I always forget how busy spring semester is. I know that at the time I originally wrote this devo for Coffee Shop I had a paper to write about a book that I was only half way through--due at 8am. I also had a Discipleship Group to prepare for, homework for a Doc Smith class and I’m sure something to prepare for New Creation tour in two weeks (super excited).
Last week I nearly shut down because of the amount of things I had on my plate. It is truly only by God that I got through that week. But it was about that time that I began searching for what my topic would be for last night’s Coffee Shop devo. After a few days of prayer and looking for inspiration it all hit me. I had just laid down to go to sleep, put my phone on the night stand, rolled over and woosh! A lot of thoughts just came rushing to my head and I figured I’d better write them down. I ended up writing about two pages of notes in roughly thirty minutes and then finally fell asleep with my mind reeling.
What is a more obvious topic to talk about when you’re stressed and have so many to-do lists they’re coming out of your ears and your room is beginning to look like a disaster? How to find peace. How to find stillness, quiet, rest, etc.
I have found out from Ministry as Life’s work and Models of Leadership that I am not an emotional person. Sometimes I don’t know how to deal with my spikes in emotion, much less dealing with others lol. So whenever I’m faced with these spikes in emotion I turn to who I think was the most emotional writer in the Bible--David. David has an uncanny ability to express his emotions honestly and clearly.
Thankfully, I had to memorize one of David’s Psalms for D-group last year and it frequently comes to mind when I am stressed and desire peace.
Psalm 131 says:
“My heart is not proud O LORD,
My eyes are not haughty,
I do not concern myself with great matters;
or things too wonderful for me.
I have stilled and quieted my soul.
Like a weaned child with it’s mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
Both now and forevermore.”
The part that I end up repeating over and over in my head and say it almost with the exhalation of a deep breath is: “I have stilled and quieted my soul.” This is what we want! If you’re anything like me peace, stillness, quiet, rest is what you want in times of stress. Yes, you may want coffee to keep you going in the busy times lol but the 30 seconds you have to sit down in a chair (even if it’s an uncomfortable one lol) are bliss. This stillness and quiet David talks about has penetrated all the way down to his soul his very core/essence.
What comes before that verse? (go ahead and scroll back up and find it.)
“My eyes are not haughty, my heart is not proud O LORD, I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” I believe David is expressing humility in these verses. I would also venture to say that this peace and stillness is a result of that humility.
How do we learn humility?
Humility stems from our perspective, namely our perspective with God. I know that whenever I look at the stars I almost want to stop walking and just stare and marvel. God created all of this with a breath. Billions of stars, so far away that it is silly to measure with conventional distance. In stead we have to measure in terms of the speed of light. Tell me that gigantic balls of burning hydrogen light years away is not humbling.
Two other things that makes me stop and stare are sunsets and sunrises.
God creates these things to remind us that he is not only 1) incredibly creative, 2) powerful enough to move and paint the sky just to remind us that he is a beautiful powerful God.
Psalm 19 says:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
We need to realize that our position with God is tiny. We are like ants to God and have no value. The only reason we have value is because He says so. When you realize this it’s a humbling experience.
Consider Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Part of the peace we want comes from prayer. Prayer changes our perspective with God. I think it is appropriate, since we are talking about humility and prayer, to discuss prayer postures. I want you to try praying on your knees. We, in western culture, don’t really ever bow or submit ourselves physically to other people so this will be entirely new. Yes, your knees will hurt after about the first ten seconds lol. Push through that and try to pray as long as you can in this position of submission.
I would encourage you to at some point this week find time--no, make time to spend in devotion to God. To tell Him, and yourself, that He is still your first priority. Pick your busiest day next week and carve out time for the Father. Skip lunch if you have to. “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col 3:2)
Last week I had a day like this where I just needed to set aside time for Him and I skipped lunch. I thought I would be hungry, grouchy, and stressed about losing time that could have been spent working on something. But I was actually more relaxed and at ease.
[Review] We want relief from stress (i.e. peace, quiet, stillness, etc.). Where do we find this? David seems to suggest it’s from humility. Humility comes from having the right perspective with God. We can really understand the correct perspective on God through prayer and considering our relationship to Him.
So how do we practice humility?
Practicing humility has to deal with your thoughts about others. When you begin to think of others as higher/greater than yourself is when you truly begin to practice humility.
I can hardly write this devotion without thinking of my best friend, Tyler. I have never found such a loving and fulfilling relationship. Not even in my imagination could I have seen this level of peace, love, comfort, accountability, and wholeness. Why is this friendship so special? To put it simply, selflessness and humility. If Tyler and I were to ever argue over who would have a single portion of food we would each be arguing for the other person to take it.
I am also reminded of my friend Emily and her catchy little way of saying things that stick in my head. She says “Who are you?” It is just a surface level question most of the time but really consider this question after reading the last section of this devotion... Who are you? In two generations no one but your grandchildren will remember who you were. So what are you living for? Why live for things that are going to be temporary? Live instead for those things that are eternal and realize there are things that are bigger than you.
Your level of humility will reflect who is most important in your life. If you love yourself more that God then you will struggle with humility. If you are truly devoted to Christ you will begin to see things differently.
[Review] We desire peace in chaos. David suggests peace comes from humility. Humility is learned through your relationship with God and is practiced in your relationship with other people.
So what does the last part of the Psalm say?
“O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forever more.”
I remember sometime last spring I was stressed or upset about something and my roommate, David, said something very casually and matter-of-factly that changed my thinking. “Look on the bright side, on the third day... He rose.” Nothing else matters in comparison to this hope. Nothing else is nearly as important. Yes, homework is important and I’m not giving you an excuse to not do it. But when it is compared to the resurrection of Christ it is miniscule.
John 16:33 says: “I have said these things to you, that in my you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
It is interesting that hope in Christ will tie back to humility because you will begin to realize your own helplessness and begin to realize the security found in His salvation. Friends, if you really want peace, you must begin to selflessly follow the Prince of Peace.
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