God is in the pause

It's 7:30am, and your alarm starts going off, again and again. In your conscious mind you know that you should really get up because you have an important meeting in just an hour and a half, so you try with all your might to summon the urgency necessary to get up, but to no avail.

Yesterday was an extremely busy day, and you're so physically exhausted that it seems that your body just won't allow it right now, so you hit snooze button, and go back to sleep for another half an hour.

At least, that's what you intended to do, only now you're waking up 50 minutes later than your alarm was set! Now you're really behind, so you rush to get up, and instead of enjoying your morning it's more like a rude awakening as you try, body still exhausted, to play catch-up, as you feel your back start to seize and your blood pressure spike, and you only have time for some quick prayers, and then to jump right in the shower.

Hey it's better than nothing, you try to tell yourself, and that might be true. But aren't you at a stage in your growth where that's really not what you're shooting for, ESPECIALLY before an important day like today?

After scarfing down a breakfast bar, and jumping headlong into the shower, and then racing to get your clothes on and make yourself presentable, you start your car's engine, and begin your commute.

As you make your way onto the Thruway you start to realize that you're making good time, and your body starts to relax, thank God! You sigh with relief, but simultaneously shake your head at the regret of waking up late, and having to put yourself through this, especially so early in the morning. Ugh! 😩

Then, by the grace of God, a lone sane thought comes into your mind as if carried by an angelic messenger, "Hey, you know what, you can Pray for a few minutes now while you're driving. It's never too late to start your day over!"

You then come into agreement with these Divinely Inspired thoughts, and allow yourself to get quiet, not just superficially, but from the depths of your heart and soul, and you begin to Pray. You ask God to forgive you for the mistake you made that put you into such a frenetic, and ineffective state, and it feels like He puts another lovely thought into your head, and reminds you of a verse of scripture to meditate on, Psalm 46:10, "be still, and know that I am God."

And there it is . . . As you continue to Pray and meditate on God's Word, and bask in His Presence, you begin to FEEL BETTER!

Now your emotional, and mental state, heck even your physical state are COMPLETELY different than they were only minutes before, and now you aren't even conscious of those undesirable events that took place that same morning. It's like they never even happened! 🙏🏼 Praise The Lord!

Yes, many of us have had, and unfortunately can relate to the first half of this little story. But, Praise be to God, we can relate even more so to the second half of it!

It serves to remind us of several lessons:

1.) Unfortunately, because we're human, no matter how much we grow, or how well we're doing in a particular season of life, it's still inevitable that we're gonna mess up at certain points

2.) However, whenever we mess up, however great or small, we can turn to God through Prayer, ask Him for forgiveness and He begins to wash us clean by the blood of Christ, and by Grace through Faith, we can receive that forgiveness! As 1 John 1:9 tells us,

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

3.) As several passages of scriptures indicate to us clearly, and warmly invite us, we can not only start our day over at any time, but we can find the perfect peace and ease that our souls long for, if we just take some time, slow down, and be silent in God's Presence,

Psalm 23, 1-3

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Psalm 46:10,

10 "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Isaiah 26:3

3 "You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You."

So there you have it, what great news to those of us who believe, and have access to this love, grace, and Power from our Heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who resides in us!

When we mess up, whether great or small, God doesn't want us to drift into hopeless condemnation, nor does he want us to slip into prideful denial where we willfully, and arrogantly try to double our fleshly efforts to make up for that failure in our own strength. No, both of these methods are guaranteed to end in disaster!

Our Heavenly Father instead wants us to simply open our hearts to him, confess and repent for whatever wrongs we have committed, or simply the part that we played in the situation, and genuinely ask for His forgiveness, and help, and guess what? He is Faithful to give it to us, wash us clean again, and even eventually make us feel better! Yes please, sign me up for that! 🙏🏼😀🙌🏼Then we can really be free enough to be fully present, as we turn our thoughts and attention towards the next task at hand, and those around us that we can help, and be a Blessing to, with far more effectiveness than ever before.

Yes we can truly start our day over at any time, if we can only remember that . . . God is in the pause

Questions and Reflection:

Can I think of a time or two when I messed up and it sent me spiraling down the wrong path like a snowball of anxiety and fear?

How did I typically respond to these situations?

Did I ask for God's forgiveness, and pause to be still and know that He is God?

If not, what can I do better to memorize His Word, and be more prepared to pause and react differently in a similar situation next time?

Prayer,

Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for who You are, and for Your unfailing love and faithfulness to us!

Lord, please pour out an extra special measure of Your sweet Holy Spirit, and give us the grace and power to want to spend more time with You in Prayer each day, and meditate on your Scriptures so that they seep deeper into hearts and minds, and allow us to be transformed so that we naturally develop a new instinct and reflex when times are tough.

That when we mess up, and things seem to start spiraling out of control, and we are tempted to be anxious, we might instead stop, pause, and turn to you ever more closely in Prayer, and meditation on Your Word.

That we might let You wash us clean, as we learn to simply "be still and know that You are God," and worship your irresistible presence in sweet silence.

In The mightiest Name of Jesus we Pray, Amen.