Dwell in that holiness ...

When exhaustion sets in after a long day of work.
When you have had a friend hurt you.
When nothing seems to go right for you.
When you are so tired you don’t know how to think straight.
When you feel the weight of the world crashing in on you.

What do you pray?
What do you say when you have no words for what has happened to you today?

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13

That is how I feel right now. I have that feeling like I have zero energy left to give anyone. Do you feel that way right now? Do you know what that feels like? I am sure you do. Each day is different. Some are harder than others. Life can very easily get out of control. We just spent close to 14 hours at a show barn. Calves were showing, pigs were showing, the boys were doing their best not to get too stressed out and frustrated. It was noisy, and at times it seemed like it would become so noisy that you couldn’t even hear yourself think. You would have to yell at times to make sure the other person could hear you. As I sat there waiting for the next boy to be called to go out and show, I felt this overwhelming need to be in silence and in a different environment for just a little while. I told the other houseparent that I was just going to step outside for a breath of fresh air, and as I slid open the barn door, there it was. God was saying slow down, calm down, breathe.

There before me was the most beautiful sunset. The clouds were just perfect across the horizon, the beams were going in just the right direction, the breeze was just perfect. I sat on the grassy hillside and just breathed. I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t think of what to say to my God. I couldn’t think of how to word my feelings. All I could get out was: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name!” I knew that my God, the holy one, the creator of the universe, the one who breathed life into myself, my loving and wonderful wife, my three beautiful children, and you who read this, was also right there with me and maybe he had planned this sunset just for me. Maybe he had brought it all to be just to help me feel at peace. I felt wholeheartedly that I could say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

I knew at that moment that even if the world crashes in around me, my God is there and he is at work. He may be calming a storm on the other side of the world, healing someone in New York, listening to a prayer from a five year-old little boy, but he is also right there calming me and bringing peace to me. Our God is holy! He is mighty to save us all and he is right there where you are right now.

Dwell in that holiness.
Sit in that peace.
Walk in the knowledge of his love.

If you are having problems praying today, remember the prayer that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, taught us to pray!

Jason