Tag: StillSmallVoice

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Just Breathe

How are you going to spend your day? Do you have a list of projects that need to be completed? Are you travelling to far away places? Do you think your activities are mundane and uneventful? Or do you possibly have a “big” appointment that could be life changing?

As you hurry through your morning or stop to have a quiet cup of coffee and reflective moment, I want to encourage you to start your day praising God for the blessings in your life. You have breath, you have a computer (if you’re reading this), you slept in a bed, you have some degree of health and wealth and you have God’s promises to never leave you or abandon you!

Yes, so much to be thankful for. Just breathe!

I was reading the last chapter of Luke. Jesus disciples and apostles had followed him for 3 years. They thought he was going to set up an early kingdom, overthrow the Roman oppression and bring peace to their nation. He had died, they were dejected – He brought them hope after His resurrection and now he was leaving them again but this time they had new prospective.

What did they do?

“Jesus led his followers out of Jerusalem almost to Bethany. He raised his hands and blessed his followers. 51 While he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven. 52 They worshiped him and went back to Jerusalem very happy. 53 They stayed at the Temple all the time, praising God.” Luke 24:50-53 ERV

They spent their time praising God!

What a great way to pass the time while you’re waiting in traffic, while in the checkout line that seems to be at a standstill, riding on a bus or commuter train, waiting to be served in a restaurant or on hold waiting for a live person to take your call.

Wherever you are waiting today, wait on the Lord – praise Him and He will fill your life with joy and just breathe!

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And Now It’s Still

For the last hour we experienced a mighty, rushing wind. No, not the one from the book of Acts but the kind that comes sweeping across the plain and down the rock face.

It started at 2:30 am and now it’s 3:45 am and all is quiet. It’s still.

I was concerned. Do I go outside and fold down the chairs and table? Is it strong enough to blow the grill off the picnic table? Are all the compartment doors on the RV storage securely latched?

And now it’s still.

Dave’s back in bed and I’m here, contemplating the calm with all of you.

I remember when we bought our home in Montana. The sweet lady we purchased from gave me some excellent information. She said, “Kristi, you have never experienced one of our snowstorms. The wind will blow the snow sideways. It will blow in without warning. It looks like a blizzard is setting in, but wait. Wait thirty minutes and it will all be over”.

That first snowstorm came just like she said. The wind, the pelting snow and I waited. Thirty minutes, I watched the clock. And it was over.

Now it was still.

Life’s winds will blow. It can be disconcerting, distressing. But the storm will cease. It will pass.

“After sending the people away, they took Jesus with them in a boat. It was the same boat He used when He taught them. Other little boats went along with them. 37 A bad wind storm came up. The waves were coming over the side of the boat. It was filling up with water. 38 Jesus was in the back part of the boat sleeping on a pillow. They woke Him up, crying out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” 39 He got up and spoke sharp words to the wind. He said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be still.” At once the wind stopped blowing. There were no more waves. 40 He said to His followers, “Why are you so full of fear? Do you not have faith?” Mark 4:36-40 NLV

And now it was still.

When the winds come it’s important we remember God’s promise – I will never leave you or forsake you. He won’t abandon us in our storms. He’s with us in the boat. Let’s take our cue from Jesus – He isn’t worried and we shouldn’t be either.

He’s in control and now it is still!

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Silence Is Golden

It’s very hard to sit quietly, wrapped in silence, when there are things to be done. My morning quiet times used to be short lived because I couldn’t quiet my mind and I would feel the need to get up and get things done. But sometimes, God just wants us to sit quietly – rest in the peace of the moment and be still.

What do you do when God seems silent? I’ve been sitting here this morning listening to the silence. With Easter just a few days away I’ve tried to image what it was like for the disciples in the days that followed the crucifixion.

Jesus is dead!

Each one must be feeling alone; their doors are locked, fear that they will be arrested next and the possibility of their death is forefront. After all, they were Jesus’ closest friends. There is nothing to do but sit and be taken over by the silence.

The One they followed, the One they loved, the One they thought was going to deliver them from the evil Roman rule is dead!

He died so late in the day that they didn’t really have time to prepare his body properly for burial. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped his body in linen and buried him in a tomb hewn out of rock and covered it with a stone but there was more that should have been done. Now it’s the Sabbath and work is forbidden so they have to wait…wait…wait.

“Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. 40 The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. 41 In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. 42 The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.” John 19:39-42 CEV

Nothing is really written in the Bible about what the disciples were doing or how they were coping. Matthew is silent, Mark is silent, Luke and John write nothing of the devastation that the disciples must have been feeling. Is that because there are no words to express that kind of deep hurt and desperation?

Silence!

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Psalm 46:10-11

I hope this verse came to their minds. I hope they remembered the words Jesus spoke just hours before when He said “Don’t let your heart be troubled, don’t let it be afraid”. I hope they found comfort in being alone with God’s words.

In those times when it feels as if my world has come crashing in and no one cares, no one sees what I am going through – when I’m silent, I find hope in knowing that He IS God and I’m not alone.

Silence can either be dark and deafening or golden and filled with light. If we let the Lord’s presence fill our silence with hope it will be golden.

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