Devotional.
We had our first whole-family trip to the dentist recently. Jesse actually has teeth now, so he came along.
He's two, and he was not keen.
He would not open his mouth. Not for the dentist, not for the promise of a sticker, not for anyone.
There were a lot of tears.
Theo was brilliant, cheering him on the whole way through, but it didn't make much difference.
In the end, Jesse sat on my lap. And when the dentist asked him to open wide, I opened my mouth too. He watched me, and he opened his.
He got his sticker.
Sitting on my lap didn't make the dentist any less scary. What changed was that I was doing it with him.
I didn't explain anything. I couldn't have, he's two. But he wasn't facing it on his own anymore.
When I'm going through something hard, I'm not sure I need it explained either. What I want is to know someone is in it with me.
Not watching from the side of the room telling me it'll be fine. Right next to me, going through it too.
Isaiah says, "You will keep whoever's mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in You."
The peace comes from trust. And I find trust comes far more easily when the one asking me to be brave is doing it with me.
God didn't call down instructions from a safe distance. In Jesus, He came and went through it with us.
He knew tiredness, He wept at a friend's grave, and the night before the cross He was so troubled He could barely stand it.
Whatever troubled time I'm in, He has been there first.
Today, if you're going through something unknown or scary, you might be feeling worried, just like Jesse.
But know this: You're not facing it alone.
The One asking you to trust Him has already been through it, and He's right next to you in this one.
Prayer.
Lord, You are my peace in troubled times, the calm in my chaos, the stillness when everything around me is turbulent, the steady ground when my world is shaking.
Troubled times are now, today, this season I'm walking through where nothing feels stable, where anxiety is constant, where every day brings new worries and fears.
Teach me that Your peace doesn't depend on my circumstances settling but on Your presence remaining, that You can be my peace while troubles continue, not just after they end.
I need peace that transcends what's happening around me, peace that doesn't make logical sense given what I'm facing, supernatural calm that only comes from You.
Help me stop waiting for troubles to end before I'll have peace and start receiving Your peace in the middle of ongoing troubles, resting in You despite everything.
Remind me that You promised peace but never promised absence of trouble, that Your peace is designed for troubled times specifically, given for chaos not just for calm.
Give me access to Your peace today, the kind that guards my heart and mind, that settles my spirit when everything else is unsettled, that holds me steady through storms.
Let me experience You as my peace in troubled times, finding calm in Your presence, stillness in Your character, rest in knowing You're with me through it all.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
