For the past few days it seems like I have woken up angry and the rest of the day I am angry. Usually about noon I decide that I do not want to be an angry person and try to change my attitude but something is out of sorts. Something isn't right, like a car with a clogged carburetor, I realize I am not running efficiently. I have been actively in my mind, trying to think of a way to change this thing about myself. Using strictly mind power/will power I have tried to "decide" my way out of this clog and get back to running correctly. I don't know if any of you can relate to this but those of you who can probably know that it doesn't work; at least it didn't for me. Alas, there is hope though, for I happened upon the cure to this problem tonight.

I spoke of this cure in my previous blog titled "when is God happy with you?". Allow me a moment to set the stage. Today the weather was amazing. When I say that most people will think instantly of a tropical breeze and not a cloud in the sky. This was not the case. While that is great, today's perfect weather consisted of 63 degrees high and 54 degrees low and rainy. It was overcast all day and a light cool breeze cooled everything off. It was the kind of weather that you would have a bonfire and hayride in to kick off the fall. Anyway, I love this kind of weather. Fall is my favorite season. So with that in mind I decided to relax and enjoy the rustling in the trees. I got my trusty lawn chair and headed out to my front walk.

I opened my chair and sat down. The trees were swaying in the breeze and the neighborhood was calm. I could hear some kids in the distance and the occasional car driving by but that was it. I closed my eyes and felt the wind gently touch my skin. I looked up and saw the gray clouds lumbering slowly overhead like some Hawaiian tourist who moves slow enough to take a picture of everything before moving on. Everything was in such perfect harmony.

The breeze slowed to a stop only for a second before picking back up. And suddenly I found myself in silence. In the silence something told me to listen. It said to clear my head and heart of every worry. It said to stop thinking about the day, monetary stresses, and everything that I am unsure of about myself, the world and our future.

The wind resumed its journey. Before I could pass this off as just my imagination the wind slowed again, then stopped. I was ready to listen. Two specific thoughts permeated my heart at that moment. The first could be summed up in one word. A feeling scrolling across my consciousness like a marquis, "PRAYER". The second idea just as clear, "My Word". I closed my eyes in a bittersweet sigh of thanks.

The wind resumed gently.

. . . Nothing. For anyone who has experienced this before they will know what I am talking about. But this was the state of my mind. There was nothing but joy and peace. Overwhelming peace. This leads me to think of a passage from 1 Kings 19:5-13. Here is the passage:

All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The LORD Appears to Elijah

And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

This passage is what came to mind when I experienced all of this. It is not like I didn't know that I need to pray and read my bible. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I needed to slow down and get away from life and our culture. While this is my point, it is not all I am trying to convey. I have heard this taught over and over again however I have just experienced what I have been taught and I knew. It is great to be reminded. It is even better when you are reminded with a gentle nudging from the Holy Spirit. I leave you with this thought. Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God”.

Do with it what you will. I hope it will bless you. Right now I am going to go pray.