After a week of ministry, I returned home.   Family was coming on the weekend to visit. I needed to hit the ground running. So much to do and so little time to accomplish it.  But first—I had to spend some time with my Creator:

I went into my prayer room and closed the door.  Breathing in the stillness, I let go of the tension and settled into my rocker.  Quiet dissipated the cloud of decisions as I leaned into to hear Him.

Be still and know that I am God. Greater things are won by stillness than this world dreams of. It is My strength that enables you and it can only be accessed by leaning on Me. I call you to rest.

Look up. I will give you the strategy for every move. All your running will get you nowhere, but into confusion and burnout. The enemy loves to see you run and strive and worry.

Lay it all down, all of it. You can’t figure it out or manipulate the pieces to fit. Only I see the finished picture and only I know the order that the pieces must be placed.

You must walk with Me, in Me, to see the victory I have planned. Time with Me. Time in My word, with My Spirit…this is your place of rest. This is your place of battle. Without the strategies of heaven you are a warrior swinging wildly and your foe is just beyond your reach.

Stop, Look, Listen. I have plans for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. You must spend time with Me to receive the plans. I call you to REST.

R—receive
E—eternal
S—strategies for
T—triumph

I felt led to blindly open my Bible.  As the Bible lay before me in my lap, my eyes fell on verse 30, but here it is in context:

Psalm 18:28-34
28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.
31 For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God,
32 The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect?
33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. AMP

~~~

If you are running in circles, trying to figure out how you will get everything done, or how all the pieces are going to come together, stop and rest. Panic stirs a panic response and pretty soon everyone around you is tied in knots too.  Take refuge in Him and lean in to listen for His counsel.  He will gird you with strength and make your way perfect.

Shalom — have a wonderful week.