You Can’t Protect What you Didn’t Receive

A few days ago, I wrote about protecting your peace — holding on to it when life feels loud and chaotic.

But this week, God whispered something deeper: “Melody, you can’t protect what you haven’t first received.”

It’s been a few days now that I’ve felt that gentle, holy prodding — you know, the kind that tugs at your heart saying, “Come away, My child… spend some time with Me.”

Yet instead of lying down in those green pastures of peace, I’ve been running laps around them — trying to plan, and “get things together.” Even when I sit to unwind, the guilt creeps in. The TV’s on, my mind’s still racing, and deep down, I know that’s not the rest my soul needs.

Then this morning, my Jesus Calling devotion greeted me with these words from the Shepherd Himself:

“Lie down in green pastures of Peace. Learn to unwind whenever possible, resting in My Presence. This electronic age keeps My children ‘wired’ much of the time, too tense to find Me in the midst of their moments.”

Oof. Convicted!

It’s as if God whispered straight to my heart:

“You can’t post your way into peace or stream your way into stillness. You have to come to Me.”

Psalm 23 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.”

Sometimes He has to make us — because left to ourselves, we’ll keep scrolling, worrying, and working when we should be resting.

And then the devotion continued:

“I have called you to walk with Me down paths of Peace… Depend on Me more and more, and I will shower Peace on all your paths.”

This morning, I had to stop… breathe… and take it in.

Maybe the peace I’ve been chasing isn’t found in pulling away from people, but in pulling closer to God.

Maybe true peace isn’t something I protect — it’s something I receive when I’m still enough to hear His voice.

So here’s my nugget for you today, my friend:

Let’s stop running around the pasture and lie down in it. Let’s rest in the Presence of the Shepherd who restores our souls.

Because when we truly rest in Him, we don’t just find peace — we find ourselves again.

💛 Merry Melodious Melody