“And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” When your soul is assured of its salvation peace is present. The peace that passes all understanding happens when there is a total reliance on God concerning your safety, your direction in life, and the guidance that goes along with it. Nothing seems to affect you to the point of changing your purpose and destiny. We will never be totally free from agitating spirits and moral conflicts, which goes along with life on planet earth. Peace will be earned through our consistent mediation and study of God’s word. After renewing your mind with God’s word (changing the way you think and have been motivated in the past, to conform to the ways of the Lord), most of your behavior will begin to fall in line with God’s program for peace, not as the world defines peace (which is always temporary), but the peace that doesn’t make sense because it is of supernatural origin. Most men as they get older begin to want more peace and quiet in their lives. Peace is one of the character traits deposited in our hearts by God at the new birth. It can grow as we water that seed of peace in us with God’s word.

“And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” There are different perspectives of how the truth can set you free. When a person is a habitual liar, the work that goes into maintaining the lies is exhausting. Trying to remember what lie you told this person or that person, making sure each lie goes with the one you told someone else in your campaign of foolishness. This will wear you out faster than overtime on your job. There’s a freedom in always telling the truth, even unto the incrimination of your unintentional bad choices. If your circle of friends can’t handle the truth of your imperfections as a human being, then get rid of that circle of friends. They’re not true friends who would stick by you even with your imperfections. The other reality of being set free by the truth (Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life) is we as christians are no longer under the bondage of sin. The sin nature was removed when you got saved, born again. Now we have a choice not to habitually do wrong, because it is no longer our nature. The temptation to sin or do wrong is very real, and must be kept in check by the knowledge of God’s word working in us. Renewing your mind with the bible, God’s word is vital for freedom in the truth.

“Even now declares the Lord return to me with all your heart.” Those of us who have backslided or gone off our own way without the Lord, He is saying come back to Him with all your heart, meaning true repentance. Some of us have a way of agreeing mentally to do something but our hearts aren’t in it. God wants all of you once you’ve considered coming back to Him. We all miss the mark concerning being perfect, that’s not happening in these still mortal bodies of ours which still have the sin nature in them, only your spirit has been renewed at the new born. Your wrong doings aren’t bad enough for God to turn you away. That’s why Jesus died as our sacrifice for sin, covering any and everything our warped minds can conjure up. So your sin is no worse than anyone else. In God’s eyes, sin is sin, from little white lies to murder. Return to the Lord now if you’ve been away, things are winding down for planet earth as things are getting into position for the next dispensation, or age of God’s master plan for life.

“Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.” David speaks here, and he’s voicing his concerns of God taking away that which David is accustomed to having in his life, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and God’s presence in his life. David had a lot of blood on his hands from many battles, killing many people, for conscience sake he’s not dealing with your average everyday thoughts. David committed adultery, and David the King sent the woman’s husband to the front line of intense fighting during battle so he’d be killed. David did some dastardly things before God, but God still called him the apple of His eye. Back in those days the Holy Spirit would come upon God’s servants. Today the Holy Spirit lives inside the born again Christian, and will never leave us, nor will God take His Spirit from us. When we lose the joy of our salvation, that’s a sign we’re running ahead of God not with Him. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. To lose your joy is like having an open door for discouragement and over time depression will walk right in. A willing spirit to carry on will sustain you. We get willing by spending more time with the Lord. Pull away from the hustle and bustle of life and reboot, you’ll know God’s not gonna leave you or forsake you, do your part and He’ll do His.

“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves; be wary and wise as serpents, and be innocent (harmless, guileless, and without falsity) as doves.” The commission of the Lord is for us to go out with the message of the gospel, being wary and wise as serpents, and being innocent, and harmless as doves. We are His sheep that are out amongst the wolves of this world. But we have Almighty God’s protection and anointing to get the job done. With His guidance and direction for every step we take, we are victorious. By the wisdom of God we must learn when to be shrewd as serpents and when to be innocent as doves. We can do things in our own way which may not be God’s way for the particular instance or life issue you may be dealing with now. There will always be opposition with anything of great value we’re involved with. We are in the army of the Lord. Learn to fight the good fight of faith. That is, learn how to stand up to any and everything that tries getting in between your knowledge of God’s word, and your hearing the voice of God, your gut feeling, that still small voice inside you. The fight is, the trusting of God’s word to manifest on your behalf that which you are believing Him for. The test of the fight is waiting while everything seems to be falling apart. But things take time to fall apart, so they can fall into place. Allow the entire process to happen, stand your ground until it does. We are more than conquerors in Christ, so walk in your inheritance today, boldly share the gospel.

