Be Still.. Even in the Midst of Chaos

9:57 AMHeather

Mornings around here are rather like a fire drill.  That's a description I borrowed from a mom I greatly admire.  We give the kids a countdown till departure throughout the hurried mornings of breakfast, back pack gathering, shoe tying, and hair brushing.  Well, for our girl anyway--can't vouch for my two boys as to whether or not they actually brush their hair every morning.  Today was no exception--yet for some reason, I settled into my recliner with my coffee after the elementary kids left for school.  And, I was SHOCKED to see this video on a morning news station of a 3-year-old riding his scooter through the crazy rush hour traffic of a city in China.

When I dove into my Bible this morning, I was drawn to Psalm 46.  Maybe because I realized that I feel just like that little toddler.  Lately, my unwelcome yet familiar foe of anxiety seems to be visiting regularly.  It rests between my shoulders, like a huge weight that I cannot shake. I feel as though I am riding into chaos, with demands, tasks, expectations, and busy schedules darting all around me.  They speed by, threatening to hit me and cause sure destruction.  I feel as though catastrophe is crouched nearby, ready to pounce and destroy. 


I know I'm not alone.  Two precious young ladies I know and love are in the midst of planning their weddings.  An exciting time, for sure.  Yet the pressure of all that it entails must make them feel like that toddler--riding through rush hour, with stress and pressure whirling all around them.  The chaos threatening to steal the joy of the moment.  Or friends who are walking through health crises.  Peddling along, on their leisurely ride through life, with the buses of sickness and vehicles of fear and what if's heading right for them.  Will it hit them?  Will they feel the full impact?  Or will it narrowly miss them, leaving them whole and well, albeit scared and overwhelmed when it passes them by?


But, what a precious promise we have in God's letters to us!  He sees it all...like that overhead security camera in that Chinese city, catching every moment, detail by detail.  And, He has a remedy.  In fact, He IS the remedy.  


God is our refuge and strength,
an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the
earth give way and the mountains
fall into the heart of the sea, though
its waters roar and foam and the 
mountains quake with their surging...
The Lord Almighty is with us; the
God of Jacob is our fortress...
Be still and KNOW that I am GOD!
Psalm 46:1-3, 7, 10

Glimpse of grace:  When you see that video of the toddler riding through rush hour, do you feel surrounded by circumstances and demands swirling about you? Please let me share with you the truth that I found this morning.  It's the truth that will rescue you from the snares of this stressful, demanding life.  He it is.  Be still.  Find a comfortable chair...or drop to your knees.  And be still.  Quiet your mind.  Quiet your emotions.  Breath deeply.  For only then can you really grasp that He is GOD.  He is the Great I am.  He is the Lord of this day--every moment, every detail.  He is the God of our hearts and our plans and our emotions and our task lists.  He is the God of our relationships and our plans and our future and our circumstances.  He is the I am.  Not us.  We must be still so we can really grasp it.  We must be still so we can wrap our brain around it.  We must be still so we can surrender.  We must be still so we can hand over the reigns and let Him take the driver seat.  He has this.  We must wrestle it through Him--over and over again.  Moment by moment if necessary.  And rest.  Tune out the demands.  Tune out the anxiety.  Because He promises in Romans 15:33 that He is the God of peace.  This makes me realize that if I am not feeling peace about something then I have not let him be God of it.  I have not asked him, plead with him, to show up and fix it.  To show up BIG in my weaknesses and take care of it for me.  Why oh why do I peddle into the traffic of life without asking Him to go before me and direct the traffic?  
Just like that Chinese toddler...we will be saved.  We will be safe.  We have a rescuer--just like the police officer who returned that little boy to his home.  We have a Savior.  The One who set the world in motion, who spoke all that is into existence with his voice, who calmed the stormed and told the winds to stop...He is your Savior and Rescuer today.  And, He's got this.  Every detail of every burden that whirls around you.  Every circumstance threatening to hit and run.  Just be still.  Stop and pray and ask Him to take it.  Trust Him to carry you through your rush hour traffic.  No harm will come.  He can and will prove himself faithful.  It's his very nature.  To be the peace in our chaos.  The calm in our storms.  The rescuer from the perils and our Savior.  So, just be still.
 

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