---GOD"S PEACE, PRESENCE, and POWER ~~
--[Please Read/ Isaiah 25, 26:1-12]

----"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful?
--[John 14:27] --

--WE LIVE in a world of conflict, fear and turmoil. Many turn to drugs, alcohol, and immorality in a futile effort to find satisfaction in life and relief from their troubles. These will only lead to more hopelessness and despair. God's Word has the answers for our troubled world. His "exceeding great and precious promise" provide a firm foundation we can rest upon (2 Peter 1:4). Here are a few of those promises given to the children of God.

In today's key verse we have the promise of God's deep, inner peace. It is a peace that is not dependent on outward circumstances. Instead of anxious, fretful worry, we can commit our fears and concerns to the Lord, and experience that blessed quietness and calm restfulness of heart that the world knows nothing of (Philippians 4:6-7). "For the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." [1 Corinthians 2: 14]

We have the promise of God's abiding presence (Isaiah 41:10, 43:2). No matter how confined or isolated we may feel, we are not alone. God is with us, though we do not see Him. "For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus also said "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Even when we enter death's dark valley, we need not fear. "For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

We have the promise of God's power (Acts 1:8). Through the indwelling of God's Spirit, we are enabled with divine power to overcome temptation an live in victory over sin. With trustful confidence we can lean on the Lord for grace and strength. By His power we are saved and become the sons of God (John 1:12). We are preserved by His power in our daily walk with Him (1 Peter 1:5).

--'Filled with God's peace, and enabled by His power,
We are assured of His presence every hour.'

--BSW/MK~