Abingdon - Finding Calm in a Busy Day: Daily Reflections on Rest, Hope, and Love

Presented to:

From:

Date:

FINDING CALM IN A BUSY DAY

DAILY REFLECTIONS ON REST, HOPE, AND LOVE

Copyright 2019 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN, 37228-1306 or emailed to .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been requested

ISBN 978-1-5018-9417-6

Scripture quotations are taken from the Common English Bible, copyright 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Many people were coming and going, so there was no time to eat. He said to the apostles, Come by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while.

Mark 6:31

Do you ever get so caught up in your hectic day that you dont have time to eat? Theres a deadline for a big project that gives you little time to think about anything else. Or a child forgets her lunch or homework assignment, and now youre dashing off to school. Maybe you even forget what day it is. You have to remind yourself who needs to be where for what activity.

No matter how busy you get, no matter how crazy the day becomes, you need to take a moment or two to spend with Jesus. He knows you need to spend time with him to find encouragement, refreshment, and directionjust as the disciples needed to go off with Jesus to rest awhile. The more chaotic the day, the more the waves of concern crash against you, the more you need to ask him to quiet the waters.

Lets be mindful of what God has done even in the middle of the busiest of times. Take time to be alone with the Lord. That may mean no more than closing your eyes and momentarily shutting out the distractions all around you. Tell him thank you. Celebrate the fact that we are surrounded by the abundance he provided. Rest in his promise to be with you always, no matter what youre going through.

Get away with Jesus and rest awhile.

Lord, I get caught up in the to-do list of my daily life, and I forget to spend time with you and simply rest in your presence. I thank you for all you do to make it possible for me to live more fully and richly. Bless this day and walk with me. Amen.

We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. And its not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. We were saved in hope.

Romans 8:22-24

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we all have hope. We hope that the work we do will make a difference or that it will at least be accomplished well. We hope that our children will be strong and healthy and grow up to be kind and generous people. We hope that well get to enjoy more of life as the days ahead unfold because weve been mired in things that dont make life easy. Whatever it is and wherever we are, we live in hope.

In Pauls letter to the Romans, though, he takes that idea a step further. He says we were saved in hope. We were saved in hope and we long for our spirits to be set free. We anticipate the coming of Christ as the moment when we can be all that we were meant to be in his eyes. We hope that we are blessed in the harvest and picked to be with our Lord forever. We live in hope.

We are anchored in the hope of our Redeemer. Let us live and work and play in that hope every day.

You have the hope of eternal life as a child of God.

Lord, I am so grateful for the hope I have in you. I know that if all else fails, if I cannot accomplish all that I hope to achieve, still I am eternally safe in your care. I have put all my hope in your hands. Amen.

I also observed under the sun that the race doesnt always go to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty, nor food to the wise, nor wealth to the intelligent, nor favor to the knowledgeable.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that the sun shines on everybody, and it doesnt necessarily just shine on the people who deserve it. When we prepare for a race, a new job, or an opportunity that puts us out in front of others, we may forget one thing. We may forget how much our ego is also invested in the outcome. We may even start to become people who believe life owes us and that were entitled to the good stuff.

What were entitled to is Gods grace, given freely, no matter who we are. Others may get ahead of us, but it could be by accident as the passage suggests, or it could be by design. After all, the Creator of the universe has every tool at his disposal for good or ill. He can bring out the rain and the sun whenever he chooses.

Today, as you examine your effort at the things you do, dont worry about who else might win at the game you are playing. Just trust and believe that its important for you to be the best you can possibly be. Your Heavenly Father knows why.

Let go of your worries because you have received Gods grace.

Lord, help me stop comparing myself to others and be willing to bring only my best to you no matter what. Amen.

We dont know what we should pray, but the Spirit itself pleads our case with unexpressed groans