God Among Us: The Pacifier of Anxiety
God Among Us:
The Pacifier of Anxiety
This morning, I began my prayer time with the Lord, burdened by ministry plans, "what ifs," and "maybes."
Names and faces with stories of struggle came to mind. Projects to serve individuals, the church, and the community came to mind.
I thought of old friends and far-away friends who continue to pray for me and my family, and I thought of how I might take time to express my gratitude.
There are a couple of situations that I want to discuss with my mentors. And in all of it, I realized (again) how limited my time was. Limited time to be in the Word and to do all that was on my heart and mind.
How could I find focus and discernment to know what should be done first and what may not get done at all?
As the Lord would have it, he answered me when I went to his Word. Zephaniah was next on my reading plan, and the Lord encouraged me with these words:
“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
God, amid his people, is the ultimate pacifier for anxious burdens. His might to save, his rejoicing, his quieting love, his exultation through his singing!
What I heard this morning was that whatever intentions, hopes, and plans I have to further his church, his presence among his people is more significant and better than my petty burdens to "help" his church.
He graciously reinforced this truth through the New Testament reading planned for today in 2 Corinthians. There, the apostle Paul commends Titus and his fellow laborers in the gospel to the Corinthian church.
In verse 23 of chapter 8, Paul describes the churches as "the glory of Christ."
This tells me that Christ's glory is not in the messengers but in the church that shows Christ who is among them.
For the world to see Christ's glory, they need look no further than the local body of believers.
Where believers are preaching, teaching God's Word, loving one another, extending God's grace to one another, laboring for the kingdom of God in specific places, and bound to one another by their shared confession of faith in Jesus, you find the presence of God in their midst, saving, rejoicing, quieting, exulting over his people.
Thank you, Jesus, for your presence and the ministry you have given me and your church to show this city your glory!
May you, too, be unburdened by these glorious truths from Zephaniah and the apostle Paul.
Loren