Smoothing out the road

It has been a while...18 months since I last updated my Blog. I took a look and it has had a little over 13,000 views. Not too bad ...lol

I sit in my office today as the road crew replaces the street in front of the church. Normally, the birds are singing and the odd car drives by. Today, there is a constant roar of a machine eating pavement. And in a few days, that noise will be gone and the new road will be complete.

Our minds can be like that pavement machine – every now and then it gets loud, noisy, the earth shakes, things look terrible and traffic slows to a halt.

Watchman Nee said, “An unpeaceful mind cannot operate normally. Hence the Apostle teaches us to “have no anxiety [stress] about anything” (Phil. 4:6). Deliver all anxious thoughts to God as soon as they arise. Let the peace of God maintain your heart and mind (v. 7).

I would like to share some Scriptures with you – Scripture to help bring peace back to your mind:

Philippians 4:6,7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all 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.”

Dr. Henry Brandt puts it like this:

TAKE A STEP
Find a little time to evaluate your reactions to your current situations.

What is keeping you from experiencing God’s love, joy, and peace?

Are you willing to yield yourself to the Lord?

Are you willing to release the emotions to Him that are affecting your life in a negative way?

Do you truly desire His peace?

Ask God to fill you with His peace and to show you how you can change.

My final thought...The road eventually will be smooth, once the builder is finished with it :)

The calm after the storm or just the eye of the storm?

Sometimes the storm of life rages. It rages hard, it rages violently, it rages and it looks like it'll never end, then there is calm. Now when the calm comes, it is one of two types of calm. A calm of the storm being over, or a temporary calm - the eye of the storm.

Either way, there is peace - even if it just for a moment. The calm after the a storm is the type of calm that is restful. You know that the storm is over. You know that it is time to rebuild, time to clean-up. 

Then you have the calm of an eye of the storm. This type of calm is often short lived. It is a temporary reprieve. You can take a breath. But the storm is still there - it is half over, but for sure there is more to come. It does however give hope. You made it through the first half. 

Today, I feel like I'm in the eye of the hurricane. The first half of the storm has been rough. My entire family is sick. Call it stomach flu, call it GI infection - it's been a rough 36 hours.  My wife and daughter are on the mend. My 2 sons are just starting to get sick, I have been sick off and on for a week, but I feel pretty good today. 

Today my prayer is this - It is found in 1 Samuel 25:6 “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own!"

What ever peace you are experiencing, or even if you are going through a storm right now - hang in there :) Peace is on the horizon :)