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| Source: thefreshexchange.com |
I have found myself needing to take frequent pauses to breathe and refocus this week.
Tomorrow I head to Kenya with a medical missions team to serve for two weeks.
Meanwhile, a hurricane has been barreling toward the U.S. East coast where I live.
As I write this, a dear friend is undergoing a bilateral radical mastectomy; another is undergoing imaging and lab testing for her thyroid cancer.
I find myself packing for Kenya, homeschooling the kids, ministering to our community group, cleaning the house, going to doctor's appointments, spraying my clothes with mosquito treatments, taking malaria prophylaxis meds (yes, my week has been very random!), lifting up my friends in prayer, packing the kids, planning out the next few weeks of homeschool, and basically, doing all.the.things.
This is a prime week--when operating in my fleshly default mode--to stress, worry, fret, and freak.
Instead (by God's grace!), I have been powerfully reminded of God's truth this week, and find myself stopping to breathe and press into God's sovereign grace in every situation that my friends and I are currently facing.
I find myself deliberately looking to God for my security, comfort, hope, value, and meaning this week.
I am actively rejecting the false story--that I must do it all (and do it perfectly!), that I can control everything (or if I can't, that I should!)--and accepting the true and beautiful reality of God's sovereign care and relentless love.
I am resetting my mind with this truth as it applies to my travel plans, my daily schedule, my responsibilities, and the health and well-being of my friends.
Because of this truth, I can chose to breathe, pause, pray, and carry on with complete peace.
It reminds me of a sermon given by our Pastor Ryan on the fruit of the Spirit of peace. He referenced a book called Overcoming Anxiety: Relief for Worried People that speaks on the subject. He told us to envision two circles: one large and the other much, much smaller. I immediately envisioned a circle the size of a three-story house, and another the size of a saucer. The huge circle would include all the things that lie within the realm of God's complete control, and the smaller, all the things I can influence. (Truly, God's circle envelopes this one as well, if we are to be theologically accurate, but for the purposes of our thought exercise, I will envision them as separate, as he did.)
Now, as I have encountered all of the trying things this week, I have paused to consider which circle this issue truly fell into:
Is Hurricane Florence headed our way? This problem falls into God's HUGE, three-story-house-sized circle. His problem, not mine. While I can look into the possibility of changing my airline tickets and prepare my home and household for the storm, I ought not worry and fret about a thing that only God can control.
What should I do in light of my son's willfulness while completing his math assignment? This falls into God's circle--only He can change hearts. While I can lovingly instruct, encourage, and guide him, extending grace and discipline when appropriate, God is ultimately in charge of his soul.
So far, I have discovered that there is really very little I can ultimately control in the grand scheme of things. Not a surprising revelation really, but I think that I often function as though I do have control, and I spend needless minutes and hours worrying about things that are completely out of my control.
What a waste of time, energy, and God-given peace!
This week, in my chronological Bible reading plan, I read a very fitting and powerful verse in the book of Zechariah:
"Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts....'" Zechariah 4:6
I've been mediating upon this verse in light of what God has been teaching me about staying calm and remaining in Him this week.
We don't get things done by might and strength--ours or anyone else's, for that matter. Things are truly accomplished by God's Spirit, in His timing, and in His perfect way.
I don't need to waste time worrying or trying to muster up enough strength to get things done. I need only trust in His spirit and lean into Him.
May we all lean into His peace this week, dear friend, with whatever storm (literal or figurative!) we might be facing. Let us...
Breathe.
Pray.
Meditate upon God's truth.
Trust.
Rest.
He's got this, friend!
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