Even in the unstable environment in today’s world, we can have faith, strength, and courage in Christ (Joshua 1:9). With a world-wide pandemic, increasing violence, mounting natural disasters, social injustices, out of control fires, record flooding, the forsaking of traditional values and lifestyles, etc. there is no need for us to entertain fear at any level (Isaiah 43:1-3).
If we allow our thoughts to run wild, we will panic, and fear will be fueled by the vain imaginations that we entertain (2 Corinthians 10:5-7). Keeping our focus on God and His plans for us in His timing and way helps us to keep our equilibrium through these and other trials.
The first time I sat in my quiet place and waited on God was eye opening. Negative emotions such as fear, confusion, distress, distrust, and dread filled every recess of my soul. The reams of pages in my journal contained the struggles I went through to release my negative thoughts and feelings from my soul and to place them in the heart of God.
When my duties called me back to the hustle of life, I wistfully longed to return to that place of abiding, which I found in my quiet place. I felt bereft, as if I lost something that I had not even discovered yet, and this sense of deprivation overwhelmed me. As we listen to God, He will tell us where He wants us to wait on Him as our quiet place.
It may be the park, the attic, the basement, a tree in the backyard, or any other place that He wants to use to get our undivided attention. Then, we take the time to get rid of the inner clutter of our thoughts and emotions. We encounter and experience a wonderful emptying meeting with God’s Holy Spirit.
Sure, the sad thoughts make us cry, but as we write all our thoughts and feelings down in the pages of our journal, the happy thoughts make us laugh, and God helps us to empty our mind of the inner clutter resident there. Since this time in my life, I spend hours waiting on God, and not necessarily in my quiet place; but everywhere I am and in every moment of the day.
Prayer:
Father God, thank you for these times of intimate focus on Your presence within me. During each one, I come to experientially know for myself the love of Christ in His sacrifice for us all. I am humbled by the import of His death, resurrection, ascension back to His glory in Heaven, and that He will return for His bride at the end of the age of the Gentiles (Matthew 13:39-40, 24:3).
We are so privileged to have Your Godhead filling our entire being with all Your fullness, and to have the richest measure of Your intimate presence in us as we are transformed by Your Spirit to become a body completely flooded with You. The amazement of this realization surpasses anything this world has to offer us, and this experience sustains us now and into eternity, regardless of our trials in our lifetime
(Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible).
Thoughts for the Day:
The peaceful void that remains in me after each time of reflection and taking my thoughts captive is rewarding. Once my soul is an empty book, God writes in me His Words of Truth. He gives me His strength in my inner being from the rich treasury of His glory, and He makes His permanent home in my heart so I can live in a position that is securely rooted in His love.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Ephesians 3:16-18, Amplified Bible
