In The Quiet

I was sitting here at the house this morning, working from home, more exactly working from the dining room. The house is quiet, Kyle has long ago left for work and the interns just recently left for church. I’m sitting here enjoying the quiet, one of the cats is on the chair next to me curled up for a nap the other is sitting in the window sill watching the birds and whatever catches her eye outside.

There is stillness and a peace that I don’t often get to enjoy in my own house. Yes I have some time to myself in the morning after Kyle leaves and the guys are still in bed, but it is just different when the house is truly empty. No TV, no CD player, just quiet a time to sit and enjoy.

It is in the quiet times of our life that we find out who we are, it is in the stillness that we really hear not just our own thoughts, but our own heart. You can’t run from yourself no matter how much you try. No amount of external noise will cover the real you that is in your heart, no amount of drugs or alcohol will cover the ache and cry that is in there. For me I know that I am in a good place with myself and with God when I am happy in the quiet.

I am home this morning because of circumstances that are not the best, but if we take the time to be quiet, good will come of it. Last night we had a little crisis in our house, a cell phone went missing. Well this morning sitting in the quiet I hear this sound coming from out in the garage. I go out there and sure enough I find the missing cell phone in the garbage can. It’s hard to know how it ended up there, but I know that had I not taken the time to just be quiet that phone would probably have ended up in the landfill.

Thank you Lord for the quiet.

New Peace

21 Days of Focused Prayer – Day 6
Romans 5:1-2; 14:17-19; 15:13; Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6,7 (New Living Translation)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Paul is not calling for apathy or inaction, for as we make plans in the light of our circumstances, it is our Christian privilege to do so in full trust that our Father hears our prayers for what we need. The answer to anxiety is "prayer". Paul attaches to this classic exhortation to pray the beautiful promise that when we turn from anxiety to prayer and thanksgiving, God will give us His own "peace." This peace of God "transcends all understanding," for it is not only sufficient for us but far surpasses human comprehension. It acts as a sentry to guard our hearts and thoughts from all anxiety and despair.

Peace is the presence of God, not the absence of conflict. Christ brought, preached, and is our peace.