Guest blogger: Dawn Levene - Finding peace in a chaotic world
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
How do you cope in this world where there is so much chaos and hostility? There are so many things fighting for our attention and time: work, home, school, children, listening to the news, and just trying to keep up with all that is happening around us. If we are honest with ourselves, many of us are anxious, afraid, exhausted, sometimes depressed, and even questioning ourselves as we fight not only external hostility but internal battles as well. The Bible does not deny the pain of our current situation and the brokenness in our world. But the Bible does provide a solution in the midst of all the chaos, a way through God to experience inner peace and freedom from fear.
In verse 1 of Psalm 27, David writes “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?” David knew that God is our supreme protector and guide who can empower us to face any challenges that come our way. With such a God by our side, fear is irrational. David declares his confidence in God because God was his main focus and the deepest desire of his heart. In verse 4 of that same Psalm, he declares, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” David’s desire was to live in an intimate relationship with His God. When we put God first in our lives, everything else falls into place. Our problems and fears become smaller in the light of God’s greatness. Our fear dissipates before His love. Our weakness is replaced by God’s strength. Our challenges may not go away, but we see them differently. And so, even in the midst of uncertainty and fear and chaos, we can hold on to God as our hope. As David proclaims in verse 5, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”
In Psalm 37:7, David encourages us to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” What is it that makes you restless, that keeps you from being still and waiting on God? What do you do when you do not get the result you want or think you need? David’s answer is to be still and wait patiently for him. To be still is to be silent, to stop, to rest, to trust, and to listen. To be still before the Lord is to live a life centered on God, a life devoted to God, to let God order our lives. In the midst of our chaotic world, God is inviting us to be still before Him as a way of life, and to wait patiently for Him. It is not a matter of how long we wait, but how we wait. Do not be anxious in your waiting, for when we worry during our time of silence, we diminish the quality of our waiting. We do not hear God clearly, and so we miss who He is and what He is saying. When we wait in silence, we open ourselves to His voice and to His loving presence, and we surrender our will to His will. Take a minute each day, maybe after your devotion time or before you fall asleep, to be still and silent before the Lord. No talking, no praying, no music, no sound, and if you find your mind wandering, just repeat the name of Jesus and center your mind back on Him.
What might God say to you in that minute of stillness? When we are still, God can shave off the things that are unnecessary so that we can tend to the things that are important. To be still before the Lord is not a time of inactivity, but rather of Spirit-led activity. It is not a time of shrinking away from injustice and brokenness of the world, but rather a prerequisite for engagement. For example, Mother Teresa spent hours in prayer so that she could attend to the poor and sick out of God’s strength. In our stillness, we shift our focus from our problems to our provider, from fear to faith. We make God’s presence our highest priority, so that He might increase our strength and confidence to face the chaos and hostility of this world.
God didn’t promise us an easy life free from pain and hardship. But He promised that when we do feel burdened by the broken world, when we go through suffering, when war and conflict are raging around us, we can still have peace through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
How do you cope in this world where there is so much chaos and hostility? There are so many things fighting for our attention and time: work, home, school, children, listening to the news, and just trying to keep up with all that is happening around us. If we are honest with ourselves, many of us are anxious, afraid, exhausted, sometimes depressed, and even questioning ourselves as we fight not only external hostility but internal battles as well. The Bible does not deny the pain of our current situation and the brokenness in our world. But the Bible does provide a solution in the midst of all the chaos, a way through God to experience inner peace and freedom from fear.
In verse 1 of Psalm 27, David writes “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?” David knew that God is our supreme protector and guide who can empower us to face any challenges that come our way. With such a God by our side, fear is irrational. David declares his confidence in God because God was his main focus and the deepest desire of his heart. In verse 4 of that same Psalm, he declares, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” David’s desire was to live in an intimate relationship with His God. When we put God first in our lives, everything else falls into place. Our problems and fears become smaller in the light of God’s greatness. Our fear dissipates before His love. Our weakness is replaced by God’s strength. Our challenges may not go away, but we see them differently. And so, even in the midst of uncertainty and fear and chaos, we can hold on to God as our hope. As David proclaims in verse 5, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”
In Psalm 37:7, David encourages us to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” What is it that makes you restless, that keeps you from being still and waiting on God? What do you do when you do not get the result you want or think you need? David’s answer is to be still and wait patiently for him. To be still is to be silent, to stop, to rest, to trust, and to listen. To be still before the Lord is to live a life centered on God, a life devoted to God, to let God order our lives. In the midst of our chaotic world, God is inviting us to be still before Him as a way of life, and to wait patiently for Him. It is not a matter of how long we wait, but how we wait. Do not be anxious in your waiting, for when we worry during our time of silence, we diminish the quality of our waiting. We do not hear God clearly, and so we miss who He is and what He is saying. When we wait in silence, we open ourselves to His voice and to His loving presence, and we surrender our will to His will. Take a minute each day, maybe after your devotion time or before you fall asleep, to be still and silent before the Lord. No talking, no praying, no music, no sound, and if you find your mind wandering, just repeat the name of Jesus and center your mind back on Him.
What might God say to you in that minute of stillness? When we are still, God can shave off the things that are unnecessary so that we can tend to the things that are important. To be still before the Lord is not a time of inactivity, but rather of Spirit-led activity. It is not a time of shrinking away from injustice and brokenness of the world, but rather a prerequisite for engagement. For example, Mother Teresa spent hours in prayer so that she could attend to the poor and sick out of God’s strength. In our stillness, we shift our focus from our problems to our provider, from fear to faith. We make God’s presence our highest priority, so that He might increase our strength and confidence to face the chaos and hostility of this world.
God didn’t promise us an easy life free from pain and hardship. But He promised that when we do feel burdened by the broken world, when we go through suffering, when war and conflict are raging around us, we can still have peace through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
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