A moment of Peace
“Come on in and have a seat.”
While there was a wave of anxiety and fear as I walked through the threshold of that office the graceful motion towards a padded chair at the round table and the peaceful tone ignited a relief within my heart. I was in my advisor’s office to unload my doubts and share my plan to be done. This may not have been the place for me and maybe I had made a mistake in coming. All of this swirled in my head as the words and anxieties surged out into that quiet space. What came next caught me off guard and rattled me even more vulnerable.
After a quiet and purposeful pause, she took a breath and smiled. The words with all the anxiety and doubts fueling their urgency, were not only absorbed into that moment but strangely dissolved.
“I completely understand Phil….”
The rest of the statement and advice did not matter. In that moment a peace gently began to take control. I was heard. I was recognized and invited into that space. While there was no quick answer or even rebuttal, my professor willingly stepped in and promised to go the distance with me. When I read the Gospels and through Jesus’ words, visualize the way moments were shaped, I think about that day. Jesus doesn’t offer quick fixes or defensively rebuttal our anxieties and doubts. He carves out a moment of Shalom and invites us in to just, Be. Along with the invite, Jesus promises to go the distance with each one of us.
In the process of exploring the “I am” statements they have been transformed into something more relational and less theological for me. Those statements are the same invite to “come in and have a seat” and be in the presence of the wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace, as Jesus hears and sits with us. Opportunities to know him and experience rest. Anxiety and fear cause us to speed up and become isolated as we run at our own pace, depleting our very soul to a point of fatigue. This can be detrimental to our health and well-being if we maintain our own pace. Today, Jesus is inviting you to sit with him. He wants to know your fears and is ready to slow down the pace so that you can experience a sense of peace, no matter the situation.
You are known. You are heard. You are loved.
What I needed that day wasn’t a well-crafted plan or another task to do. My life did not need another reason to painfully consider because all of that would have just heightened the anxiety. Deep down, I needed to know I was understood and not alone. I needed that moment of rest. This week, at the right time and moment, may you hear the Prince of Peace and Great Counselor invite you in to sit and be heard. And may you have the courage to sit and be vulnerable as you rest and find peace in Jesus.
“Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18
