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Keep Calm and Carry On . . . Even in the Chaos

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“Whenever my busy thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight.” 
Psalm 94:19 TPT

‘Keep calm and carry on’ is an old saying that’s been popularized in the United States over the past few years. As I entered a thrift store in South Georgia a few weeks ago in search of a foam topper mattress cover, you can bet that saying was rolling off my lips. I love a good deal, but this was the most disorganized and disheveled store I have ever seen in my life. It was total chaos! As one who thrives on orderliness, you can imagine my inner turmoil. How does anyone find anything in this mess (see the picture)?

There were people everywhere, a long line at the checkout counter, and no sales person to be found! “Keep calm and carry on. You can do this. Persevere. Find what you came for, and get out,” I kept telling myself. It took a while to maneuver through the aisles and customers, but I eventually scored BIG with a three-inch queen topper and mattress cover for $20 (they had a half-price sale that day – Yes!).

Reflecting on that frenzied adventure, it reminds me of how I feel when busyness, stress, anxiety, or worry creeps into my life. Like the theme verse above, my thoughts seem to plummet out of control, leaving me confused and bothered. I long for a reprieve from the perceived bedlam and distractions around me. Time is easily wasted on needless concerns that seldom occur. My focus is skewed. I long for delight instead of disarray.

Can you relate to this scenario? Oh, how we desperately need the presence of God during fretful seasons of life. “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ Isaiah 41:13 NASB His promises are available if we will but claim them. The assurance of His peace and comfort is ours when we leave the clutter at His feet. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NASB

My friends, hectic days will come from time to time. But you don’t have to stay there. God will see you through as you yield your thoughts to Him and trust Him to provide the calm to carry you on.

 

[Digging deeper – Ps. 22:24; 32:7-8; 37:5; 55:1-2, 16-17, 22; Jn. 14:27; 2 Cor.10:5; 1 Peter:5:7-8]

Surviving the chaos,

Beverly <><

 

 

 

Photo credit: photo by Beverly Lussi

Complacency

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“Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions. And they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity. But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles. “
Lamentations 2:14 (NASB)

They don’t claim to be prophets, more like marketing agents or advertisement executives. They may not claim to speak for God, but they do an excellent job of turning our attention away from Him. I believe the enemy likes to work smarter, not harder. By this I mean he knows he doesn’t have to plan and manipulate Job-like (AKA: extremely terrible) circumstances for Christians to become ineffective. If he can simply distract us from loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, the result is often rendering us impotent.

While I don’t personally know many of you reading this, let me ask you to please get vulnerable. Pretend we are sitting in front of a cozy fire (sans kids!) with a cup of coffee in our hands and allow me to ask you… do you know your “Achilles heel”? Do you know what easily distracts you from living for God’s glory? If you asked me I’d be honest and tell you it’s nutrition and exercise. Those are certainly not bad things. But if I let them consume me, or make them a priority over God, they’ve become an idol. And that’s not good. I know for some of my friends it’s social media or their kids. Loving our kids is a wonderful thing! But if we place them on a pedestal before God, we’ve put them in a position God never intended them to be.

I would encourage you to take a moment and think about some of your weaknesses the Devil can easily tempt you with. Next, I’d encourage you to look up some scriptures to meditate on when you feel an attack from the enemy. Maybe having an accountability partner is what you need. Don’t let the enemy rob you of your effectiveness for God’s kingdom. Put on His armor and stand ready for battle!

God bless!

Noree

 

 

 

Photo Credit:   https://www.pexels.com/photo/apple-coffee-computer-desk-356056/

Sincere until the day of Christ

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“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ”
Philippians 1:9-10 ASV

The word ‘sincere’ in the verse above has a very interesting history, and was only used twice in the New Testament (the other is in 2 Peter 1:3). The original Greek word used was eilikrines, which could be a combination of the two words heile which means sun ray, and krino which means judged; in other words ‘judged by sunlight.’

Why would the word sincere mean ‘judged by sunlight’? Well, when devious ancient potters used to find a crack, they would fill it with wax and paint over it so that the customers would not be able to tell the difference between a good pot and a bad one. However, if someone held a pot up to the sun, if there was a crack, the wax would be revealed and the inferior pot would be discovered. Good pottery would be marked with the words sine cera, which meant ‘without wax.’ In other words, sincere meant that the flawless pots could be judged by the sun and passed the test. Another possible use of the word eilikrines involved honey, because it could be held up to the sun for examination, and could be judged clear and pure (without wax). About half of modern English Bibles (NKJV, NASB) translated the word eilikrines to sincere and the other half (NIV, ESV) chose the word pure. Both words effectively give us the definition of being tested for faults and found clear, or judged and approved.

A person who is sincere is someone you know you can trust. The person isn’t hiding anything or trying to be deceitful, so you know that he or she is presenting you with real authenticity. If we break down Phil. 1:9-10, we can see that according to Paul, the way to be sincere and pure is to focus on gaining knowledge and discernment. None of us is capable of being pure (without wax) on our own strength because we are all sinners, but the more we put our effort into striving to be more like God, through studying His Word, discerning what is right and wrong, and loving others, then the more we will be sanctified by the Holy Spirit as we live our lives. In turn, these things will help us serve effectively until Jesus returns. And let us all remember that Jesus already paid for our sins, so if we are saved, then when we are judged by the Son, we are already found to be clear.

Your sister in Christ,

Erin Tabor

 

 

Photo Credit: My own photo