Finding calm in the midst of chaos is hard to do sometimes. When I’m in a tough situation, my thoughts tend to flit from one thing to another, bouncing between what’s happened, what could happen, and what needs to happen. In order to respond to the challenge well, I have to continually bring my thoughts… [ read more ]
Posts Tagged: Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos
Our Prayers Don’t Have to be Long to be Heard
What’s prayer, anyway? I like J. I. Packer’s definition. “The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgement of helplessness and dependence.” Prayer takes different forms. Sometimes it’s liturgical and recited aloud in a formal church setting. Sometimes it’s private, penned in one’s journal for only the… [ read more ]
The Purpose for Suffering
One of my favorite things in life is watching my grandchildren grow in every aspect of their lives—physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional. Every time I see them, they’ve changed. That’s the way it should be, right? God never intended a baby to remain a baby. His plan is for infants to grow and… [ read more ]
Are You Fighting a Battle Today?
Would you do me a favor? Would you please raise your hand if you’ve ever had one of those nights when worrisome thoughts woke you and wouldn’t let you fall back to sleep? I just want to know that I’m not the only woman in the world who’s experienced this. It happened to… [ read more ]
Self-Talk
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. (NLT) Pause Have you ever listened to the self-talk that runs through your mind? Losing my mobility for several months while living in a three-storey townhouse meant having to hoist myself backwards up fifteen stairs to my bedroom every night…. [ read more ]
Running to Our Good Father
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (NIV) Pause The story’s told of a king who called a meeting with his advisors. In the middle of their discussion, he noticed his daughter peering through the ajar door…. [ read more ]
God is Always on Time
Last evening, the women in my Zoom Bible study talked briefly about the timing of God’s provision for our needs. Based on personal experience and Biblical accounts, we all came to the same conclusion: He always provides for us. And that provision always comes at just the right time—not a moment too late, and never… [ read more ]
Pay Attention to Your Self-Talk
Honestly, I sometimes feel like managing my self-talk is a fulltime job. Unless I keep constant vigil, I catch myself speaking untruths that lead to wasted time worrying or building a wall of self-defense. Why go there? My attitudes, perspectives, and even my relationships are so much healthier when I catch the lies and replace… [ read more ]
5 Ways to Find Calm in Crisis
I receive several emails every day from people in crisis. Circumstances vary, of course, and so does severity, but the crises fall into categories: illness—their own or a loved one’s, spousal betrayal, a child’s struggle with addictions, a breakdown in family relationships, job layoffs, losses from a natural disaster, and more. Isolation is a big… [ read more ]
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