Thursday, January 11, 2007

It's alright, relax...

Some of God’s greatest masterpieces are found painted upon the canvas of a pond by the late afternoon light. The lightly wind rippled surface of the water comes to life in vivid color as the sun fades into twilight. I’ve always enjoyed spending time out near or on the water; I have found no better place to go relax, think, and pray, than leaning on the railing of a dock and looking out over the water. Looking out upon the reflected sun setting sky, God impressed upon me a metaphor for life. Like the water God has painted a reflection upon Christians. John writes in His first epistle that no man has seen God, rather God reveals himself to the world through those He indwells; we are to be a reflection of Jesus. Much like the pond is rippled by the wind marring the reflection, we can be as James writes in a similar analogy, like a wave tossed and turned in the sea. It is without a doubt we will face great struggles in this life, we will face great pain in this life, and we will face great opposition in this life; our lives can be choppy and at times our lives could suffer fierce storms. But we can not let this deter us, for there was once a great storm that caused great panic, but with three words the raging winds ceased: “peace, be still.” It was Jesus who awoke amidst upon the Sea of Galilee to His disciples full of fear and stress at the tempest that engulfed them and it was Jesus who said “peace, be still” to the storm, and it still Jesus today who when problems arise in our lives and we are full of fear and stress that Jesus says, “peace, be still.” It’s a bit funny though, I mean think about it: was Jesus talking to the weather? Honestly, I don’t think He was; He’s God, to calm the storm would take no more than a thought, maybe even only part of a thought, but He definitely wouldn’t have needed to speak or even wake up for the matter. Jesus did not just calm the storm by saying, “peace, be still.” Don’t get me wrong, Jesus did calm the storm, but He said “peace, be still” to calm the disciples as well. I think if we were to modernize that phrase a bit it would be more like Jesus saying, “it’s alright, relax.” In order to live this Christian life without going halfway past insanity into the realm of dye your hair TBN pink or falling off the edge morality into the depths of sin and shame we as believers have got to learn to relax, even when the world is ripping apart at the seams. “Relax? Relax?! How in the world can I relax in a time like this?” Hey, God is still in control, God knows what’s going on, God is going to get your through this. Take a deep breath, remember who God is and relax; stressing yourself out doesn’t help anything. Relax, praise God, keep going, and watch as He works His miracles. It’s alright, Relax…

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