Your Constant Source of Stability

April 26, 2013 | My Jottings

When I was a teen, there were some people my parents knew who were predicting that World War III was just around the corner. My parents weren’t buying it, but I recall reading the Xeroxed words of this prophecy of sorts, and feeling disquieted and unsure. What would World War III do to our country, our planet, or even our family?

Just a year or two later, my parents’ thirty-one year marriage ended, and the aftershocks from that event felt worse to me than any war.

There’s so much that threatens our stability. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, plagues, recession. Drought, illness, divorce, infidelity. Addiction, selfishness, pride, worshiping at the altar of self. Isolation, deception, poverty, dishonesty, greed. And I’m sure you could probably add a few of your own thoughts about what threatens a person’s stability.

My own sin can undermine my stability. My prideful tendency to face the day in my own strength instead of humbly relying on the Lord minute by minute to guide me and enable me to love and care for those in my home, this feels unstable and precarious.

Here’s where I go when I’m beginning to feel a little wobbly, a tad bit unstable in my ways of thinking and doing.

DSCN2133

It’s my place of refuge in our bedroom, the big overstuffed chair by the windows that overlook Lake Superior two blocks away. And sometimes I turn the chairs so I can just spend time looking out over the water. I do my Community Bible Study here. I enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart (Psalm 100:4) by writing in my gratitude journal here. I think most of you have been named in that journal. 🙂 I sometimes write out my prayers here, calling out to God to help us and to have mercy on all the ones I love. This is a place of praise. And it’s a place of quiet, where I try to be still and know that He is God.

Here’s the passage of scripture I’m meditating on today:

He is your constant source of stability;
He abundantly provides safety and great wisdom;
He gives all this to those who fear him.

Isaiah 33:6 — The New English Translation

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I know a woman whose special place to meet with the Lord is in her car. I know another who prays when she gardens or shovels snow. I have a friend who begins her day talking to the Lord and praising Him in the shower. I have another friend whose small bedroom has become her altar. Most of us have heard the account of how Susannah Wesley’s meeting place with the Lord was underneath her apron, pulled over her head. Where do you go most often to meet with the Lord?

How thankful I am today that no matter what theatens to undo us or to steal our joy and peace, there is always a place we can go to meet with the One who is our constant source of stability.

Blessings,

Comments

  1. Roberta says:

    So happy to read this post, Julie. I agree, we can reach out and be with the Lord, anywhere, anytime, since he is always there to be with us, and happily so. I am becoming more comfortable in the knowledge that the important thing is for me to be more aware of his presence.

  2. Just Julie says:

    Very well said, Roberta. He is always with us. I think I need those set-apart times to remind me of that, and to listen more closely to Him. You are a blessing to me here…. xo

  3. Ember says:

    A good question. Increasingly, the answer is, I go where I can be alone. I value immensely the company of my family, and delight in the interesting people I meet. But to be with Jesus, I seek solitude not crowds. xxx

  4. Just Julie says:

    Yes, Ember. And your new book will show this very well. 🙂 The more alone time I have, the better I feel in almost every way. God bless you today Ember…. xo

  5. Ganeida says:

    I have used the car, the shower & the garden but if I really need to get away I head into the mangroves. So still. So quiet. So blessed. However many times during the day I’m more like a small child clutching at their mother’s skirts. You know, just put out my hand to touch Him & make sure He’s still there. He always is. 🙂

  6. Just Julie says:

    I love your last sentences, Ganeida. Beautiful, and so encouraging. xxoo

  7. Shari C. says:

    Thanks for sharing the beautiful verse from Isaiah, Julie. I love that translation of it.
    You know the book “Practicing His Presence” by Brother Lawrence? A long time ago, when Bruce was in grad school, a friend challenged me to practice meeting God throughout my day, while working, doing chores, etc. I can’t say I’m a master of it yet, but when I think of meeting God, it’s funny how doing chores is the first place that comes to mind now. I do really like to go outside, when the weather is nice, and be with Him there, best of all 🙂

  8. Just Julie says:

    Hi Shari! I have read that book and would like to read it again, because I’m not very good at communing with Him like that in the midst of my “chores.” I love to go outside at night when the sky is clear, and ponder His sufficiency when I consider the work of His hands. 🙂 Love to you dear friend… xo

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