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Find Your Peace


 

I recently had to have an MRI.  I prayed all the way there.  I am not crazy about small enclosed spaces.  (God, please help me do this.  God, please keep me calm.)  As I laid down on the hard surface, I asked the technician how long this would take.  I was hoping for/expecting an answer of “Oh, 5-10 minutes.”  That’s what I had prepared myself for.  When the guy answered, “30 minutes”, my heart rate immediately doubled.  He placed a  device in my hand and said, “Push this button if you need to get out.”  As my body was pulled into the “tube” my anxiety level increased even more.  Apparently, I am more claustrophobic than I thought.  While my body was still, my thoughts and emotions were bouncing around in my head like a pinball machine and my shoulder was screaming with pain.  I immediately began to think about pushing the button.  I reasoned with myself trying to remember why I was doing this.  (A suspected rotator cuff tear had been plaguing me with pain for weeks.)  I had to do this to fix that.  What would happen if I bailed out?  By now, I had invested several minutes in the process and I didn’t want to start over.  But I wasn’t any calmer.  And then I began to pray.  (I should have done this in the first place.)  First, I prayed for peace.  Then I began to count my blessings in my mind and sing the last song I heard on the radio in the car. (“The Blessing” by Elevation Worship… click link below) My heart rate slowed and soon I didn’t feel anxious or afraid.  I didn’t hear the loud clicks and banging of the MRI machine.  I was comfortable and calm.  Suddenly, I was being pulled back out into the open.  I asked the guy what happened.  Did I accidentally push the button?  He replied, “No.  You were in there 30 minutes.  You’re done!”  Wow, really?  It felt like only a moment.  Why was I surprised?  God is the only emergency button we need.  When our focus is on Him, the worries of the world can slip away.  When we call on God, He never fails to answer.   He is there for us.  John 14:27 (ESV) says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  John 16:33 (ESV) “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  Remember where to find your peace.  Smile and be joyful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNnXKzjA-E8

 


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