Psalm 4:4
“Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
It had been a tiring September day preparing for another season of Tea Workshops that were conducted in our home every Fall. After climbing into bed I opened my Daily Light* and soon realized I had missed the morning reading. The very first words at the top of the page were, “Sit still, my daughter.” Pulling the covers up a little tighter, the next verses I read had my undivided attention:
“Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted.” “Be still and know that I am God.” “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” “The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low: the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
God’s Word got my full attention that night, not just with those verses but the ones on the next page as well, this one in particular, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…” I sat still, meditated on the words I had read, and prayed. Seven days later, on the morning of September 11, 2001, those verses came back to my memory as I sat watching the horrific events unfold on the television.
Our youngest daughter and her husband worked in New York City—she was on the 29th floor of a building at Rockefeller Center, her husband near the Empire State Building. Cell phone connections were spotty but I managed to get through to both and strongly encouraged them to get out of the city. There was silence all day until finally I heard from them late that night after they had staggered into their home, exhausted from the day.
My husband was out of town, unable to fly home, so much of my time that day was spent taking calls from friends and family asking how our family was doing. It was clear that God had prepared, in advance, my heart and my response, which was to share the extraordinary peace and hope that He had provided from His Word.
The Lord is always in the business of preparing our teachable hearts so that when trouble or sorrows come, our response if one of trust.
Over the last twenty-two years, I have had occasion to think back to that time and wonder if I missed any of God’s whispers to pray more diligently for our family and our country. That experience gave me a deeper conviction of how vital it is to be in His Word and to pray over what we read in order to be prepared for whatever comes today, tomorrow, and in the future. We cannot be passive in our preparation; we are preparing to battle against the powers of darkness and wickedness. We must always pray for the light of hope to shine ever brighter. How are you preparing?
Heavenly Father, You say that Your Word is a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” May we meditate on it night and day, in our going out and coming in. Prepare our hearts, O God, to respond in faith to life’s circumstances because we trust in You and You alone. Amen.
*For those unfamiliar with the construction of Daily Light, compiled by Anne Graham Lotz, each page has a series of verses, separated by a symbol, with each verse fitting into a particular theme for the day.
