Practical to a fault
I’m practical. My life is easy to understand. Everything in my life is reasonable and has a purpose. I work hard to make sure everything in my life makes sense. I was raised in rural Nebraska. I’m an Occupational Therapist. I have been married to the same man and we have lived in the same house our entire adult lives. It’s all practical and the logic behind it is easy to see. It is easy to understand. In my practical brain, I really have no room for the unexpected, the unplanned, or the unexplainable. The only problem with this practical master plan is sometimes things happen I can’t control. Sometimes things happen that don’t make sense. Sometimes things happen that I can’t understand. Unexpected and unexplainable things happen in my life and they do not fit into my practical, logical plan.
Philippians 4:7 reads:
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The peace of God transcends all understanding. When the unexplainable, the unplanned, and the unexpected happens, there is something that rises above my practicality. There is something that will protect me. That something is the peace of God. It is a peace that will guard my heart and mind. This verse feels like a soft pillow and comfortable blanket to me.
When my kids were little, one of the most common answers I gave was, “That is something we will have to ask Him when we get there.” There are so many things we don’t and won’t understand on this side of heaven. Why a child gets sick. Why a child is abused. Why a child dies. Why a child suffers. My practical brain can not make sense of any of these things. The promise in Philippians 4:7 is better than human understanding. For all those things we don’t understand...the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. When something happens we can’t understand, something that is completely beyond our comprehension...he promises us his peace will guard our hearts and our minds in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ.
I’ve come to realize the fault in practicality is that when I work so hard to be practical and logical, it leaves very little room for God’s peace to protect and care for me. Plus, no matter how hard I work at ensuring predictability in my life, life will not allow it and will continue to blast me with the unexpected and the incomprehensible.
So, if you are like me, and are working too hard to hold it together, to avoid pain, to prevent the unexpected, today I encourage you to take a breath. Let it go and trust that no matter what comes your way, God promises you a pillow of his peace that will guard and protect your heart and mind like a comfortable fuzzy blanket.
This world isn’t made to be understood. Things are constantly occurring that don’t make sense, that are not practical, and that are not logical. But those are the times when God shines. His peace shines. His peace swoops in and protects our hearts and minds.
Today, join me in trading in that horribly unexpected thing for his peace and protection. Lean into it. Feel His safety. And for now, let’s put it on the list of things to ask Him when we get there.
Dear Heavenly Father, in our role as parents, there are so many things that we will never understand on this side of heaven. Today I pray that your peace and your protection over our minds and hearts will be so present that we physically feel it. And I pray that we can release to you the things we will never understand and trade them in for your peace and protection. You are the ultimate protector, peacekeeper, and peace dispenser. Thank you for that. We lift this up in the name of your son, Jesus Christ.