Calm Down
Carefully, ever so slowly, draw a long breath in.
And then exhale just as deliberately as you can.
Good work.
When was the last time you did that?
When was the last time you paid attention to your incoming breath and your outgoing air?
The last time you noticed what was coming in and what was going out?
And let’s not just stick to the air around you. Let’s get below the surface. Let’s look at the content of our souls.
What have we allowed to take up residence, and now, like the air we breathe, freely comes and goes?
Because the company you keep, most often keeps you.
What soul-company are you keeping? What do you watch, read, listen to, and consume during your day? Is it producing a calm or chaotic effect in your life?
I have a natural bent toward chaos. “Calm” is not what you would call me.
Energetic? Yes.
Motivated? Yes.
Determined? Yes.
Calm? No.
So when it comes to how I fill my soul tank, I need to take extra care. But maybe you are naturally calm, and so it comes easy. If so, PRAISE JESUS. If not, you are certainly not alone.
In seeking a calm soul, I love this call from God:
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.”
God made us thirsty. But He doesn’t just leave us thirsty. He gave the solution: Himself. We are looking to be filled up and yet are so vulnerable to the amount of options. To the chaos. But He says listen to Him and eat what is good. Take in food that produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Take in God.
As I choose a quiet moment in my morning instead of a chaotic social media binge, I am choosing a calm soul. As I choose to come to God first instead of texting all my friends all my worries, I am choosing a calm soul. As I choose to read truth instead of fixating on lies, I am choosing a calm soul.
Dear God, Thank you for creating us, creating thirst, and creating a call. You call us to come. And to come not to social media. Not to ice cream. Not to Netflix. To You. You are not a chaotic God. You are a God of peace. With one word you calm raging seas. Please calm my heart. You are in complete control and we need your calm nature to fill us up. Please calm our breath and our soul. Amen.
“Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ”
*You can find Amy Seiffert on Facebook at Amy Seiffert and Instagram @amyseiffert