March 4, 2024
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.—Proverbs 3:5–6
When you come to Me with an open heart, yielding your life to Me, you will see that I do all things well, even when things don’t turn out the way that you had hoped or planned, or the way that you thought would be best. You will find the peace and contentment that comes from trusting in Me and knowing that I am working in your life and that I have a plan and purpose for you.
You will also find wisdom as you take the humble road. Seek to listen to others and do not be so sure of your own mind and of your own strength and wisdom. Seek My wisdom and My will. Ask yourself if you are limiting Me in some way, or are you seeking Me with an open and receptive heart—a heart that is submitted to My will and whatever I ask of you. Are you willing to trust Me for the outcome?
As you come to Me in prayer and draw nigh to Me, earnestly seeking My will, trust that I will guide you. As you commit your heart and life and all your ways to Me, trusting that I will direct your path, you will find rest in your heart, mind, and spirit.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.—Psalm 37:5–6
You are like a gardener in My kingdom, and I have given you a choice plot of land, which is your place of service for Me. I have given you the seeds to plant in your garden, and I have given you many blessings, and experiences to aid you in your tasks. As you have submitted your life to Me and said, “Not my will but Thine be done,” your garden has flourished.
When you are willing to seek My will above your own and to give of yourself, to sacrifice for the good of others and My work, and to be humble in the eyes of those around you, My Spirit can dwell in you more abundantly and your garden plot will flourish. People will marvel at the beauty of it, knowing that you have been with Me, and it will glorify Me. They will see a humble gardener, one who lifts up his hands and says, “It is not me that has created this beautiful garden; it is the Master Gardener—all glory to Him!”
Greater love has no one than this, that a man lays down his life for Me, in love and submission, and takes up the cross to follow Me. Forsaking your own will for My will is at the heart of forsaking all to be My disciple. But he that bears the cross, despising the shame, will experience My joy and peace in this life and be greatly rewarded in the life to come. Everyone who has forsaken all to follow Me will receive a hundredfold: blessings in this life and great reward in the life to come!
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.—Matthew 5:5
I have promised that the meek will be blessed. Do not think that your meekness is weakness, or that your submission to others or your humility in esteeming others better than yourself is a sign of weakness (Philippians 2:3). These are strengths that enable you to show others the true riches and the way that I see things, and to help them to find My wisdom and love.
Let Me lead you through meekness, through submission to Me and My will and ways, and through loving and caring for others. Trust that I have given you the gifts and wisdom that are needed, for you are dependent upon Me and My Word. I will give you the strength and perseverance that you need for everything that you will face throughout your life.
Do not be afraid or dismayed, for I will strengthen you and I will help you and I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness (Isaiah 41:10). You will go from strength to strength as I have promised (Psalm 84:7). So don’t be discouraged when you feel incapable or insufficient for the task at hand. Remember that your sufficiency is of Me and your strength comes from Me, and your faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
Seeking to please Me is a joyous way to live. Of course, without faith it is impossible to please Me. You must really believe that I exist and that I reward those who earnestly seek Me (Hebrews 11:6).
Living to please Me is a wise investment—not only for rewards in heaven but also for daily pleasure on earth. I am meant to be the Center of your existence, the Sun around which you orbit. When you live this way—enjoying Me, serving Me, desiring to please Me—you stay in your proper orbit. When you live in a self-centered way, you go off course.
The challenge is to keep Me central in what you do, say, and think. This battle begins in your mind, so work on taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Me (2 Corinthians 10:5). Study My Word to find out what pleases Me, and remember how wonderfully well I love you. Awareness of My amazing Love will help you stay in orbit around the Son—enjoying the radiant pleasures of My Presence.
I will fill you with joy and peace as you wait in My Presence. Spending time with Me demonstrates that you really do trust Me. People who trust mainly in themselves and their own abilities often crowd Me out of their lives. As you learn to trust Me more, you increasingly delight in time spent with Me.
And the more you wait in My Presence, the deeper your faith grows—increasing your Joy and Peace. Because you belong to Me, My Spirit lives in you. You may sometimes be unaware of His Presence, but He is always aware of you. Moreover, He is continually at work within you—transforming you into My likeness with ever-increasing Glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). You cooperate in this process by focusing on Me. As you become more and more like Me, hope grows within you.
With the Spirit’s help, this hope can well up inside you till it overflows—spilling out and splashing into the lives of other people!1
Originally published February 1996, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished March 2024. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by John Listen.
1 Sarah Young, Jesus Today (Thomas Nelson, 2012).
Copyright © 2024 The Family International