Quiet Time: Settle Down

Settle Down

Read: Philippians 4:4-7


6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 (NAS)

“SETTLE DOWN!” Here it is forty years later and I can still hear my dad’s words bellowing from the driver’s seat to us kids in the back as we traveled on our annual summer road trip. My sister and I loved these long excursions from Florida to Indiana. They were an adventure. Dad liked to travel the back roads, which meant that we often saw things most vacationers never see. Like little known Civil War battle grounds maintained by the local historic societies or deep pits with sheer cliffs that peered down on crystalline blue green water left over from a long forgotten mining operation. But back roads also meant long…long…long periods of travel from one point to another. So, as kids often do, my sister and I became antsy, then rambunctious, and finally downright irritable. That’s when the order to “SETTLE DOWN!” barked from dad, and sometimes from both parents simultaneously! Can you relate? I don’t think many of us are very good at "settling down" these days, but God tells us the best way to do it.

Basically what I hear Him saying to us in Philippians is this: “Don’t be a worrier. I want you to bring everything, and I mean ‘everything’ to Me. Talk to me about your cares, concerns, hopes, and dreams And while you’re talking to Me, thank Me ahead of time. You know I’ll always answer and give you exactly what you need, may-be not what you want, but definitely what you need. As you do this, My peace, peace that you didn’t see coming or understand how it exists, will settle you down in My Son, Jesus Christ as you walk out your faith daily."

God wants us to talk to Him (prayer), listen to Him (read the Word) and rest in Him (simply relax); especially when something’s weighing heavy on our minds.

In other words, “Settle Down.” God’s got this.