Quieting Yourself in God’s Love

*Picture taken at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, CA

A Practice in Listening to the Inner Voice of Love

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

—Exodus 14:10-14

Beloved,

During times of suffering it is tempting to think the pain will never end. Rather than seeing a way through, you think you are stuck. You begin to doubt my faithfulness, thinking I have misled you. You cry, “What I suffered before is nothing compared to this. I will surely die in this wilderness.”

In these periods you may go into fight or flight—anything to escape what you are experiencing. You are afraid that if you stay still, all the things you dread will happen. All the distressing thoughts will surface. All the painful feelings will overwhelm you.

But in these moments I call you to be still. This is not the time to make a big decision or go running around in search of what could ease your suffering. This is not the time to seek outside comfort. This is not the time to question yourself or your decision-making.

This is the time to quiet yourself in my love. I am working on your behalf and I will fight for you. So, stop what you are doing. Find a safe place to sit and rest. Simply receive my presence. Let my calm ground you. See how I can give you freedom, even today.

—Love