Showing posts with label quiet soul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quiet soul. Show all posts

Waiting Expertise

I'm pretty much known for voicing my opinion. As you can imagine, I've found myself in many predicaments because I've said the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. My mouth was the reason I took frequent trips to the principal's office during my years in school.
I am also not a good waiter. Oh, I can wait tables - but I'm not good at waiting for stuff, or people either for that matter.

All of this was going through my head as I read Isaiah 30:15 this morning. It's a given that we are going to have times in life when we are just going to have to wait. So it's not really so much about the wait itself - but more about how we wait.

That's where being impatient and mouthy are a bad combination. Now, I have to say I have calmed down a lot over the last few years, but I've not gotten much better at being patient.

Isaiah 30:15 has always stuck out to me for a couple of reasons. So it's no wonder as I was studying about being still over the weekend that it was one of the first to come to mind.

In this scripture, God is calling His people to return to Him and rest. He says Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. Then it goes on to explain how His people would have none of it. They wanted to seek out their strength from man and his "wisdom" instead. Then on down in verse 18, it says basically that God just continues to wait on them to come back to Him so He can love them. He is so faithful.

I think I don't want Him to have to wait any more. That's the returning part. The waiting - in quietness - is more difficult. I can wait - if I have to. But I'm not real quiet about it. I'm not even very good at waiting in line at the store. I'll fidget and fuss. But you know what, it doesn't make the line move any faster. More recently, I've taken the opportunity to talk with others who are waiting too.

I've had lovely conversations with Veterans, elderly ladies and young mothers who were struggling. Found out, I can learn a lot while I wait in line if I am more observant of what is going on around me. And that just might be the key to waiting.

We already said the first step is to return to Him. Once we are at His feet, waiting is much more pleasant if we just watch what is going on around us. Here in this place where we quiet our souls at the foot of His throne we are going to more clearly see the workings of His grace. Not only around us - but in us. When we get ourselves quieted before Him we can more clearly see what He is doing. When we make a lot of noise we cloud our own view.

Today I am going to concentrate on waiting for Him at His feet. My efforts will be to return my soul to that state of quietly waiting on Him. It's a posture really. My meditations will be on His great grace and love for us and His unrelenting pursuit of us (of me). Today - I will let Him catch me. I will rest quietly in Him and trust Him for one more day - will you join me?

Step Out of the Traffic!

This has been a very busy week around here: supplies that do not come in, nurses that drop in unexpectedly, aides that don't show up (they're fired)  - and it's only Tuesday! For the caregiver it simply never stops! Life can be a tilt-a-whirl that never takes a break, just keeps spinning and spinning with no relief in sight. *sigh* Sometimes it seems we cannot even slow down enough to take a breath. It only takes a few minutes for everything to snowball on top of you when you are already underneath the load and emotions are already on "high."

Maybe it's just me, but in those times it can be very difficult to figure out what is the "right" thing to pray. After a few years of caregiving (or suffering otherwise) we've pretty well prayed it all out. That can add frustration too. So yesterday when it all caved in on me again I did what I taught others to do for years. I went right to Psalm 46:10. It's good in any version: KJV says Be still and know I am God. The NASB says: Cease striving and know that I am God. the CEV says it this way: Calm down and learn that I am God." The Message says it like this: Step out of the traffic! Take a long loving look at me, your High God. I guess that about sums it up...when life is overbearing, pain unmanageable, people not present - just be still, cease striving, calm down and step out of the traffic

When you live in the furnace like caregivers do life can become overbearing at any second. Sometimes we do good to even know we are saved! But when it is too much - it's time to quiet our soul in the presence of the One who created it... and say with or without breath -- I still believe You are God. Somehow this acknowledgement that doesn't really change anything....changes everything.

 Take a moment today to remember that He is still God. Remind yourself that whatever ongoing tragedy is occurring in our lives has not dethroned God. As we quiet ourselves simply in honor of His existence...the world becomes a much quieter place around us. He will give us strength to walk another day. 

Today I will remind myself that He is still God - has always been God - and will continue to be God. Be quiet my soul....He is still God!

The Chase

  This morning, I was reading about Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23. He was one of David's mighty men, and these three or so verses are all we kn...