As I write this devotional, I am on the back porch of my dad’s house in a quiet southwestern Minnesota town. His house looks like a Lincoln log home and it sits on an inland portion of a lake. The sun rises and sets so beautifully in this little place...I love the peace that settles over me while I visit.
Last night, however, on the eve of our arrival, there was a big scuffle to go outside. My parents, siblings, spouses and children were all in a rush to go out back. I was a bit confused wondering what everyone was doing. I wasn’t sure what the big rush was for, but I sure didn’t want to miss out, so I trailed behind only to arrive on the deck to see everyone standing still, looking over the lake at the most spectacular scene. As I raised my gaze, I saw the why behind the unusual scuttlebutt. There, rising over the lake, was the slightest sliver of a blood moon peeking out from behind the cornfields in the far distance.
As I sat there in awe, I thought how ironic that we all rushed out only to sit in peace where we witnessed God’s creativity unfold before our very eyes.
You see, I have had been living my life with a whole lotta rushing over the previous seven months, but the rushing was not towards a place of peace! In fact, a few days before I left to visit my family, I was rushing from one meeting to the next - literally running down the hallway of the school. As I ran, I passed a sweet coworker. As I arrived at the doorway, it occurred to me that we were going to the same place. As I looked back down the hallway, I witnessed her steadily sauntering in my wake, unaffected by my rushing.
In that moment, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me, reminding me that I am the Lord’s emissary who represents His Kingdom. It felt a little like a sock to the gut as I humbly asked myself this question:
“As His trusted ambassador, what does my gait represent to those around me?
Panic?
Fear??
Anxiety???
None of those are Kingdom attributes...If I am honest, unlike the psalmist in chapter 39, my only hope in the rushing moments is based solely on my ability to git-r-dun. That hope is sure to let me down as my flesh has proven time again to be fallible. But what if the Lord was in fact my only hope? My living and breathing hope? How would the cadence of my life recalibrate if I sought His will and allowed His Way to be evident as His emissary? How might my speech change? How might my character change if I trusted in the Lord alone to “git dun” what only He can do through me? Yes, we have tasks and responsibilities, however, I wonder if the pace might change if we rushed to His Presence first thing each morning with the same effort and fervor that we do with our never-ending to do list? Oh, Holy Spirit, let us rush only to the feet of the Father so that He might determine our marching orders each day. It is only then that we can keep a peace-filled cadence with our King!
Points to Ponder
1. Colossians 3:17 NLT says that we are representatives of Jesus. Do my words and actions represent His Kingdom?
2. Colossians 3:12-17 give us a recipe of what it looks like to represent our King. Is there an ingredient (command) that could use some attention? (i.e. (Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.)
3. How might my marriage or children’s live affected if I fully surrendered the pace of my daily life to the Lord’s leading?
Music to Meditate
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