What a great verse to turn on my computer and find this morning! I love reading those words- "Be still! And know that I am god!" They just soak straight into me and fill me with a soothing balm that just makes everything feel just right. That's perfect for this morning.
We're at the threshhold of what is one of our two busiest weekends of the year. Our two busiest weekends are a result of Abigail's love of dance- and also a result of my husbands abilities to work behind the stage. Over the years, as Abigail has gotten more and more involved in dance, we've become accustomed to these busy weekends. We just know that we won't have a life at all outside of dance and running around for a few days- and we're perfectly fine with that. As each year has passed, Andy has become more and more involved, and now if we were to step back and look at this weekend from an ourside perspective, it would look like sheer madness. And maybe it is sheer madness, but it's a weekend well worth experiencing. This year though, there has been an unexpected addition to the weekend to make it even more crazy, and leading up to this week, I admit, I was feeling the pressure of this weekend.
And yet, as the weekend has drawn closer and closer, as each day passed, I felt the opposite of what I was exepecting. I was expecting an increase in anxiety maybe- anxiousness to get the weekend over with. And now, well, now I just feel peace. I feel like the weekend is upon us, and whatever is going to go on this weekend is going to go on, and I am just going to settle in and ride the wave that is cresting behind me. It's going to be fun and exciting and when the wave settles, I'll be right back where I am now, in the midst of a peaceful setting.
"I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly." Psalm 85:8
This verse made me chuckle to myself a little bit- that end part about not returning to folly. Do you know what would be folly in the midst of busy times? It would be folly to let the whole situation bog me down. It would be folly to allow myself to become stressed and anxious. It would be folly to allow my spirit to be filled with unease and unrest. And so I will rest on God's promise right here- the promise of peace. God will provide everything we need this weekend- he will provide a wonderful time for our family, and when we have a few minutes to rest, they will be supernatural, blissful moments of rest. He will pick us up and stand us on that surfboard as we ride the wave- there will be no effort on our part, it will just come and we will ride in comfort and in ease.
"LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us." Isaiah 26:12
When times are crazy- or they are going to be crazy, and we know it in advance, we have the assurance from our Bibles that it is God who establishes peace- and he can create that haven of peace for us right where we are. In the midst of the storm, we can find the greatest peace we've ever experienced- allowing us to just enjoy the life that we are in the midst of living. Ultimately though, as I'm thinking on this matter of peace, and thinking about Jesus- Jesus caused peace to exist in the midst of chaos.
"Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus brought peace in the midst of a storm. He commanded the winds to stop and the waves to cease- and they did. The winds and the waves obeyed Jesus.
I just think that when we are caught up in a whirlwind of craziness- we bring it on ourselves when we end up stressed and anxious. When we approach a situation with stress and trepidation, we're just asking for the whirlwind of madness. But when we really look inside of ourselves and realize that the busy-ness is what we make of it, we can change our circumstances. Yes, we're still going to be crazy busy, but we can approach it with a pleasant and good attitude and prepare to enjoy instead of wishing to avoid.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus rebuked the storm. It stands to reason that if we, followers of Jesus, who have Jesus inside of us, can reach inside and really see that we have Jesus along with us for the ride, that we can rebuke our own storms. We can look at that crazy weekend in front of us and tell it to calm down, to be smooth sailing, and it will be so. So instead of being harried and anxious, we can thank Jesus for his example, and step into the busy time ahead with a smile on our face and a dance in our heart- because we have peace that passes all understanding flowing through our veins.
And when people look at us and ask us how it is that we can be so calm and relaxed in the midst of craziness, we have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with them. The secret is no secret at all- the secret is Jesus, inside of us, working through us to calm the storm and bring peace where there would appear to be none at all.
Heaven is HERE on earth- in us and through us. I'll leave you for this blissful, peaceful crazy busy weekend ahead with a really fun song that's been in my head a lot lately. Have a wonderfully blessed weekend- I will try to be back on Monday.
2 comments:
Thank you for introducing me to Jesus Culture! I didn't know of them till I watched the video you posted. Since then I have been checking out their other songs on youtube. I love it! This will be great inspirational music on my i-pod for running!
Aren't they wonderful! :) They were recently introduced to me as well- I put on their music when it's time to give the house a thorough cleaning, and it really helps keep me going. Glad you're enjoying.
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