Welcome to the Encouragement for Today Devotion readers. Today, I want to share just two verses that can be a great comfort to us when we need to be reminded of God's provision.
In the corner of my bedroom, behind an overstuffed chair, there is a stack of blankets. Soft blankets. Welcoming, warm, and well used blankets. Blankets that speak of safety, security, and sweet surroundings.
The other night, my youngest daughter had a bad dream and sleepily made her way to my bedside. "Mommy, I'm scared."
That's why I have that stack of blankets.
A soft stack of evidence that everything is going to be okay. Not because the blankets themselves are safe; it's where the blankets are placed that comforts Brooke's heart.
They're near her Daddy.
Though Art sleeps like a rock normally, something stirred his heart awake as soon as I'd gotten Brooke settled into the make shift bed of blankets. He got up and went to snuggle his frightened little girl.
Daddy is here. Daddy is near.
And Brooke's heart was comforted.
Not because Daddy went upstairs and checked under the bed, behind the door, and in the closet. Not because Daddy chased away the object of her fears. Not because he did anything about the source of her fear.
She was comforted simply by her Daddy being near.
This reminds me some verses in Philippians that I love.
Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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."
I like that verse but without quoting it in context, it's stripped of it's power. The last 4 words of Philippians 4:5 are the power source that unlocks the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Those four words are, "The Lord is near."
Daddy is near.
And because He's near, we don't have to be anxious- we can have peace that rises above any circumstance. Any circumstance.
Daddy is here. Daddy is near.
In the corner of my bedroom, behind an overstuffed chair, there is a stack of blankets. Soft blankets. Welcoming, warm, and well used blankets. Blankets that speak of safety, security, and sweet surroundings.
The other night, my youngest daughter had a bad dream and sleepily made her way to my bedside. "Mommy, I'm scared."
That's why I have that stack of blankets.
A soft stack of evidence that everything is going to be okay. Not because the blankets themselves are safe; it's where the blankets are placed that comforts Brooke's heart.
They're near her Daddy.
Though Art sleeps like a rock normally, something stirred his heart awake as soon as I'd gotten Brooke settled into the make shift bed of blankets. He got up and went to snuggle his frightened little girl.
Daddy is here. Daddy is near.
And Brooke's heart was comforted.
Not because Daddy went upstairs and checked under the bed, behind the door, and in the closet. Not because Daddy chased away the object of her fears. Not because he did anything about the source of her fear.
She was comforted simply by her Daddy being near.
This reminds me some verses in Philippians that I love.
Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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."
I like that verse but without quoting it in context, it's stripped of it's power. The last 4 words of Philippians 4:5 are the power source that unlocks the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Those four words are, "The Lord is near."
Daddy is near.
And because He's near, we don't have to be anxious- we can have peace that rises above any circumstance. Any circumstance.
Daddy is here. Daddy is near.
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