to keep my eyes focused on the end of the beam. This would help me stay centered; otherwise I would lose my balance and either wobble or fall off. It took intentionality to stay focused, and at times I would forget, especially when learning a new, challenging skill. 

I find it is the same in life when it comes to trusting God. When we keep our eyes and minds fixed on Him, we are more centered, calm, and graced with stability. It takes intentionality to have a mind stayed on God, which results in being kept in His “perfect peace.” 

It certainly can feel difficult to imagine perfect peace in our lives in the midst of juggling schedules, kids, work, relationships, and everything in between. And then with all the distractions that come in a day, it can be challenging to have a mind “stayed on” God. Yet Scripture tells us that’s the source of perfect peace. But what does it actually mean to have a mind stayed on God? 

It means to set our gaze and fix our thoughts on Him, to look to Him continuously, to focus on His character and trustworthiness. It’s a mind stayed and resting on His glory, His beauty, His kingdom, His faithfulness. When our minds dwell on Him, He keeps us in His complete peace, a peace that weaves through the tapestry of life, that flows through the hills and the valleys. 

With our minds, we think on His attributes, meditate on Scripture, and reflect on who God is. With our minds, we recognize and understand that God is in control, He is sovereign, He rules and reigns, and everything is in His hands. We set our minds on the truth, power, excellence, and loveliness of God. 

To keep our minds on God, we pray throughout the day and spend time in His Word. We ask the Spirit to direct our thoughts to stay on God because our minds inevitably wander. We talk about God in our conversations, and we pray with one another. We gather in community to learn and worship together at church, and we encourage each other to keep looking to God, especially when challenges come. It’s also important we pay attention to the things that may be distracting us and drawing our eyes away from God. 

Consider what might be a frequent source of distraction from focusing on God. Are there things that your mind is staying on more than God? What is one thing you can do to help your mind stay more on God? A heart at rest is a heart that trusts. We often long for rest, and that longing is satisfied when we trust God, because rest and trust are connected. We deeply rest when we deeply trust. I pray God would bless you with His perfect peace today and that He would help you rest your mind and heart upon Him, always and forever. 

Prayer 

God, 

Your Word says that You keep those in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because they trust in You. Please show me the things my mind is staying on more than You. O Lord, help my mind stay fixed on You. This is my heart’s desire, and I need the help of Your Spirit to keep my thoughts set on You. 

May I steady the gaze of my heart on Your holiness, goodness, and love. Guard me from dwelling on worries and lesser things that distract me from You, my perfect peace. 

I walk through today depending on You with all my heart and with all my mind. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Scriptures: 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Numbers 6:24-26

Shalom, Peace 

The tension we hold as Christians is being citizens of heaven but living currently in this world. We have this longing for heaven, yet we also have this gift of life to be lived here, with all of its beauty, pain, growth, suffering, sanctification, tears, and laughter. And in all of it, we learn more about who God is. We grow in relationship with Jesus and grow more into His likeness. And we are promised His complete and perfect peace, true shalom, as we walk with Him day by day, moment by moment. 

Reflect on this journey, these five days of starting and ending your day by coming to God to untrouble your heart. His heavenly perspective invites you to embrace His shalom, His true peace, by bringing your burdens to Him and being in constant communion with Him. That constant interaction and desire to be with and confide in God is the way to experience the sustaining peace that can only be found in Him. 

As you continue on this path of peace, keep going to Jesus whenever you feel weary or worried. He is always right there to be your help and strength. Keep casting all your cares on Him and releasing all your tears to Him because He cares for you. Each morning, take hold of God’s guiding hand, and each night, rest in His fatherly embrace. 

When life is good, when life is hard, when you feel joyful, when you feel sorrowful, when you feel victorious, when you feel defeated, you can bring it all to God. When we intentionally keep close to Him, our hearts become untroubled, and we experience peace that surpasses all understanding. As you live with an eternal perspective, may you continue in the work God has for you here, and may you see the joy and honor of living this life with Him and for Him. May you be filled with peace and purpose as you await with eager anticipation your eternal home. May the Lord bless you and keep you all the days of your life; may He turn His face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24–26). And may the Lord watch over your heart, keeping it untroubled. 

Prayer 

Lord, 

You are the peace of my life, the joy of my life, the meaning of my life. Being loved by You and knowing You is the blessing above all blessings. 

Thank You for walking with me through these five days, spending special time with me each day. Please continue growing our relationship and cultivating the garden of my heart, that it would be pleasing to You. 

And when worries and difficulties arise, remind me to come quickly to You. Help me to just breathe. In and out, breathing with You, casting my cares on You because You care for me. And keep my heart near Yours, the only place it can remain truly untroubled. 

I love You so much. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.