Peace – PJ's Monday Musings

5 things you need when life goes sideways

Last week, life went sideways at our house…

On Thursday night, our 16-year old son was diagnosed with diabetes, which set off an unexpected domino of events that included two ER visits and a hospital stay in the span of three days.

“Normal” is a thing of the past for us now…but really we’re just a little ahead of the curve as we all adjust to the “new normal” ahead of us in a post-pandemic world.

Life has gone sideways for many of us for different reasons, and it will continue to go sideways as long as we live in a world broken by sin.

So, I started thinking…

(Actually, if I’m honest, I went into survival mode.)

What did I need to get through the last several days?

Really, what do we all need when life goes sideways?

I’m sure the list could be longer…even should be longer. But, I’m keeping it to five today, and I hope that these five things will help/encourage you the next time your life goes sideways.

Number one: You need to remember that the LORD is your strength.

The Bible is literally full of verses that remind us of this, but today I stumbled on this one…

“Praise the LORD! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” (Psalm 28:6-7)

Number two: You need to remember that the LORD’s mercies are new every morning.

In other words, every day you get a full helping of God’s mercy…and He’s not stingy with it.

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Number three: You need to remember that God’s grace is sufficient for whatever it is that you are going through.

The important thing to remember here is that you are not sufficient, but God is. And, he’s not stingy with his grace either.

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” – the LORD speaking to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9

Number four: You need to remember that the trials we go through are meant to make us stronger, not weaker (see number three).

The trials we go through are part of living in a broken world…yes. But they are not purposeless or even necessarily punishment for sin. In fact, we need trials to make us stronger in our faith and in our dependence on God.

“…when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

Number five: You need to remember that you are not meant to go through life’s challenges alone.

When life goes sideways, you need people in your life to mourn with you, comfort you, encourage you, and just be there for you. It’s no wonder that the Bible is full of verses that talk about caring for one another.

“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Like I said, this list could go on and on and on. But, I’ll stop at five.

As I think back on the last several days, I am thankful…

…that the LORD has been my strength,

…that I’ve woken up every day to a full helping of his mercy,

…that his grace is sufficient for whatever the “new normal” is going to be,

…that this trial is helping me depend more on him every day,

…and that my family has been surrounded by so many people who have loved and encouraged us as our life went sideways.

Monday Musings: waking up with a case of the anxious Mondays

Woke up today with a bad case of the anxious Mondays.

It’s often what happens when I wake up before my alarm goes off, and my mind starts going through the day (and the week) in front of me.

As I was lying there in bed with the anxiety levels rising, I remembered a dream that I had just had that night.

(I know…super random. But just hang with me for a sec.)

I was in the ocean on a boogie board…and this huge wave was starting to form a little further out from where I was paddling.

And, I realized in that brief moment that I had to stare at the wave that it was either going to come crashing down on me…or I was going to ride it.

If you’ve ever been out in the ocean on a surfboard or a boogie board or even just body surfing, you probably have experienced the difference between a wave crashing down on you and catching one perfectly.

When a wave crashes down on you, it’s a helpless feeling.

You just end up getting thrown around in every direction until the wave decides it’s done with you.

Needless to say, it’s not a good feeling.

But, when you catch a wave perfectly and you are riding it the way a wave is meant to be surfed, it’s an amazing feeling.

The chaos the wave creates is still there, but it doesn’t affect you the same way it does when it’s crashing down on you.

Instead of feeling like you’ve been stuffed into a washing machine, you feel like you’re flying on water…which is probably why surfers risk so much to find the perfect wave.

Anyway, back to the dream.

I had two choices in the brief moment I had staring at that wave.

I could either sit there and do nothing and let it crash down on me…

Or, I could start paddling as hard as I could and try to ride it.

When you put it that way, it’s an easy choice…right?

So, I started paddling and paddling and paddling, but also bracing myself for that wave to come crashing down.

And, the next thing I knew…

I was riding the wave.

Even in the midst of so much force and power and water crashing around me, I was in the perfect spot to ride it out…and it was strangely peaceful.

Okay, so what’s the point?

Life is a lot like being in the ocean trying to catch a wave.

Sometimes, those “waves” come crashing down on you, and sometimes you find yourself riding the “wave.”

This morning, I had a choice to make.

I could either sit there and let the wave of anxiety that I woke up with come crashing down on me…or I could start paddling.

I chose to start paddling.

I started remembering specific promises of God that help me when I feel anxious.

I prayed through Philippians 4:6-7.

I spent time reading God’s Word.

And, the next thing I knew…

I was right where I needed to be…riding the wave, so to speak.

The day is still in front of me.

I still have anxious thoughts about the week.

But, they’re not crashing down on me anymore.

And, I’m starting my Monday in peace.

If you’re like me, and you woke up today with a bad case of the anxious Mondays, you can either sit there and do nothing…or you can start paddling.

Here’s a couple of verses to help you start moving…

⁶Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

3 You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in you,
    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
⁴Trust in the Lord always,
    for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4

When what you are looking for feels like a never-ending game of “hide & seek”

Presence and Power.

For me, those two words are the simplest and strongest daily reminder of my need for God…for His everyday presence and power in my life.

Over and over again in 2020 (and now 2021), I have witnessed God’s presence and power both in big, headline-grabbing ways and in small, more subtle (and personal) ways.

Over and over again, I have experienced His presence and power in the form of things that we all need, but can’t seem to find in anything (or anyone) else.

Here’s just the beginning of a list of things that we all need and are looking for right now…

We all need hope…and He is the God of hope. (Romans 15:13)

We all need peace…and He is the God of peace. (Philippians 4:6-7)

We all need comfort…and He is the God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

We all need grace…and He is the God of grace. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

We all need wisdom…and He is the God of wisdom. (James 1:5-8)

We all need love…and He is the God of love. (1 John 4:7-8)

We all need strength…and He is the God of strength. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

I could go on, but the point I’m trying to make is this…

God’s everyday presence and power is real and we all need it.

Just stop for a second and think of all the ways we’ve been looking for these things outside of God just in the last twelve months…

We’ve looked for hope in our government.

We’ve looked for peace in our coping mechanisms.

We’ve looked for comfort in our personal idols.

We’ve looked for grace in our relationships with those who disagree with us.

We’ve looked for wisdom in our memes and social media feeds.

We’ve looked for love in our love of self.

We’ve looked for strength in our individualism and independence.

The bottom line in all of this is that when we look for these things outside of the everyday power and presence of God, we will never find what we are looking for.

And, our lives end up being like a never-ending game of “hide & seek.”

God’s everyday presence and power is real…

It’s real in the form of hope, peace, comfort, grace, wisdom, love, strength, and so much more.

What do you need today…what do we all need today?

You need God’s presence and power…and He’s not hard to find.

You just have to look in the right places.

“Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

“¹²In those days when you pray, I will listen. ¹³If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. ¹⁴I will be found by you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:12-14a)