The Joy of the Journey
Just Breathe
There are times in life when you just need to catch your breath. I’m not talking about being physically tired. I’m talking about those moments when life seems to hit you from every direction. The phone rings with news you didn’t want to hear. Something you thought was settled suddenly falls apart. Someone you love is hurting, and there’s nothing you can do to fix it. And sometimes, you’re just tired. Not because of one particular thing, but because of everything.
I’ve learned that life doesn’t always give us time to recover from one difficult season before another begins. We just keep going. We get up, put a smile on our faces, take care of our responsibilities, and do our best to make it through another day. But somewhere along the way, we need to stop and remember that God never intended for us to carry everything ourselves. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” I’ve read that verse countless times, but the older I get, the more I appreciate those two simple words: Be still.
That’s not always easy for me. I like to find solutions. I want to make things better. When there’s a problem, my natural response is to do something about it. But I’ve discovered that some things are simply beyond my ability to change. And that’s where trusting God becomes more than something we talk about. It becomes something we have to live.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I love that invitation because Jesus knew we would get tired. He knew there would be days when the responsibilities, disappointments, and heartaches of life would become more than we could handle on our own. And He didn’t tell us to try harder. He told us to come to Him.
Sometimes we spend so much time trying to be strong for everybody else that we forget we need strength ourselves. We encourage people when our own hearts are hurting. We pray for others while carrying unanswered prayers. We tell people to trust God while quietly struggling with our own questions. I’ve come to realize that being a person of faith doesn’t mean you never get weary. It means knowing where to turn when you do.
Isaiah 26:3 reminds us, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Notice that God promises peace, not a life without problems.
There’s a difference. Peace doesn’t mean everything is going the way we hoped or planned. It means we can trust God even when nothing seems to make sense. Maybe today you’re dealing with something that has completely taken the wind out of your sails. Perhaps it’s grief, a family situation, financial pressure, or a disappointment you never saw coming. Maybe you’re simply exhausted from trying to hold everything together. Whatever it is, remember the words of 1 Peter 5:7: “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Don’t rush past those last few words. He cares for you. Not just the people you love. Not just the people you’re trying to help. He cares for you, too.
So take a little time today to be still. Turn off the noise. Spend a few moments talking with the Lord. Tell Him what’s weighing on your heart. And leave with Him the things you cannot change. Life may not look any different when you get up, but sometimes our greatest need isn’t for everything around us to change. It’s for God to give us peace in the middle of it.
You don’t have to figure everything out today. You don’t have to have all the answers or know what tomorrow holds. Tomorrow will have its own challenges, and God will be there for those, too. For now, trust Him, rest in His promises, and remember that the same God who gave youlife is more than able to sustain you through whatever life brings your way. Sometimes the best thing you can do is simply stop, remember who God is, and...just breathe.
