Stop & Ask

Psalm 131:² “…I have calmed and quieted my soul…” (NKJV).

You are responsible. God is saying your soul is as chaotic and as tumultuous as you allow (permit) it to be. You cannot permit confusion in your soul and blame God. You cannot permit chaos in your soul and play helpless. The Word of God says “…I have calmed and quieted my soul…”; meaning that you have the power to calm and to quiet your soul. I know that some people are “helpless”, and I use the word helpless very loosely because, in a sense, such people are like “junkies” or “addicts”. Like drug addicts, at some point, they become helpless, needing a fix. I know that some people are helpless against these soul storms, depressive and dark moments, because that is their “joint”. They have taken it for so long that they now need external intervention. I understand that, and such people should get external intervention.

However, at the core of it, you are responsible for quieting and calming your soul. Say it aloud: “I am responsible for quieting and calming my soul”. You are responsible. So, stop, calm your soul and quiet the noise. Stop, find the time to rest. Sydney J. Harris says, “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. “The time to stop is when you don’t have time to stop. When you feel you don’t have time to stop, that is when to stop. And I dare say that the time to pray is when you feel you don’t have time to pray. When you feel like you really don’t have time to pray, that is the time to pray. The time to seek God is when you think you don’t have time to seek God.

Jeremiah 6:¹⁶ “This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around…” (emphasis added). On the journey to restoration,  when you stop, be observant. And it is because if you don’t stop, you cannot see. How many times have you driven past landmarks and the people in the car say, “Did you see that?” And you say, “No, what? Where is it?” But it is too late because you have driven past it. You did not stop. When we don’t stop, we miss several things. Stopping is so, so powerful. So, when you have stopped and looked around, the next thing you have to do is to ASK. Many times, we cheat ourselves because we do not ask. My grandmother used to say that the person who asks for directions never gets lost. The Word of God says in Jeremiah 6:¹⁶ “This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, [the ancient paths,]…” (NLT & NIV, emphasis added). This means that God has positioned people in your life who have the answers to the challenge you are going through, so ask!

Prayer: Father, as I quiet and calm my soul, stop, and observe, and ask questions, cause me to find rest for my soul on this journey to restoration, in the Name of Jesus. Amen!