There are days when life exposes just how unrighteous we are on our own. We try harder. We promise better. We resolve to do right, and still we come up short. That’s why Jeremiah 23:6 is such good news for weary hearts: “And this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Notice what the verse does not say. It does not say the Lord will help us be righteous. It says He is our righteousness. That means your standing with God is not built on your consistency, your discipline, or your track record. It is built on His character.

When you feel unworthy, He remains righteous. When you stumble, He does not step away. He steps in. Jesus stands between you and your failure and says, “I’ve got this covered.”

So today, stop striving to earn what has already been given. Lift your head. Take a deep breath. You are not accepted because you are perfect. You are accepted because He is.

The Lord is your righteousness. Rest there. Walk forward in confidence.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” — Psalm 23:1 (KJV)

There are some verses you don’t just read, you lean on them. Psalm 23:1 is one of those. David doesn’t start this psalm talking about green pastures or still waters. He starts with relationship. The Lord is my shepherd.

A shepherd doesn’t shout directions from a distance. He walks with the sheep. He knows their names. He stays close enough to guide, protect, and correct. David is reminding us that we are not wandering through life unattended. We are not figuring this out alone. The Lord is present, personal, and actively involved.

Then comes the promise: I shall not want. That doesn’t mean we never desire anything. It means we will never lack what truly matters. When the Lord is your shepherd, you may face hard days, but you won’t face them without provision. You may walk through valleys, but you won’t walk them unguarded. You may feel unsure, but you are never uncared for.

This verse calls us to rest. To breathe. To stop striving as if everything depends on us. If the Lord is your shepherd, then your job is not to panic, but to trust. Not to run ahead, but to follow.

Today, let this truth settle your heart: you are seen, you are led, and you are provided for. The Shepherd is near—and because of Him, you lack nothing that you truly need.

Judges 6:24 tells us, “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: the LORD is peace.”

That moment didn’t happen on a quiet retreat or a mountaintop worship service. It happened right in the middle of fear, uncertainty, and unanswered questions. Gideon was still hiding. The Midianites were still oppressing Israel. The situation hadn’t changed yet—but Gideon had.

Sometimes we think peace shows up after the battle is over, after the answers come, after the fear goes away. But Scripture reminds us that peace isn’t the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.

Gideon didn’t build an altar because everything was calm. He built it because God met him right where he was. And he named that place Jehovah-shalom—not because the storm had passed, but because God had spoken.

Maybe today you’re standing in a place that still feels uncertain. The questions are real. The pressure hasn’t lifted. The future isn’t clear. But right there, in that very spot, God is still the Lord of peace.

Jehovah-shalom doesn’t mean life is quiet. It means your heart can be steady. It means you can rest, even while you wait. It means fear doesn’t get the final word—God does.

So build your altar today. Pause long enough to remember who God is. Name the place not by your struggle, but by His faithfulness. Because when God shows up, peace shows up with Him.

And that peace will carry you forward.