Embracing His Peace When Your Heart is Anxious
I drifted off to sleep watching a movie tonight.
For the first time in weeks, my body and mind relaxed.
On this rainy night, the four of us played cards and then nestled together on our sectional to watch Revenge of the Sith (my younger son claims this is the best in the Star Wars saga).
No distractions.
Just simply present.
One son on my right, the other on the left.
The feeling of contentment that washed over me was hard to describe.
In my heart, I know that these days are coming to an end.
Any captured moments together make me feel like I have won the lottery.
In the not so distant future, our home will be empty for the first time.
Both boys will be off to college.
And as I lay here in the stillness of the night, comforted by the fact that we are all under the same roof right now, my thought was this:
I desperately want to have this same peace when they are no longer in the house.
Certainly I felt anxious when they started Kindergarten, had their first sleepover and drove for the first time.
But this just feels different.
How can we embrace His peace when our heart feels anxious?
First, spend time in His presence.
If I am being truthful, I have not been as intentional about taking time to spend with my Heavenly Father these past few weeks.
I need to stay as present with Him as I was tonight curled up on the couch watching tv with the boys.
He will be seeing even more of me when my son moves 1,135 away from home in August.
I do not know about you, but my measure of peace is much greater on the days that I make my time with God a priority.
Second, remember God’s promises to His children.
He fully knows us.
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” Psalm 139 1-4 ESV
He values us.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two [c]copper coins? Yet not one of them has [ever] been forgotten in the presence of God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are far more valuable than many sparrows.” Luke 12: 6-7 AMP
There is no place we can go that He is not present.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139: 7-10 ESV
He has a plan for us.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Finally, spend time in His Word.
Read this passage from Psalms:
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.
“Ascribe to the Lord, O [b]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty and majesty of His holiness [as the creator and source of holiness].
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion (Mount Hermon) like a young, wild ox.
The voice of the Lord rakes flames of fire (lightning).
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord [c]makes the doe labor and give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple all are saying, “Glory!”
The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace. “ Psalms 29: 1-11 AMP
This book in Psalms took a hold of my heart.
Our Heavenly Father has the power to break the cedars and shake the deserts.
He gives us strength and peace
Friends, I don’t know what is making your heart anxious tonight.
But I know the One who sits as King forever and who will remain by your side in the storms of life.
Grab a blanket and curl up in His presence.
May He bless you with His peace when your heart feels anxious.
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Radiant
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Speaking with No Words
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Unfailing Love
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Honor
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A New Song
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My Shield
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Loved
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Guarded
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We Never Walk Alone
These past few weeks I have been pouring over tons of old photos.
I have always loved taking pictures.
My first camera, when I wasn’t using my parents’ Polaroid, was a Disc camera.
Some of you in my age bracket will remember that one.
But I have adapted with the times, moving through a number of cameras over the years.
From getting my same day prints made at CVS to storing 18,385 precious photos on my IPhone, I have always found a way to capture what is going on around me in the lives of those I love.
It is fair to say that a good number of profile pictures and cover photos of my friends are ones that I have taken.
I’m kind of like the Friend Historian, if you will.
And while I love to just drink in these moments, there have been specific reasons for time spent strolling down memory lane these past weeks to gather pictures.
The first is for putting together slideshows: one for a funeral and another for a farewell.
The second is for creating a picture board for a graduation party of my son and his friends.
Whether you are the moms whose children are graduating, a family who is saying goodbye to a husband and father, or a church who is saying goodbye to a pastor, there has been a common thread sewn into patching these memories together.
We do not walk through this life alone.
From the very beginning, God did not intend for us to walk alone.
He created woman so that man would have someone by his side.
“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Genesis 2:18 ESV
In His Word, He tells us that two are better than one,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV
From hello to goodbye, from celebration to mourning, through good times and bad, our Father instructs us to have the same love for each other as His Son.
“ So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2: 2-5 ESV
It gives our heavenly Father joy when we think of each other and do nothing selfishly.
Jesus thought of us when He left the heavenly realms to come to earth to walk among humans.
Even though there are no pictures, we get snapshot after snapshot of who Jesus did life with in His Word.
I am certain if someone had taken pictures, there would have been more than my 18,385.
He was thinking of us when He took our place on that cross.
He did not do anything out of selfish ambition, only out of His great love for us.
There is another common thread that is woven through these photos.
God walks with us through every season of our lives.
Our Creator has known us since the very beginning.
“For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139: 13 ESV
Somedays I need that reminder.
Maybe you do as well.
In a time when everything feels as if it were changing, the one thing that remains constant is that our heavenly Father is ever present in all of our days.
Friends, may that bring you comfort on the hard days and hope for the future.
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