A Prayer To Live In Peace During Turbulant Times Around Us

 So many things take place on the surface of our lives and we get distracted by these events, even tossed and turned in our thoughts and emotions about it all.  We carry tension, worry, fear, anger, distress as a result.  God invites us today to remember that God goes before us and is with us.  He will never leave us nor forsake us so we need not be afraid nor discouraged.  His promise is clear:

The Lord himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.”  Deuteronomy 31:8

That’s why we come together each day to reflect on a few sentences from the Bible and then to speak to God about them.  We want the truth that God so lovingly shares with us to not be wasted but rather that we will be filled up with how good God is and how safe and steady we are when our lives are settled in His care.  So, if God is with us, leading us, never failing or abandoning us then surely we can encourage our hearts by saying:

Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!”  Lamentations 3:24

If you’ve been around me long you know that one of my favourite Psalms – one of the little ones – is Psalm 131.  This is just 3 little sentences that tell us to not get worked up about things that are beyond us – either good or bad – but rather to settle down and settle in to God’s care just like a little child rests in His mother’s arms after feeding and being cared for.  Here’s the Psalm

Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me. Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother's arms, so my heart is quiet within me. Israel, [insert your own name here], trust in the Lord now and forever!  Psalm 131:1-3

Now the real question always for me is what I’m hanging onto and what I am willing to let go into the care of God.  What am I worried about?  What is upsetting me?  What is confusing me and seeming to complicate things around me?  What do I think I need to figure out in order to be more in control of what is going on? 

What giving up my pride and arrogance as this Psalm instruct me usually means is that I have to let go some things that I don’t currently have answers for or let others off the hook for something I want them to explain or make right that is not likely to happen.  I have to be willing to let events – even major ones like this pandemic – swirl away around me – but find peace and rest in the reality that these are not things that are mine to solve.

God’s call on my life and yours is to find peace and rest close to His heart.  Have we done that?  None of the wild thoughts and what seems like solutions rolling around in us will be likely be even close to what’s needed anyway until we’ve done that.  Panic and fear and anger short circuit clear thinking and so we need to find a place of security and peace. 

So let’s pray this Psalm again and I’ll pause a couple of times so we can make it personal.

Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me

[Take a moment and name those things to God].

Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother's arms, so my heart is quiet within me.

[Let’s be still and quiet for just a moment and be conscious of God’s love surrounding us]

Israel, [insert your own name here], trust in the Lord now and forever!  Psalm 131:1-3