Turbulence is an interesting thing. I have zero fear of flying. When turbulence hits a plane I am on, I’m more annoyed because I will likely get motion sick than I am worried about any impending doom. For others, if the pilot so much as sneezes they see their lives flash before their eyes and give themselves over to the idea of certain death via freak plane accident. Turbulence in life is similar. We aren’t all rocked by the same things. In fact, the most recent turbulence in my life is literally not even worth sharing. But in the midst of that tiny blip, I heard a word from God that I want to share with you.
I was doing my devotional while reminding God about my current set of circumstances, racking my brain for a solution, possibly hyperventilating because I like to go big or go home, when I read this sentence: “God is rarely in a hurry, but he is never late.”
In the middle of my multitasking, that sentence changed me. I took a deep breath, I dried my tears, and I stopped trying to problem solve. Instead, I just let those words wash over me, because it was the exact thing I needed to hear in that moment. God had not forgotten about me. He wasn’t simply ignoring my texts, emails and carrier pigeons. He was all over my problem in his own way and on his own time.
That turbulence I was feeling is nothing compared to other things I have gone through, things you are going through. Yet the truth about God is that he can be our calm in any size storm. Maybe that is why he tells us, “do not be anxious about anything.” Because he knows that if we choose “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, [letting our] requests be made known to God,” we might realize we actually have little to be anxious about.
The peace I experienced that night is a high I am still living on three weeks later. My problem is still a problem. I still have a lot of work to do to see it through, but I can’t seem to find the time to worry about it when I remember that he has already told me that he’s got this. The most un-understandable thing about this peace is that, while the turbulence my change, he does not. I can think back over all my real turbulence, the ones I actually thought I might die in, and the peace he gave me there is the same he is giving me now. This peace doesn’t depend on the stress of the situation, it depends on the power and character of our God, which is constant, eternal, and for all who believe.
I wish I could easily share this peace with you. Maybe if I could give you a pill, or transfer it via a hug it would be something we handed out more often. To say that it “surpasses all understanding” is not an understatement. I cannot tell you the specifics of how this peace will manifest in your life, but I can tell you that once you have it, you will regret not asking for it sooner!
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:4-7