You know that tightness in your chest? Like you can’t catch a deep, cleansing breath? Sometimes as a wife, mother, entrepreneur, I have 80 browser tabs open inside my head at once. Mentally, I’m shifting and rearranging the most important tabs to the front all throughout the day. And when I get tired, I usually end up closing one by mistake, which inevitably leads to dropping one or all of the balls!
It can be overwhelming, and there are moments when I have to stop and give this mom a time-out to prevent ball-dropping and insanity. Lately though, my emotions have been more of fear mixed with frustration, mostly because of the way the world is looking these days. Uncertainty mixed with more uncertainty on the horizon. The Bible has told us what to expect, but watching to see how it plays out is another thing altogether. How much time is left? What does the future look like for us? For our son? What kind of world will be waiting for him when he matures? What will his peer landscape look like? I’ve worn God’s ears and my own mind out asking a million questions. I still don’t have all of the answers. But I know this much— giving myself a time out, time to withdraw from the noise and confusion of this world and into the presence of Jesus, is time well spent. And the most beautiful thing is you can time out wherever you are, at any time, whenever needed. It’s free and it’s unlimited.
Time-out from the world to have a time-in with Jesus lets me renew my mind and my strength. It’s like sitting in your favorite chair with your favorite coffee and being with your best friend. It just feeds your soul. I used to allow myself a few minutes of social media and TikTok as a means of escaping thinking about the heavy things of life, but I found that, while some videos were funny or ridiculous, it left me feeling more tired in the brain. And the time itself was just wasted. But time in his presence… ahhhhh….
I love how Zephaniah calls out God’s delight in us. It says, “he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” He is with us. He is mighty to save us from our fear, from our overwhelming thoughts, and time in his presence brings us back to the awareness of his deep love for us. Scripture states he’s singing joyfully over us, like a father singing to his child.
When my son Andrew was still a baby, my husband used to sing “Sweet Child of Mine” over him when he cried. This passage reminds me of that time, and my husband, with joy and love plastered all over his face, rocking our son and singing, no matter how LOUD Andrew was scream/crying! Andrew loves music and singing to him always calms him quickly. It’s the same for us.
If you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, afraid, or just angry, just GO and meet with Jesus. You can be honest with him about your feelings. He will quiet your emotions with his love. Under his wings, you will find refuge. His promises are your armor and protection (Psalm 91:4).
Zephaniah 3:14ff ///// “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back on your enemy. The Lord, the Kind of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”The sorrows for the appointed feast I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.“
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