Good morning…
I spent last evening in the living room of my friend, sitting barefoot and cross-legged beneath a blanket in her cozy chair. I enjoyed the privilege of being a guest facilitator for the Bible study she and another friend lead with a special circle of faithful women in their twenties. I admire the commitment of these young women, who make time each week after their long work days to nestle into this welcoming home, nurtured by two faithful mentors who love them dearly. What was the chosen topic for the night? “Busyness: How to Keep Calm in our Crazy World.”
First, we each took two minutes to a fill piece of paper with everything we did that day. As frantic writing slowed, I asked, “Looking over your list of activities, how was God a part of this day for you?” We unpacked our answers and gleaned God’s wisdom calmly, collectively, collaboratively. Thirty minutes of morning prayer and devotional reading. Texting or calling loved ones in the connective tissue of the day. Spreading a peaceful perspective in a highly anxious workplace. “Observe” anxiety; do not “absorb” it. Imagine being yoked to God, with Him doing the heavy lifting. When stress rises, take a deep breath; breathe, breathe deep. Great ideas popped like popcorn.
Then, I pointed out God saving grace: John 15:5 is wired into our DNA. In the Amplified Bible translation the verse reads, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” Being sucked into the world’s crazy whirlwind, we feel our overwhelming anxiety rise. We know when we have disconnected from God’s constantly available power, trying to handle life’s chaos alone. The LORD’s truth is unavoidable: we can do nothing of value without God. Disconnected from our Source of life, we are as ineffective as a detached branch thrown into the world’s worried wood pile.
The remedy for our own heightened anxiety is to reconnect ourselves to the limitless power of our loving LORD, to breathe deep and to visualize the exact spot where our branch meets God’s vine, God in us and us in God. This vine-to-branch connection is the vein through which all life giving nourishment flows. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. These are the fruits of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the “much fruit” God yearns to bear on our branch to feed the needs of this crazy world.
Sometimes, life forces us to stay in crazy, anxious situations for longer than we would like. Remaining in vital union with God’s calming, fruitful ways becomes hard, diligent work every day. As last night’s encouraging conversation neared its end, one wise woman shared this quote, a quote I just had to jot down on my own piece of paper. “When He doesn’t open any doors, praise Him in the hallways.”
Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth. I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me, John 17:15-20 (CEV).
We say a lot about Jesus as we calmly share with the crazy world the fruits of God’s Spirit growing on our securely connected branch,
Sue
