BBD 02.04.15 Keep Calm (New)
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The Burning
Bush Devotional
02.04.15
Keep
Calm
Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly
moved. - Psalm 62:2 NKJV.
Then He (Jesus) arose and
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased
and there was a great calm. - Mark 4:39 NKJV.
In
Orland Park a suburb of Chicago, a man only identified as Steve, was walking
along peacefully when his next step sent him suddenly falling down 20 feet into
a storm sewer. One of his legs was broken with other “trauma” to the lower part
of his body. He was trapped and couldn’t move. Steve did have his cell phone
and was able to connect to 911 asking for help. It took about 15 minutes to
locate the area where Steve had fallen, and then by his shouting, the exact
hole was found. It took 70 minutes to extricate the man from the storm sewer
hole. From 911 tapes that were released, we know that Steve remained calm
throughout his ordeal of almost two hours. Steve
said from the hospital, “While I'm in a great deal of pain, I am thankful to be
alive and grateful to the fine men and women who rescued me and are treating me
here in the hospital.” To whom was Steve thankful? I believe he was
thankful to God for his being able to survive his horrific ordeal. (Yahoo News;
Fox News; 5NBC Chicago 12.31.14)
Within the last two years the “Keep
Calm” phenomenon has arisen with all kinds of admonitions to “Keep Calm.” Here are a few of them:
keep calm and carry on, keep calm and ignore the haters, keep calm and stay
positive, keep calm and relax, keep calm and never give up, keep calm and have
fun, keep calm and stay strong, keep calm and be cool, keep calm and eat a
banana, keep calm and dream on, keep calm and google it, keep calm and ride on,
keep calm and be yourself, keep calm and hug a husky, keep calm and rock on,
keep calm and smile, keep calm and go shopping, and keep calm and love
yourself. There appear to be countless other variations of the admonition to
keep calm.
According to Wikipedia, “Keep
Calm and Carry On” was a motivational poster produced by the British
government in preparation for the Second World War. Some 2.45 million of the
posters were produced, although it was rarely displayed and mostly forgotten
until a copy was found in 2000. The current fad of the “Keep Calm” phenomenon may have been spurred on by the discovery of
20 copies of the original poster, which were featured on Antiques Roadshow in
2012.
I think we can all agree that to keep calm in trying circumstances
is usually a good thing to do. But how do you do that? The Psalmist was able to
“silently wait” and to not be “greatly moved.” The Psalmist was able to do that by his fully trusting in God
saying, “He only is
my rock and my salvation; He is my defense.” To
keep calm in difficult circumstances is possible, and there is a way to do that as the prophet
Isaiah says about his God, “You will keep him in
perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah
26:3).”
Whether you suddenly fall into a sewer drain hole and break a leg,
or you are called into the head office and told your employment has been
terminated, it is helpful to know how to keep calm. The first thing to remember
is that God is not surprised by this sudden catastrophe in your life. He most
likely did not cause it, but He knew it was going to happen. The second thing
to remember is that the God who can say “Peace be still!” to the
waves stilling them can calm the sudden storm in your life whatever it may be.
The third thing to remember is to ask God to help you. Matthew 7:7-8 is still in the Bible, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock,
and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Don’t
forget to “ask” for help from the One who is
able to help you! And, keep calm….
Copyright © 2015. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
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an end to the racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace
and love. Please pray for Justin Lewis who is battling cancer. He is a young
Christian man with a wife and two children. Unless God intervenes there is
little hope for him. Please also pray for Shane Hall who has cancer and for all
those afflicted with this terrible disease. My sister, Reta, is also in need of
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