Finding True Fulfillment & Peace in God Alone

In Isaiah 9:6, the prophet Isaiah writes "For to us a child shall be born to us a Son shall be given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace."

As we know, Isaiah was prophesying the coming of Jesus 700+ years before He was born.

As I read this scripture and went through the short devotional that went along with it, I started to reflect on what these titles meant.

He is our Wonderful Counselor - He will provide guidance and wisdom to not only help us and protect us but to also live a life that honors and glorifies Him. He will help us navigate living in this broken world but not falling INTO the world. His Holy Spirit guides and directs us to live a full and God-honoring life.

He is our Mighty God - Despite what the world tells us, we are weak on our own. But when we rely on Him to renew our strength and carry us from glory to glory, victory to victory, we will never fail. He is mighty, we are not apart from Him. We must accept that we can no longer rely on our strengths to get us through the storms we face. Even on the "good" days, when everything is going well, our strength will still fail us. But God will never fail us.

He is our Everlasting Father - He is our constant. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). When this world of people around us let us down, we know that we can count on Him. He provides comfort to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:17-18). He doesn't need our perfection or our "put-togetherness" (I'm deciding that's a word even though it's probably not 😂 ). He needs our surrendered hearts and our obedience. He will heal areas of our hearts that are so broken and restore life within us.

He is our Prince of Peace - True peace is not found in anything found in anything this world has to offer. Trust me. I have done all of the "self-care" things to find peace and comfort, and nothing will truly satisfy that desire for peace like Jesus will. True peace is not found in the absence of a storm. True peace is only found in the presence of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. Things can feel so unsteady, so unknown and uncertain but once you step into His presence, He will give you perfect, everlasting peace. It's a peace that makes no sense, but it is so powerful. In my life, I have experienced this peace in even the heaviest of storms. It doesn't make sense to feel peace in those moments, but that's when you know it's from Jesus.

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God can and will supply everything we need. We do not need God + _____ (fill in the blank). I used to love the shirts and coffee mugs that say something along the lines of "I run on Jesus and coffee", but the Lord convicted me of that about a year ago. Some people see it as a harmless statement and just a cute shirt, and that's fine, everyone has their own convictions. Obedience is about turning away from what God convicts you of, stepping out where He tells you to go; not following where God is leading someone else close to you. In my case, deep down inside, I realized that in the mornings especially, I was depending on my coffee to wake me up and give me the energy to get through the day. In my time with the Lord one day, I felt that He asked me "Why am I not enough to wake you up and give you energy? Why are you relying on something else to do that?" Ouch. It was true though. At that moment, I realized that Jesus is all I need to get me through the day.

From that revelation, I decided to stop drinking coffee in the mornings for a few weeks and instead, I shifted my focus completely on Jesus. And as He always does, He was faithful to provide. He gave me the energy to start the day and renewed my energy throughout the day. When I started drinking coffee again, and still to this day, it's simply because I enjoy it. I'm not dependent on it, I don't look to coffee and caffeine to give me what I need to get through my day, especially in the season of life we are in with a newborn. My days typically start between 5-6 AM, and while I enjoy a cup of coffee as I spend time with the Lord, I know that my strength and energy come from HIM alone.

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I am constantly reminded of God's sovereignty and know He is bigger than any storm I face. He alone will supply and provide everything I need. When things are good - we need Him.

When things are shaky - we need Him.

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Friend, our Creator, His Son, Jesus, has given us the perfect gift.

Go to Him and allow Him to carry you through whatever you are facing.

He loves you.

I am praying that as you go through life, you find true peace and comfort in the presence of Jesus.

In love,

Melissa ❤️