Many of us will be facing a busy few weeks before Christmas. Certainly for The Salvation Army there’s a lot to be done, with preparations already underway to help people with food, gifts and support as stretched budgets start to feel the pinch of holiday demands.
For many of us, December can be a time when we start to feel weighed down by stress. Recognising this in my own life, I signed up to a two-week devotional newsletter by Christian author Dallas Willard through www.biblegateway.com, an online Bible reading website.
In the first day’s newsletter, Willard pointed to the freedom humans have about where to place our minds. He challenged readers to relocate their bodies to places of solitude and silence, saying: ‘Until solitude and silence have had their effects, our minds will very likely continue to be focused on the wrong things, or on good things in an anxious attitude of trying to dominate them.’
After we’ve moved ourselves away from the inputs that control our thoughts and feelings, ‘we will have additional freedom to place our minds fully upon the great God, his kingdom, and its peace and strength,’ he adds.
It’s a lovely picture—by a simple change of scenery, we can become more open to and therefore more impacted by the truth of God’s love and the experience of God’s transforming presence. The Bible verse that so beautifully captures this is Psalm 46:10, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ So let’s get moving!
Christina Tyson
Editor
Romans 12:12 New Living Translation
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
Rōma 12:12 Kia hari i runga i te tūmanako; kia manawanui ki te whakapāwera; kia ū ki te īnoi ...