Quiet My Soul

“The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty One will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

I absolutely love this verse! One morning I was feeling exceptionally overwhelmed and really needed some encouragement. I took the kids to school and came back home to steel a moment with the Lord before work. (Something I should have already done) Normally I don’t do the open your Bible and read where it falls technique, but this particular morning, I had no idea where to go. I asked God to speak to me through his word and desperately just opened my Bible. 

It fell to this passage. As I read it carefully, I began to weep as I saw the Lord trying to tell me how much he not only loved me, but that he rejoices over me. I can be so hard on myself, and every time I mess up, I feel like I have disappointed God in some way. What a blessing to see that he is so glad when He looks at me that he sings joyfully! Can you just imagine that? It’s a little hard to picture. Despite my faults and sins, God still loves me so much that he rejoices over me. How cool is that?!

Not only does he rejoice over me, but he quiets me with his love. Oh how my soul needed calming that morning (and so many other times). Another translation reads “With His love, he calms your fears.” How many times have my anxious thoughts caused a battle in my mind and heart? The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6 to “Be anxious for nothing,..” What a great truth to know that he calms us by his very own love. To me, it is truly amazing that the one true, powerful, holy God loves me like that, affectionately and personally. 

So now, when my heart is racing, I tell myself that God quiets me with his love. When I feel lonely and low, I remind myself that my Heavenly Father is rejoicing over me with joyful songs. How can I remain sad and anxious with knowledge of this truth?  The next time you feel anxious and alone, meditate on this verse and allow God’s love to calm your fears and quiet your soul.

Get it Together!

So encourage each other to build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Many of us know people who appear to have it all together. Sometimes we feel intimidated by people like that. They seem to have great marriages, great kids, good jobs, and are spiritually mature. And the fact is they may have or be all these things. However, that doesn't mean they don't struggle with issues just like everyone else. That doesn't mean that at some point they were not intimidated by others who looked like they had it all together too. It just means at some point during their spiritual journey, they realized things had to change, and they sought guidance from the One who really does have it all together. They grew spiritually and let God have more and more control over their lives. But by no means does that imply that they don’t have trials. Everyone has days when they feel less than adequate. They have frustrations, doubts, insecurities and go through hard times.
 
Then there are people who look like they are doing everything right and with ease. But that is only what they want others to think. In reality their lives, in part or in whole, may be in shambles. They are afraid to let anyone see what things are really like. Perhaps it is a control issue or they don't want to be embarrassed. Maybe they feel like they will let people down if they knew how things really were. In any case, there is no need for other people to feel insecure or intimidated by someone who appears to have everything under control. Fact is few people do.
 
When my children were preschoolers, a fellow mom and I were talking and she was surprised to hear me talk about being stressed. She said, “but you always seem to be so calm and together.” My jaw dropped, I'm sure. I almost looked around to see who she was talking to! I could have kept her there for days filling her in on my insecurities and self-described short comings. Once a new friend at church read a post of mine and told me, “it really makes me feel better to know that someone as spiritual as you has problems too.” I just stared at her, dumbfounded. I wanted to crawl under the table. Oh my, if she only knew! Yes, I knew scripture, but I often struggled putting them into practice just like she did. Spiritual? I sure didn't feel like it.
 
Most people who appear to “have it all together” are often just trying to keep it all together. They would welcome an encouraging word, or it would make their day to know that someone was thinking about them. We usually tend to reach out to those we know are struggling, and we should. But even those who appear strong sometimes feel weak. Life still gets hard and knowing someone cares could make all the difference.

In Disguise

Even Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light.     2 Corinthians 11:14

I saw a license plate this week that had the number 666*---. I thought to myself, “I would ask for a different plate! There’s no way I would ride around with that license plate on my car.”  When I told my husband about it, he said, “Well, maybe they had it made that way.” 

“I don’t think so; it looked like a regular car that you and I would drive.” I replied.

The number 666 has always represented evil, so wouldn’t that person’s car look, well, black or beat up or have evil bumper stickers? Of course in my mind evil was supposed to be easily recognizable, visible to any observer. Not always so, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” Satan is dark and evil, light is good. So he disguises himself to be more appealing.

Sin is often that way. It appears to be pleasurable or “ok”, but in reality, it’s just Satan’s deception to blind an unbeliever to the truth of his need for Jesus. For a believer, he causes her to lose her joy and peace, maybe even her family and feel shame and regret. Many extramarital affairs start with compliments or “innocent” flirtations. Many people lose their careers over a choice to take money that “no one would miss.” Going out with friends is OK; you need to let off steam, but what happens when that occurs so often it takes you away from your family? You begin to want something else and become dissatisfied and discontent. Gossip can even be disguised as prayer requests!

So how do we know that something is a sin, even when it is disguised as something harmless or even good? Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” First of all, God’s word is THE first place for direction in our lives, the place to determine right and wrong. When we are full of God’s word, he will make the path clear. If you are still not clear on whether something is harmless or not, ask God. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.” He will not rebuke you for asking.” It never fails, when I have asked God for wisdom in a matter, he always comes through. However, whether we listen or not is up to us. The Spirit of God is here to help us do the right thing. (John 14:26)

We as Christians have available to us the help we need to discern between good and evil. We have to listen and obey. It is so very important that we do. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23.