Have you ever had one of those days where you are just overwhelmed with life? The reality is that we live in a stressful world (no surprise there), but Christ calls us to be not afraid. God has not called us to live in fear, but to lean into Him for real peace, strength, and identity as our firm foundation. 

Built on Rock

In the Gospel of Matthew we hear Jesus say that life brings floods, strong winds, and rain. Maybe these are literal floods, or floods of anxiety, stress, and noise. Christ goes on to say that those who listen to Him are like those who build houses upon solid rock. Even when the floods come, the rains fall, and winds blow, those who listen to Christ are secure and steady and don’t sink or get carried away by the storms. In our own lives in the midst of our responsibilities with school, work, sports, and relationships, the real time we spend in the quiet, listening to the Lord, and pursuing the Sacraments, sets us on a solid foundation of peace. 

Time for Nothing

In the eyes of the world prayer does, well, nothing. Yet through the lens of faith prayer is a conversation, a dialogue, with the God that created you. That means when you bring your daily joys, stresses, and fears to Him, He listens! He cares about your daily struggles and burdens. He sees it all. This call to a daily dialogue also means that the God who created you longs to give you a mission and reveal to you who you truly are! No, this doesn’t mean that if you spend time in quiet prayer you are surely meant to be a priest or nun, but it does help you to take a breath, be still with the Lord, and to discover that He loves you as His little child. As we do this He reveals to us His call for us, even in small ways, for us to live life to its absolute fullest.

The Greatest Thing

To build our lives on this solid rock we are invited to concretely plan and schedule time for prayer and to do “nothing” each day. While it might feel unproductive, this is the most valuable thing we can do because we are spending real time with the Father. As we plan to do “nothing” on a daily basis, God gives us real peace that isn’t of this world. God’s promised peace for us isn’t a lack of any stress in our lives, but is an endless well of support and love from the Father as we remember who He is and what He’s doing for us. Anytime we enter into prayer, silence, worship, Scripture, and the Sacraments we are confronted with the reality of how good our Lord is, as He loves us in abundance and promises our absolute good. 

Share What You Got

The peace of our Father strengthens us, helps us to grow in knowledge and patience, and gives us comfort in times of stress and suffering. This all begins when we stop, breath, and invite Him in through prayer. Prayer also allows us to truly hear God’s voice and to understand with clarity where He wants us to move and act in our lives. God gives us real peace with Him as our firm foundation and calls us to bring this experience of peace to our family, friends, and teammates each and every day as real instruments of His love in our world. 

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To schedule an appointment with Adam Cross LMFT #116623 please call (805) 428-3755, email amc.cross7@gmail.com, or visit the contact page.