Thursday, 23 July 2020

Calming presence - part 2

                                            3 steps to calm your mind with mindfulness | Psychologies
As we follow on from yesterday's post, which included an insightful devotion from Howard Thurman (Meditations of the Heart), let us take note of his insight into anxiety and how it impacts upon our relationship with God.

"One thing I know concerning my anxieties: they are real to me.
Sometimes they seem more real than the presence of God.
When this happens, they dominate my mood and possess my thoughts.
The presence of God does not always deliver me from anxiety but it always delivers me from anxieties. Little by little, I am beginning to understand that deliverance from anxiety
means fundamental growth in spiritual character and awareness.
It becomes a quality of being, emerging from deep within,
giving to all the dimensions of experience a vast immunity against being anxious.
A ground of calm underlies experiences whatever may be the tempestuous character of events.
This calm is the manifestation in life of the active,
dynamic Presence of God. God is present with me this day." - Howard Thurman

Again the words in bold are my 'take home' from his devotion. As you read his words, coupled with the life-giving gift of the Scriptures, may God's Spirit fill you with peace.

Mark 4:39 - "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 - “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers— Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

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