Pursue Peace

Recently a kid moved back in with us.  Her second night she came to me and said she was having trouble sleeping because it was just so quiet.  I told her that her life had been filled with chaos and she had been running and avoiding God.  That God will meet us in the chaos but he often wants to speak to us in the quiet.  That she had to quit avoiding it and see what he had for her in the quiet.  I went to bed that night and thought how true that was in my own life and in the life of many I know.  Please understand I am not writing this to "call people out" but if it does speak to you(because it is very much for me too!) maybe you will think about it like I have been recently.  How QUIET is your life?  I often turn music on in the background while I am getting ready and while I am cooking.  It is often on and loud during my car rides.  I know people who turn the tv on while they are doing housework so there is noise in the background.  People cannot sleep with out a fan or a sound machine or the radio on.  We don't like quiet.  We don't seek it out.  Even when we go for a walk often we grab our headphones.  Don't get me wrong music and tv are not bad things.  I watch many a tv series and I love music.  That is not where I am going with this.  I am asking myself and you...when do we just sit in the quiet and praise God for who He is?  When do we just let him meet us in the silence?  I have found over the past year or so that the Lord will wake me up for hours at a time and the more I think about it, the more I am convinced he just wanted to be with me in the quiet.  I LOVE sitting during the daytime at my table and reading and watching outside.  Now that it is warm I will move to my outside table.  But I want to make myself more aware of God being with me during that quiet.  I want to be more aware to not always fill my quiet time in the kitchen with the radio.  I want to invite him into the quiet over my stove.  I want to turn the radio off and invite him into the quiet of my car.  I don't think every time God wants to speak profound truth to me.  Actually He rarely does(probably because I am not seeking it near enough) but I think sometimes he just wants to be with me.  He wants to bring some stillness and some quiet and some much needed peace to my life.  I often hear Christians talk about that peace is one thing they very much struggle with in their life.  Maybe it is because we often chase it away.  We are stealing our own peace.  We blame Satan for a lot of things on earth that I believe are actually our own fault.  My own sin nature will reach for chaos and noise.  I am sure Satan uses that against me sometimes but often it is my own doing.  I am really trying to be more intentional lately to seek out quiet.  I know many of your reading this have little ones at home.  When they lay down for a nap be intentional about seeking some quiet.  One of my favorite times of my day is when I look at Dustin and say "All the kids have had showers and chores are done. I am going to take a bath."  He knows it is my quiet time.  I close the door.  I run some really hot water.  I leave my phone out of reach and don't take a book.  I just sit.  I pray.  But a lot of times I get out and realize I just sat there.  I didn't even overthink anything.  I just sat.  I have felt bad before for not utilizing that time to pray more and there are definitely times I should have.  But now I am wondering if maybe God knew some days I just needed the quiet.  That he met me right there and just sat with me.  That is such a lovely thought.  God cares about me and loves me enough to just join me in the quiet.  Ask yourself where you are chasing away the quiet.  Where could you seek to cut down some noise?  Where does God want to just sit with you?

There are SO many verses on peace, quiet, and being still.  But I will leave you with these.  We must pursue peace because it is of God and he wants it for our life.

1 Peter 3:11 "They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it."

1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace."