Zephaniah 3: 12-13
But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid. NIV
No one will make them afraid. I love that.
The Message paraphrases that last part, “Content with who they are and where they are, unanxious, they’ll live at peace.” MSG
My last semester in college, I lived in my first apartment. A friend from my dorm and I had signed the lease before we went home for the summer. We would live in this little apartment from August through December, I thought, and then I would graduate and my life would begin.
But, over the summer, my roommate flunked out.
That left me responsible for the full lease, when I had planned on only paying half. I was frugal, but, I vividly remember the last three days of my lease.
Classes were over, I was finishing finals, my family was packing to come for graduation. The country was in the midst of a terrible recession and I and many of my friends did not have jobs waiting for us after we walked across the stage. Instead of starting my new life as I had planned, I was on my way home to move back in with my parents.
To say that I was disappointed, was an understatement.
Then, the electric bill came. As I wrote the check and deducted the amount from my balance, I realized I had about $30.
I cried out to God. I poured out to Him how hard I had worked, how I had tithed every penny of my earnings, how I had been faithful and now, here I was, having spent all of my savings, three days from graduation with no job and $30. I remember saying, “God, you have GOT to do something!”
Now, if I were God, I probably would have ignored me. I wasn’t hurt in any way. I had more than enough money to keep me until my parents arrived, and I was blessed that they were willing to take me back home with them. I was in no real danger. My pride was merely hurt, and I had not gotten what I wanted, what I thought I deserved.
But, that’s not how God worked in that situation.
Literally five minutes after I finished my prayer, if that’s what you could call it … it was more of a desperate demand … my phone rang. A woman I had interned for was on the phone. She had never called me before, so I was pretty surprised. Almost immediately she asked me, “Do you have a job?” I told her that I didn’t. She said, “Well, I have a job and I think you would be perfect for it.” She asked when I would be home and we agreed on a start date and a salary amount and, well, problem solved.
Needless to say, I was pretty thankful. The world looked a whole lot brighter than it had just minutes before. Bright enough that I could walk down to the center of campus, where I checked my campus mailbox. In it, was a graduation card from my grandmother, with a check for $300.
In less than an hour, God had solved both my problems. I was awestruck.
Trusting in God means that we rely on Him to solve the unsolvable. Trusting in God means that we can be content with who we are and where we are and that we can live in peace … without anxiety.
I knew this years and years ago … but somehow, that knowledge had slipped away. It’s taken me nearly a year to relearn this bedrock lesson.
Trust God. He has your best interest at heart, and has power at His disposal that is beyond your comprehension.
That’s what I’ll think about today.
365 Days of Peace 