How we need this in our lives. Gaylene shared at church council meeting how we need to take time out of our busy schedules to just worship God quietly. Maybe the phone can ring, maybe kids can wait, or work stuff can be ignored. It's o-kay to have people wonder what happened to us when we do not blog, or facebook for a while. Life can easily bring us to despair if we choose. And there is the answer. If we choose to use excuses to carry on our lives our way, it will carry us away from God. Take time today to reflect.....is it about me or is it about Him? The Greatest Joy will come into one's life when we take time for him and Worship....Stanley Cup was exciting and brings instant joy???? but 24hrs later, we are faced with our own lives again. What Joy when we can come to him and experience this peace that actually lasts.
Devotional for Tuesday, March 24, 1998 by Donald Bartow
Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The desire, ability, and reality of trust are not determined by your outward circumstances. This depends upon your inward spiritual depth. The storms of life may buffet, but the ship of trust cannot sink. It will remain afloat by the grace of God.
Two artists were commissioned to paint a picture of trust and confidence in the Lord. The one painted a beautiful pastoral scene. The meadow was green and aflame with blooming flowers. The sky was exotic blue and dotted with playful clouds. Cows grazed in the distance and a happy family sat on their back porch serenely surveying the tranquillity of the moment.
The second picture depicted one of the most devastating storms imaginable. The sky was ominous, the lightning sharp and terrifying. The heavy rain was lashing against the rocks and added force to the raging waterfall. The trees nearly touched the ground as they bent before the onslaught of the wind.
A close inspection revealed a small bird in the cleft of a rock unruffled by the storm. Underneath the picture was the one word, Peace. This one was chosen because it depicted the peace of God in the midst of the turmoil of the world. You can trust Him at all times and in all ways.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for Your peace which passes understanding even in the midst of all our problems. Amen.
(From The Ministry of the Master ©1986 by Donald Bartow. Used by permission.)
