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I got up early this morning and had my private devotions, then worked on my latest devotional, "Peace Out! It's in the Bible!" Hopefully, I'll get it done and released in the next couple of weeks. As I was working through some of the scripture passages, I began to realize all the things that have been lingering on my heart. There's a lot, really. Lots of questions. Lots of thoughts. Lots of wonderings. Lots of doubts, and a few fears mixed in here and there. To put it mildly, I was overwhelmed with lots of "what-ifs."
Following my own devotionals, I started listing them to God. It felt like I was handing Him each and every one. I handed Him all the good stuff, bad stuff, funny stuff, hard stuff, questionable stuff, and more. I didn't realize how much I'd been packaging "stuff" up in my heart. Then, I followed my own advice and just let His peace take over the reign of my heart. I felt so much better.
The whole process got me to thinking. What does God do with all that "stuff" we give Him? I know He gives us peace and comfort - restores joy, and brings healing to those areas. But I had a lot of stuff today. It then hit me that He's not scared of all my stuff. My most frightening emotions are not overwhelming to Him. My greatest fears are not too much for Him to handle. He doesn't sit there with a checklist marking items off, or interrupting to say, wait - I can't take that. That image is kind of funny to me. He doesn't match up our stuff and qualify each of them before He takes them. He ain't skeered of anything I've dug up yet! He takes it all.
Every fear, every doubt, every question, every what-if, every everything. He is not scared of any of my crazy thoughts or feelings. He's not even afraid of those things we are not sure how to express with words. The kind that leaks out as tears. He takes those too. Without a complaint, without condemnation, without guilting us - or asking us to explain. He listens. He takes them all no questions asked. Then, He replaces all that with peace. Amazing, isn't it?
How is it that we can trust God with all the things on our hearts? For caregivers, that's a lot, huh? He won't turn us away. He won't tell us it's just too much or too little. God just takes everything we are willing to give Him and exchanges it for an equal measure of peace.
Today, I will continue to give Him all my emotional baggage, my fears, doubts, strains, stresses, and worries. I'll remind myself that He is big enough to carry it all. My meditations will be on how He provides me with peace when I give it all to Him. My choice today is to let that peace - His peace, reign in my heart. Will you join me?
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