It’s April 22nd. I have been thinking about all the things that I could write about this evening – among them I have thought about the need for “quiet” tonight. I have been on the run since 8:00 this morning and it’s getting close to 11:00 pm and I’m still not done for the night. In fact, it’s one of those days that has been non-stop and when I finally got home, all I wanted to do was to watch television and be QUIET. No phone calls, no additional emails – just quiet. Things are so crazy right now that the work can’t all possibly get done. So what to do? Take things into my own hands or trust God?
It seems that whenever I go through these hectic periods in my life, I have to re-address this issue about trusting God. Every fibre in my being is screaming for quiet – yet there is another small voice letting me know that I should be more trusting of God. After all, isn’t He the one who puts people in front of me who need assistance? Didn’t I run into people even last week who needed somebody to speak to about their problems? And I know that God will accomplish His purposes whether or not I am responsive to His call on my life, but do I want to miss out on the blessings that God will pour down on my by being available to answer the call? If I opt for seclusion and quiet, I may miss out on something that I am supposed to experience.
The simple answer here is that I choose to trust God. In fact, did you know that today is a very important anniversary? It was this day, April 22, 1864 that Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864. It wasn’t some long, drawn out law. But it did impact the way we think about our currency. Because the Act mandated that all gold and silver coins bear the inscription, “In God We Trust.” Come to think of it, those are still good words for us today – in God we trust.
Whenever I re-affirm my decision to trust God, a divine peace comes over me. It’s like I can rest in my decision, and then not only do I have peace, but I also have QUIET. The very thing that I have been searching for. So it’s late, and I’m tired, and I’m choosing to opt for communion with God. But first, the verse for this evening is from Acts 19:36, “Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.” Seems like a somewhat complicated passage, but it really isn’t. Because when we get overwhelmed, we tend to rush things and get all amped up. Then, we react negatively and make rash decisions that don’t serve either us or the kingdom of God very well.
My encouragement this evening is that God wants you to trust Him with your life – your eternal life. And when you do, you will experience the peace and quiet that come from having a personal relationship with Him. My prayer is that God will bless you with the peace and quiet that we all yearn for and that a deeper relationship with Him will result in a level of trust that you have yet to experience with the Father. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…