Promises That Bring Peace

Click here to get the printable!

     I lead what is essentially chapel time at the homeschool co-op our family attends. We divide our weeks at co-op into quarters and as chapel leader I choose different topics for each quarter. I had spent time praying about what to speak on for our recent winter quarter, ultimately needing to decide on a topic before the first of January that I would talk about for the next nine weeks. After much prayer, I felt strongly that I should focus on worry, or rather, on how *not* to worry. So for nine weeks at co-op, ending with our final week in the first week of March, we talked about how Jesus tells us not to worry, and why we don't need to when we trust in Him.

     The Lord does not ever waste any energy. His timing is always perfection, and this was certainly the case in this. As I write this there are many efforts in place to stymie the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus. We, with the majority of America, have stuck pretty darn close to our home since about the 13th of March, watching and waiting.

    And, much to my chagrin, sometimes worrying. On our last day of meeting, unbeknownst to all of us that we would not be meeting again for who knows how long, the Lord strongly impressed on me that I should write out a variety of promise Scriptures, and so I did. I typed out 43 different Scriptures, from twenty different books of the Bible, each one a beautiful reminder of why we don't need to worry: because God is mighty, because He is in control, because He loves us, because He is on our side. I took the printed verses and cut them apart, and each child and parent that day received their own promise, a reminder that God is always with us, and we do not need to worry. I hope that those verses are serving to encourage them during these uncertain times!

    I realized the other day that these verses might benefit others outside of our group, so I thought I would post them here. You can grab the link to the printable up top under the photo. If all you do is print these out and read them, they will be immensely valuable, not because they are anything fancy. As a matter of fact, you could probably type them yourself if you wanted. No, because the are the powerful, eternal, perfect Word of God. It is always worth our time.

   But, if you are so inclined,  you can just print these. You can do a variety of things with them, beyond simple reading. I printed mine on colored cardstock and sliced them up with my paper cutter and filled a vase with them. I plan to pull one out when I am frustrated beyond these circumstances beyond my control. You could read one each day, or read them all each day! You can encourage your children to adopt one of the verses as their own. Look for the similarities between verses. Look up the surrounding passages and see what the verses say in context. Have your kids group them by book of the Bible, or put them in order by passage. Interact with them and see how they will really, truly take on a deep and personal meaning.*

   God is still very much says to us, "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13 

This circumstance is not beyond His control, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." Jeremiah 32:17

He is with us, and hears our prayers. "But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." Psalm 3:3-4

   For every promise find a reason it applies to this strange time, or to your life specifically. Make it real, take it personally. It is so, so good. I pray that these Scriptures bring you peace, God is certainly strong enough to keep all His promises. He is working!

* I wanted to share how we have been using these recently. I have each of my children choose one every night and they read it aloud, and then I challenge them to incorporate that particular verse into their prayers. Teaching your children to pray Scripture is so important and this makes it very easy. It has been so sweet for our family!