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” We can do all things that pertain to our God given calling and purpose. He strengthens us in our inner man causing energy to flood our entire being, spirit, soul, and body. Yes we can receive physical strength from the Lord. As your fellowship with the Lord increases so will your strength. His strength is also made perfect, made mature in our weaknesses. When we are totally out of God’s way so He can strengthen us, (it normally happens when we’re just too physically, and mentally run down, that’s when He infuses us with inner strength. Many of us are doing things for the Lord, or just in general, in our own strength which is limited. God says include me in all your ways and I’ll direct your path. His path for our life will always be the easier more profitable way, and less draining on you. You can do all things through Christ Who strengthens you. This will add more years to your life, allowing God’s strength, power, and anointing to be in the forefront of all you do, which is the key to victorious living.

“AS THE hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God.” As the dear pants and longs for the water brooks, so is our anticipation of drawing near to God. That’s when you’re really into seeking the face of God, you’re on fire for Jesus. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The soul of most humans yearns for the supernatural in their life. Many people fall prey to Satan’s deception concerning the supernatural. There are two sides of the spirit realm, light and darkness. Being misguided happens all the time to people wanting the supernatural so bad, they lose sight of the light. That hunger is there for God not Satan, but we get deceived due to lack of knowledge of God. You’ll know the sign posts along the way that say, danger don’t go this way, as you learn of the Lord’s teachings and precepts. We all have the hunger knowingly or unknowingly, but taste and see that the Lord is good for yourself. David had a relationship with God that no one could get in the middle of to deceive or steer him away. If your heart pants like the deer pants for streams of water, make sure it pants for the one and true God, Creator of the universe.

“But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).” And how we do that is the question. The Holy Spirit of God is our teacher, stand by, helper, comforter, and anything we need Him to be. Our new recreated human spirits have deposited in them fruit, it happens once you’re born again, you’ve received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. Some of the seeds of that fruit are, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness gentleness, and self control. Fruit implies growth, so there is a time of development that is vital when it comes to walking in the Spirit. The major stimulation for the development of these fruits will come through the opposition we face in general with life on planet earth. We must be conscious of allowing the process of our growth in these areas, the struggle is real. Also as we walk more by faith and less by sight, and are led more by our spirits and less by our flesh (our emotions), you will have cleared a pathway for walking in the Spirit. Once obtained, stay on the path because there’s more.

“For I will [fully] satisfy the weary soul, and I will replenish every languishing and sorrowful person.” God has made a decree and will stand by it. When we come to the Lord He will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. He restores our souls back to the default setting. We can get pretty turned around dealing with the struggles of life. Our souls are constantly being put through the ringer because of our emotions. Things can become seriously wrong to the point we can’t seem to take the pressure anymore. These are times when it’s vital for us to go to the Lord so He can refresh and restore our souls from the battles we face. We are like cars or machinery that need adjustments from time to time. Going on a vacation works wonders. Vacation meaning vacate your normal surroundings to experience the complete idea of natural refreshing and recuperation, it’s healthy not only for the body but your mind needs a break as well. But during your normal everyday grind the Lord is desirous of being there for you to give you that occasional tune up necessary for a healthy victorious day. Even going off alone for 10 or 15 minutes out of your day to ask God to help you through the rest of your day’s busyness, you will see and feel the difference from His help. Don’t say you’ve tried it and it didn’t work, it’s not to be tried, it’s to be lived until it works. We have not, because we ask not. Take God at His word, He will always keep it.

“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” How many of us have the nerve to ask God to try me and know my heart, check it out and see if there’s any wicked way in me. That’s the statement of someone trying to walk the straight and narrow, someone not afraid of being tested for honest and truthful ways. Don’t get it twisted, the Lord already knows what’s in your heart, He knows your motives and everything about anything you’re about to do, and are planning to do. We think we’re hiding things from the Lord but no, we hide from people but God always knows what we’re up to. Many of us have a good heart but we’ve allowed wrong motives to dominate us. There’s no clear passage from the heart to actually executing what our hearts want to express. Your mind can stop your heart’s purpose from becoming a reality. Allow the Lord to search your inner most parts for the things that will block pure streams from flowing out of you. You get to pure streams when you have nothing to hide from man or God. We must allow truth and honesty on every level of our life to rule, even if the truth leads to you being reprimanded because you messed up, so be it, you will be free!