The Gift of Peace

Sitting says to God: I need you!

Often, we don’t feel our need for God as much around the holidays. We might get a little anxious about all we have to do, but we figure—with a little help from family members—we can handle the Christmas baking and shopping and decorating pretty well on our own. I mean, what to get our father-in-law for Christmas hardly seems important enough to bother God with.

Come to think of it, wasn’t that what our friend Martha was doing?

She lost sight of her need for the Lord’s help. She was just bent on getting the help of that sister of hers!

Yet the Lord lovingly reminded her that needed His help. She needed His grace to serve. She needed to hear His voice to not be anxious.

Martha, Martha He tenderly chided her. I am the one you need to come to for grace and help in time of need – any need, no matter how small or great!

Notice that God didn’t wait until Lazarus’ death to encourage Martha to come to Him. He didn’t tell her to sit and listen only in time of great trial or difficulty. He spoke these words to her in the midst of the general busyness of her home.

"Take one step at a time, every step under Divine warrant and direction.” exhorts Charles Bridges. It’s holiday advice we’ve shared with you before, but worth repeating:

“Ever plan for yourself in simple dependence on God. It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without his counsel. He loves to be consulted...Consider no circumstances too clear to need his direction. In all thy ways, small as well as great; in all thy concerns, personal or relative, temporal or eternal, let Him be supreme. Who of us has not found the unspeakable 'peace' of bringing to God matters too minute or individual to be entrusted to the most confidential ear?"

No circumstance is too clear. No matter too minute or personal or temporal to bring to God (even your father-in-law’s present!). God is not bothered or offended by our ordinary, mundane requests. He loves to be consulted about the ordinary matters of our days, and our holidays!

Let’s bring our anxious souls to Him and receive the gift of “unspeakable peace.”