As Quiet As A Childby Jon Walker This has been waiting for me in my email since early November. I say that because I hadn't opened it until this morning. Somehow, the timeliness is not a surprise to me. I tend to be a worrier and if you've listened to even a few minutes of the national and international news lately, there seems to be plenty about which to worry. Even just considering the day-to-day "worries" of our lives, we can get pretty bogged down and downright dejected. When I feel that myself getting bogged down, I do try to turn to scripture to refocus and redirect my thoughts. Negativity draws to us negativity. Positive, fruitful thoughts draw to us fruitfulness and more positive energy, after all.

Here's the devotional:
I don't concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD— now and always. Psalms 131:1b-3 (NLT)

Today’s devotional actually comes from my sister, a godly woman and serious prayer warrior. She emailed this morning, saying she’d been thinking the peace of God that passes all understanding.

She said she’d spent some time meditating on Psalm 131 –
· Verse 1b – “… I don't concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me …” We are free to live out our purpose when we relinquish control of the things that don’t belong to us in the first place. Such as -- worry about things over which we have no control; or trying to control something we have no business trying to control.

· Verse 2 – “But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother ….” I trust, even when the out come seems a long way away. A nursing child wants attention NOW, but weaned child trusts and is content to wait.

· Verse 3 – “… Put your hope in the LORD— now and always.” We hope in the Lord with confident expectation. In other words, we truly believe that he will answer our prayers, that he will respond, that he will get us through. You can declare confidently that the Lord will pave you way and walk with you and keep your feet from stumbling. He’s done it before and He’ll do it again!

Praise God for His peace! It is through His peace that we can do all things - and endure so much. It is a peace that passes all understanding.
What now?

· Overly Concerned – Is your peace undermined because you’re concerned about matters that are not even your responsibility? Or, matter that you have absolutely no control over? Ask God what should be on your ‘responsibility’ list; ask him what items you should remove from your ‘responsibility’ list. Psalm 131:1b – “I don't concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me.”

· Prayer, but Delayed Gratification – Are you at peace because you have learned to trust God and wait? If not, ask God to reveal what makes you demand an immediate answer from him, and talk to him about what he reveals. Ask God to help you learn to trust him – and to wait. Psalm 131:2 – “But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me.”

· Confident Expectation – When you say you hope in the Lord, really hope in the Lord. Expect him to come through for you – at just the right time in just the right way. Psalm 131:3 – “O Israel, put your hope in the LORD— now and always.”

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.

Labels: hope, prayer, worry

  ¶ 9:22 AM

  The Voice of the Lord .
Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

I was pretty sure I had recently included verse 8 in one of my devotions. In fact, “Here am I” was the title of one of them. I have shared since I’ve resumed my morning posts that I have been waiting and wondering what God has in store for me. I’m rather pleased with myself that I haven’t immediately filled up my calendar with activities to fill the time. I have tried to be intentional, pray and wait for God to reveal and affirm His desire for me and for my life.

That is very out of character for me! I have been impatient and even impetuous in the past. I’ve been investigating various organizations and considering numerous opportunities to serve, but I am waiting . . . and praying . . . and giving the decisions to God. In the past I have incorrectly interpreted verse 8 to mean that I had to be the one who did it all! Save the world single-handedly! I believed I could because I was on the side of God.

What so often happens though when we fill our lives and spend our time on so many activities is that we don’t do a “check-in” to be sure we’re in line with God’s desire and plan. When I pause to allow God to affirm me and what I’m doing, I allow Him to be in charge. Over the past year or so I have stepped back from leadership positions in church and in my community. I felt I needed a break to rest in God and to evaluate where I was in my faith and in my faith journey. It has been very instructive. The earth has actually continued to spin on it’s axis without my micromanagement!

I received a call a couple of weeks ago from a woman who asked me to participate in an activity that I had been interested in for a long time. Since my calendar wasn’t full of “very important” activities, I was able to join a group of people on Saturday to protest gun sales without background checks. Now don’t stop reading! It’s not about gun ownership—it’s about sensible gun laws. Anyway, that’s not the point! The point is I was available. Then on Sunday I composed a poem about gun violence—it came unbidden throughout the day. It came from that creative, compassionate center of my soul that I do not control, but rather obey.

That’s how I know I’m in line with God’s will for me – He takes over and uses my gifts and my abilities to advance His Word, to do His bidding, to add my voice to the noise, to the grinding din that can overpower the still small voice within. Yes, God wants us to step up and be the one who goes for Him. First, though, He wants us to know what we are to do, and how, and when and where!

My prayer today is that you find a quiet place to spend time listening for the voice of the Lord. And that you declare, “Here am I,” when you discover what you are to do, and where, and how, and when.

Mary

Labels: activities, faith, faith journey, God's will, prayer

  ¶ 6:09 AM