Finding Calm in a Busy Day. Abingdon
when suddenly the winds of change start blowing, and before you know it, you’re totally off course.
Of course, it’s good to make plans. It’s just better to realize that your plans and God’s plans may not come together. He is, after all, the Creator. He creates change as he sees it so that you accomplish what he has in mind. He may not cross off the things he wanted you to accomplish in a day, because he carries a life planner and checks your progress with that. You’re here on a mission, and he wants to be sure you get things done.
As you look at your plans today, consider taking them up a notch. Start by planning to spend time with your Creator, getting his blessing for the things you’ll accomplish today, things that you and he can do together.
Your mission today: spend extra time with God.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, thank you for having big plans for my life. Help me stay connected to you in a way that keeps the path clear for me to achieve the goals you have set for me. Amen.
The Spirit of Truth
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.
—John 14:15-17
Truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God. That thing we swear in courtrooms is an elusive notion. Your truth may not be the same as someone else’s. It doesn’t mean one of you is right and one is wrong; it means there may well be separate truths.
When Jesus sent us the “Companion,” who is the Spirit of Truth, he did so that we might know truth and be set free from the little prisons we slip into in our own minds. He didn’t just lend us the Spirit of Truth, he gave us a lifelong companion who would live with us forever. You know him and you recognize him, because you received Jesus.
We live with the Spirit of Truth. We may or may not wish to always know the truth, because we sometimes prefer to bend it or shape it to fit what works best for us, but we have the option of seeking real truth. We have the opportunity always to replace our own thoughts with those that line up more precisely with the One who shares life with us all the time and knows us better than we know ourselves.
May truth prevail in all that you do today.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, thank you for your precious Spirit of Truth. Thank you for giving me the freedom to always tell the truth as your Spirit guides me. Amen.
This Thing Called Love
May the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you.
—1 Thessalonians 3:12
Love is such an awesome concept, it’s often hard to define. Sure, we think we have a grasp of what it means to love. After all, we love our spouse and our children and others in our family. We have a reasonable sense of love.
But it may be time to turn up the heat. What would it take to increase your real understanding of love?
Like most things, love thrives on attention. In fact, it often demands attention. It grows with genuine interest and effort. It takes shape through good times and bad times. James Bryden said, “Love does not die easily. It is a living thing. It thrives in the face of all life’s hazards, save one—neglect.”
God is interested in how we experience love, and he does not want us to neglect it. His love for us is steady and strong, and he wants ours to be like that with others and with him.
Love is a living thing, and you and God share a love that is a match made in heaven.
Today, pour on the love everywhere you go.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, your love for me and others is beyond me, beyond my understanding. I know it’s real, though, and I know that more than anything I want my love for others to grow. Please help me embrace all you want me to know about love. Amen.
The Strength of Gentleness
Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near.
—Philippians 4:4-5
Most of us really appreciate being around people who exude kindness and gentleness. We may wonder what it is they have that gives them the strength to be like that. We may marvel that they are so consistent in their mannerisms, so quietly confident in who they are. They treat everyone they meet as though they were lifelong friends. They’re strong, and we admire them.
Those who are confident in who they are, who lead with integrity and fight the good fight, have no need to come out in a raging fury. They know that more can be accomplished for the good of all others by a gentle spirit. As it says in Proverbs 15, “A sensitive answer turns back wrath, but an offensive word stirs up anger.”
May gentleness stir in your heart today, coming to your aid when someone is unkind, standing up for you when someone bruises your spirit, and guiding you when you can’t quite find your way. May the gentleness of Jesus permeate your soul and fix itself on those who come into your midst. As you show them your gentle spirit, God will show them his.
Even in chaos, show a spirit of gentleness and love.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, you so often deal gently with me. Help me keep my head around others today, giving them a gentle touch of love according to your will and purpose. Amen.
The Drink That Refreshes
Both fresh water and salt water don’t come from the same spring, do they?
—James 3:11
During winter months, we may love to dream about sandy beaches and warm salty water. We imagine the sounds of seagulls and ocean waves and shells along the shore. We love it until we need a nice cool drink. Hmmm . . . imagine being surrounded by blissful breezes and burning sands but with no cold refreshing drink. Everything is salt water. It looks like water, sounds like water, but it can’t refresh you from the inside. It only leaves you feeling drier and thirstier.
Life can be like that. We don’t notice whether we’re being nourished because for the moment we’re being satisfied. Once the illusion fades, we catch the reality like we just stepped on a jellyfish. We are almost startled