Quiet You with My Love

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Occasionally I struggle with insomnia, and I never know when it might hit me. The other night I got up and read for a while and still, I struggled to settle down. As I lay in bed, a song I had listened to earlier in the day began to run through my mind, and the lyrics spoke to me in that moment. The song begins with these words from Matthew 11:28: “Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” The song refers to this verse from Zephaniah:

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Imagine that! Our God is always with us and delights in us, His children. What a peace washed over me as I thought of God being right there with me. But what God says next was the remedy I needed. “He’ll quiet you with his love and rejoice over you with singing.” I contemplated that truth and felt peace down to the depths of my soul. The reality that God rejoices over me brought deep comfort, and I slept soundly until morning.

I hope you’ll take time to listen to this beautiful song by Rebecca St. James.

Casting Our Cares

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The Lord tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 to give all our anxiety or cares to Him, but in daily practice, it isn’t easy. Before I pray about it, I’ve spent time fretting first. What was gained by stewing and imagining the multitude of ways things could go wrong?

Dr. Tony Evans said in a sermon that worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair and thinking you are going someplace. My heart’s desire is to seek God first before I allow worry to take over my whole being. It begins with intentionality. Perhaps if I put a reminder to pray first on my calendar once a week, I may keep on track.

Lord, help us not let our enemy lure us into worrying. Thank You that You invite us to share our concerns because You care for us. Thank You for always knowing what is best.

Joyous New Year!

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We’ve been saying it and hearing it: “Happy New Year!” It’s what we do. My ministry colleague sent an email that challenged that sentiment. She wrote,

“May 2026 be far beyond a Happy New Year. May it be a year of joy as we serve Jesus. . .”

The difference between happiness and joy is that happiness depends on the circumstances in which we find ourselves. For the follower of Jesus, joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift that lives within us, a choice we yield to. God lets us tap into joy, along with the other fruit or virtues—love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, recorded in the Bible in Galatians 5:22-23. Joy is produced by the Holy Spirit in us, not by that job promotion or friend’s compliment.

As I sped along the dark, wet road to my son, Ray’s so we could spend his Christmas gift cards, I planned to fill my tank (gas is cheaper where he lives) before I picked him up. My tight schedule included a grocery pick-up time expiring at 6 PM. Full tank – check. But he was delayed by fifteen minutes. I could’ve puffed in impatience, checking the dashboard clock constantly. Instead, God reminded me of the audio book chapter I wanted to replay in preparation for a writing project. That delay proved a joyful respite from worry by absorbing riveting writing.

My prayer for 2026 is that we will experience joy and satisfaction in fulfilling the plans God has for us by always listening to Him. This year let’s choose joy!

(Originally posted in 2022)