Jesus Calling, with Scripture References: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (A 365-Day Devotional) (Jesus Calling®)

by Sarah Young

Don’t try to force-fit today into yesterday’s mold. Instead, ask Me to open your eyes so you can find all I have prepared fo...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! —2 C

I AM WITH YOU.

Because you are human, you will always have ups and downs in your life experience. But the promise of My Presence limits how far down you can go. Sometimes you may feel as if you are in a free fall when people or things you had counted on let you down.

Instead of bemoaning your circumstances, you can look to Me for help. You recall that not only am I with you; I am holding you by your right hand. I guide you with My cou...

This is exactly the perspective you need: the reassurance of My Presence and the ...

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice ...

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

YOU ARE FEELING WEIGHED DOWN by a plethora of problems, both big and small. They seem to require more and more of your attention, but you must not give in to those demands. When the difficulties in your life feel as if they’re closing in on you, break free by spending quality time with Me.

You need to remember who I AM in all My Power and Glory.

Then humbly bring Me your prayers and petitions. Your problems will pale when you view them i...

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Trust protects you from worrying and obsessing. Thankfulness keeps you from criticizing and complaining: those “sister sins” that so easily entangle you.

Keeping your eyes on Me is the same thing as trusting Me. It is a free choice that you must make thousands of times daily. The more you choose to trust Me, the easier it becomes. Thought patterns of trust become etched into your brain.

Relegate troubles to the periphery of your mind so that I can be central in your thoughts. Thus you focus on Me, entr...

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. —1 P

YOU NEED ME EVERY MOMENT. Your awareness of your constant need for Me is your greatest strength.

However, there are pitfalls that you must be on guard against: self-pity, self-preoccupation, giving up. Your inadequacy presents you

with a continual choice—deep dependence on Me or despair. The emptiness you feel within will be filled either wi...

Make Me central in your consciousness by praying continually: simple, short prayers flowing out of the present moment. Use My Name liberally, to remind you of My Presence. Keep on asking and you will r...

“Up to

BE ON GUARD against the pit of self-pity. When you are weary or unwell, this demonic trap is the greatest danger you face. Don’t even go near the edge of the pit. Its edges crumble easily, and before you know it, you are on the way down. It is ever so much harder to get out of the pit than to keep a safe distance from it.

That is why I tell you to be on guard.

There are several ways to protect yourself from self-pity. When you are occupied with praising and thanking Me, it is impossible to feel sorry for yourself. Also, the closer you live to Me, the more distance there is between you and the ...

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who

let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,

BE STILL IN THE LIGHT of My Presence while I communicate Love to you. There is no force in the universe as powerful as My Love. You are constantly aware of limitations: your own and others’. But there is no limit to My Love; it fills all of space, time, and eternity.

For now, the knowledge of My loving Presence is sufficient to carry you through each day.

I

REST IN MY PRESENCE, allowing Me to take charge of this day. Do not bolt into the day like a racehorse suddenly released. Instead, walk purposefully with Me, letting Me direct your course one step at a time.

Thank Me for each blessing along the way; this brings Joy to both you and Me.

A grateful heart protects you from negative thinking. Thankfulness enables you to see the abunda...

Your prayers and petitions are winged into heaven’s throne room when they are permeated with thanksgiving. In everything give ...

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. —COLOSSIANS 4:2

In

I AM LEADING YOU, STEP BY STEP, through your life. Hold My hand in trusting dependence, letting Me guide you through this day. Your future looks uncertain and feels flimsy—even precarious. That is how it should be. Secret things belong to the Lord, and future things are secret things. When you try to figure out the future, you are grasping at things that are Mine. This, like all forms of worry, is an act of rebellion: doubting My promises to care for you.

Whenever you find yourself worrying about the future, repent and return to Me. I will show you the next step forward, and the one after that, and the one after that. Relax and enjoy the journey in My Presence, trusting Me to open up the way before you as you go.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. —PSALM 32:8

KEEP YOUR EYES ON M

Waves of adversity are washing over you, and you feel tempted to give up. As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me. Yet I am with you always, holding you by your right hand. I am fully aware of your situation, and I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.

Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow. If you try to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat. You must discipline y...

It is in the present moment that I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens. Keep your focus ...

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right h...

No

STOP JUDGING AND EVALUATING YOURSELF, for this is not your role. Above all, stop comparing yourself with other people. This produces feelings of pride or inferiority, sometimes a mixture of both. I lead each of My children along a path that is uniquely tailor-made for him or her. Comparing is not only wrong; it is also meaningless.

Don’t look for affirmation in the wrong places: your own evaluations or those of other people. The only source of real affirmation is My unconditional Love.

This is how I see you: radiant in My robe of righteousness.

Immerse yourself in My loving Presence. Be receptive to My affirmation, which flows continually from the throne of grace.

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forgiven.