Friday, July 24, 2009

#43: All Out of Steam

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God;”


One of my favorite things to do as a child was play with balloons. It must be inherent to our human nature because every kid I know seems to love them too. When I was little I was drawn to balloons like a moth to a light. If I saw them at the fair, in a store, or in a restaurant I felt as if I had to have one. Of course the ones with helium were the best because you could inhale all the helium gas and it made you talk funny. Out of all the balloons I played with the latex ones were always the best because when the helium was gone you could still play with them.


Over and over again I loved to blow them up and let them fly around the room. Spitting and spluttering as they expelled their contents was just great fun and joy. I know it had to have driven my parents crazy as I and my siblings blew them up and let them go again and again. The Bible is so true when it says that whatever you sow the same shall ye reap (Galatians 6:7). Because now my kids do the very same thing to me and they are oblivious to the fact that it drives their parents insane. All they, like me as a kid, know is that blowing up and releasing balloons is great fun.


As my mind travels back to those childhood years it reminds me of how life today sometimes resembles the blowing up and releasing of a balloon. Our lives get filled up with so much stuff to the point that we are bulging at the seams with business of life and then we blow all over town trying to get it all accomplished before we have to rush off and do more stuff. Many families eat their meals in the car racing from event to event until finally at the end of the day we collapse in a heap on the sofa or in an easy chair and drift off into a restless sleep because our minds can hardly slow down long enough to rest.

Where does God fit into all this? Nowhere if we are not very intentional. You and I have to be very intentional about our walk with the Lord or God may very well get left out of the equation of life because He is not screaming louder than the things of lesser importance. It may sound strange to some of you but unless you plan to spend time with God each day the chances are really, really slim that you will do so. And if you try to navigate the craziness of this life on your own friends then you will quickly run out of steam. I want to encourage you all this evening to turn off the TV and spend more time with God. Get out your Bible and start reading about the goodness of God’s love and how He longs to give us peace and rest.


I don’t know about you, but I could use a little more peace and rest at the feet of Jesus. Why not stop letting the temporal things of this life dictate the relationship you have with God? Why not be still each morning, sometime throughout the day, and each evening and know that He is God? You will find rest that the world cannot give and you will discover that your stress level will go down because as you pause you can give those things that bring stress over to God.


Dear Father,

We thank You that You want us to be still and know You. Please intervene in our lives Lord and helps us to make You a priority every day. Please help us to not get so busy that we forget about the things of eternal importance. I pray that we will all allow You, dear Lord, to be our comfort and our salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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