What Trouble?

When we look around us, we find so much trouble.  Trouble in our bodies where we, who have been healthy our entire lives, are now experiencing aches and pains that we don’t recognize.  Trouble in our homes in which spouses are at war with one another, parents can’t seem to stay on the same page as children and in-laws have become outlaws.  Then we turn on the radio or watch our televisions or open our newspapers and we find trouble in our communities where the constant refrain has become, “Things like that have never happened in our neighborhoods” but the increase in gun availability, illegal substances and lack of resources have caused spikes in violence, unusual behavior and upticks in crime.  Then we hear about trouble in our government where politicians are lacking civility, inciting violence and speaking without thinking.  Yes, we can find trouble in so many areas of our lives.  And that may be bad news to some of us.  But I’m so glad that we have a Lord who liberally dispenses peace in the midst of our storms, calm in the middle of our tornadoes and quiet in the center of our noise.  And even when trouble seems to be in every corner of our lives, God makes sure to place us in the eye of the storm so that if we just depend on Him, that trouble, though present, won’t cause us to lose focus or be completely overwhelmed.

Let us pray:

Gracious Lord, we bring the trouble in our lives to You.  We ask You to address all of these challenges and grant us Your peace that transcends all human understanding.  Thank you for giving us quiet in the midst of the white noise and making us able to keep our eyes on You, in Jesus’s name, we pray, Amen!