Perfect Peace
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)
Finding peace is a challenging thing. This summer, my wife and I are entertaining our oldest daughter’s children. That’s five of them if you do not know. So, we must be flexible with children ranging from the 16-year-old to the soon to be 2-year-old. Having them requires a lot of planning. What do we make for dinner? How much cereal are we buying? What plans have we made for the day? All of this takes time where I find myself thinking about these things while still working and trying to stay on pace with my Christian obligations like writing my devotions (oops 😊). I love doing all these things, but finding time is often a challenge, particularly quiet time. The danger of these new responsibilities for me is dismissing my quiet time. “There are far more important things to do,” is my logical answer to the situation. When that happens, I will eventually find myself in a lowly depressing place. Like I am drowning in the water, and I cannot swim. In these times, you feel like the only thing you can do is cry for help, and yes, I mean cry. It is there that God always finds me and brings me peace.
When you do not plan for God, you soon find you are lost. Today’s verses have been a constant in my devotion writing and life in general for it is also a beautiful song I learned years ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdYYCUoKH9M). It is a reminder that we live in a world where there is much expected and can at times be overwhelming between responsibilities and activities. Yet when we are burdened, we have a savior that we can always go to and rely on. This is easy to remember and should be easy to follow through on. The issue is that life can always produce ways to cause us to trip up on this simple act. Whether it is grandchildren, a relationship, work, or any combination of things, the key is to dedicate time toward focusing on Jesus Christ. If we have a routine that is being interrupted, acknowledge the issue, and find another time. Be deliberate in ensuring that we prioritize that quiet time with God because when we do not, one of two things could occur. The first is we lose sight of God simply because we are overwhelmed. The second is even more dangerous. We get so good at managing the busyness of life such that we believe we ourselves are God. God becomes an afterthought, and thus when we get hit with something monumental, we fail and go down a tailspin that may lead to a far more disastrous outcome. No matter which traps we might fall into, we have one word to God that can fix it all. Help! Jesus’ words are not just an invitation. They are life preservers.
Jesus Christ is always there when we need Him most. We all think at times we can walk on water like Peter. This part of the story surmises where we are when our burdens are too great, and we need help:
But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, [Peter] was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Jesus did not say this to let Peter know he could not walk on water. He said it to remind him He is always there to help when he did. Someone once told me that you do not ask for help because you are weak and cannot manage it. You ask for help because you are strong and realize you are not supposed to do everything. Let us remember God is always there for us if we ensure our availability for Him. What are your warning signs that you are neglecting your time with God? How can you better plan your time with God to endure life’s challenges? My prayer is that when chaos and mayhem enter our routine, we remember the words of Isaiah 26:3 to find our ‘perfect peace.’
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Amen.