Making More Time For the Lord

John 20:21-22

Jesus said to them again “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me so I send you”

And when he had said that he breathed on them and said to them” receive the Holy Spirit “

The Holy Spirit is synonymous with Peace…………

Life today has speeded up and we find ourselves in a hurry most of the time.

We often hear people saying that time is just flying by, but it might be us that are flying by.

The birth of the internet and constant updating of technology has made this worse or possibly in some ways better I suppose, depending on how you look at it, but that doesn’t come without stress, sometimes immense stress.

Take the delivery of mail for instance, that many years ago used to take weeks has been shortened to days and sometimes hours. We have postmen, shop delivery men, fast food delivery drivers, mail order delivery vans, Motor bike couriers, etc. etc. to speed up anything we order.

And of course Faxes and E-mails that deliver within seconds –

We have even cut our written word by using words and expressions e.g. Social Media and texting terms such as = LOL = Laugh Out Loud, PPL –People

Lvs – Loves ...to name a few,  and I notice friends signing off with an initial instead of their name.

Television programmes such as:

-         Emmerdale farm – referred to as Emmerdale

-         Coronation Street –  as Corry

-         Strictly Come Dancing  has been shortened to  “ Strictly”

What is that about? Are we so busy we don’t even have time to speak or write properly?  It’s not surprising therefore to find that our stress levels are on the rise along with related illness.  So what’s the answer?

Let’s STOP…………just STOP…….. Even just for a few minutes during our day, and take a few deep breaths, gather out thoughts and make a space for prayer and reflection.

So today was the usual busy day and I was accompanying my husband to a Hospital appointment. He was called to the examination room and I took out my phone and looked for a prayer to say for him. Checking my e-mails, I found a Christian Meditation and I was reminded of the immense power of God and, within moments, right there in that busy waiting room, felt the loving presence of the Lord.

A settled feeling of peace came over me as I reflected in my mind’s eye on our wonderful gift as God's children to request his company and, in a heartbeat, he will be there. We can whisper his name even in our head at any time 24/7  and our great need of the Lord will be satisfied.

St Augustine said that- “our Heart is restless Lord until it rests in you”

Our restlessness is a desire to know God, to be in his presence and have a deeper relationship with him. He is where we came from. So it is built in our nature to search for peace, that peace that only he can give us.

Jesus Knows this and so he offers us a very special kind of peace

A Peace that is not just the absence of worries and outside pressures, the Lord's peace is when Heaven and Earth connect in the most magnificent and miraculous way. We only have to do as he asks –

Be Still and Know That I am God.

Matthew 11.26-30   “Come to me all those who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

How Awesome is that? The Lord Jesus, the name above all names, offers us his Peace.  Right there………..we only have to accept his offer……..and we should do this today and every day and we will find a Miraculous Oasis of Tranquillity that is Heaven sent –Praise Jesus!