In the Dailies

Hey. I wanted to let you all know why I’ve been absent this week. If you’ve been watching the news at all, you’ve heard much about Lehman Brothers and the Wall Street choas. Well, my husband works for Lehman Brothers. At least he has for the past seven years. This week has been … eventful, to say the least. But I’ll be back to my regular blogging self in no time. In fact, tomorrow I’ll announce the “new ‘do” winner along with the date of The Big Cut.

For now I just want to share a couple verses with you.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
- Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

This peace that defies understanding, it’s tangible and kind of scary. When all this happened with Lehman Brothers, I wasn’t worried. In fact, I didn’t even think twice about it. I was and am so fully convinced that God is in control, that none of it fazed me. My husband lost his job, our sole source of income, and yet I wasn’t worried about a thing, not our mortgage or Ellie’s school payments or groceries or health insurance or anything. It was just another day with an awesome God at the reigns. Peace saturated my entire being. The peace was so overwhelming, it was almost frightening.

When the news broke, our phone started ringing off the hook. I received dozens of emails each day offering encouragement and prayer. Each person I spoke with was completely amazed at the peace God gave me. The more people I talked to, the more I started to freak out. If everyone else was worried, shouldn’t I be worried too? This is, after all, my life and my family. I should be the one most terrified by the possibilities and the reality surrounding me. All of a sudden panic and fear replaced the peace.

Why? The situation hadn’t changed.

But my perspective had. I took my eyes off God. Rather than focusing on Him, I started looking at the situation.

This incomprehensible peace is of God. No other explanation exists. But we canot possess it if our focus strays from Him. Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on God. Those around you may not understand how you can be so confident and at rest; you may not understand it yourself. But don’t take your eyes off Him. He is our Source of strength and peace. He the only thing worthy of our attention.