Clay in the Hands

It’s Thursday – that day when we are beginning to feel the wear of the week.  We ramp up all week and get busier and busier as we go.  By the time we get to Thursday, everything becomes a blur.  The pressures of the day become more difficult to handle.  We think, “If one more thing gets added to my plate I may just lose it!”

If I just described you today, take heart.  Paul reminds us of something important in Colossians 3.

In verses 1 and 2 of that chapter, Paul says this:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

And then he goes further later in the chapter and says this in verse 15:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Here is what this means for us – the break-neck doers of the world.  When we remember the fact that, as believers, we are no longer residents of this world but rather just journeying through it, when we remember that real life comes only in Christ, then the pressures of this world melt away – they don’t disappear but their significance becomes manageable.  When our focus is on Christ, our lives take on proper perspective.  And when that happens, we realize that the peace that can only come from Jesus washes all over us.  All of the sudden, like a slow, deep, cleansing breath – we feel different – the day is not impossible any longer.

There is an old hymn that comes to mind.  The chorus of that hymn says this:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

May you find room to breathe today.  May you find peace.  May you rest in the arms of the only one who can offer you that peace.

Be blessed – – and breathe!