Calm Down

Lately, it seems like my life has been pretty hectic.  Not that there’s anything really unusual about that—my life always seems to be fairly hectic.  But it seems like lately it’s been hectic-er than normal.

I’ve been thinking about that, and I’ve been praying about it.  It seemed to me that maybe God was trying to tell me something through all this hectic-ness.  Maybe God was telling me that I was doing too much, and that I needed to drop some things to simplify my life.  But which things?  I thought about the things I do, and there really aren’t any of them I want to drop.  In fact, I wish I had time to do more.  And if that wasn’t what God was trying to tell me, then what was God trying to tell me?  Or was this all just a coincidence, and God wasn’t trying to tell me anything?

Well, as I said, I’ve been praying about it.  And the other day, I felt like God gave me an answer.  The answer I felt like I got from God was “Calm down.”

And I said, “’Calm down’?  Seriously, God?  That’s all you’ve got?  ‘Calm down’?

And the answer I felt like I got from God was, “Yep, that’s it.  Calm down.”

So I said, “Well, okay.  I mean, I was really hoping for something a little more profound than that, but I guess if ‘calm down’ is the message, then that’s what I’ll do.  I’ll calm down.”

And I have been.  Or at least, I’ve been trying to.  Sometimes I do a better job of it than other times.  But overall, I think I have calmed down some.

Here’s the point.  When we pray to God about something, we want an answer.  But we don’t want just any answer.  We want an answer that’s going to solve our problem the way we want it solved.  I thought my life was too hectic, and I wanted an answer from God that was going to make my life less hectic.  Instead, I got an answer that was not aimed at changing my life at all, but was aimed at changing my attitude toward what’s going on in my life.

We tend to think that, if we hear a message from God, it’s going to be something deep and profound.  And sometimes it is.  But sometimes, God’s messages are simple.  As simple as telling us to calm down and not let the hectic pace of life get the best of us.

So, if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by life, maybe God’s message to me will work for you.  Just calm down.  It may not change your life, but it’ll change your attitude toward what’s going on in your life.  And sometimes, that’s the most important change of all.