By Dr. Amanda McElroy
Returning from a trip a few days early, excited to surprise my staff. They were expecting me to be out of town for a week at a training, I’d only been gone two days. The training wasn’t as intense as I anticipated, prompting me to evaluate if the return on my time investment was great enough. The final decision was no, the learning that would take place for this particular training was not sufficient to justify time away when I have purposeful things happening at home and with my staff. And so, I returned 3 days early. I walked in the door, feeling fresh and confident in my decision, ready to surprise my ladies, and received no reaction from the ladies inside. I got a raised eyebrow from one, and flicker of the eye acknowledgment from another, and a tilted head from yet a third as they went about their business. I stood in the lobby for a minute, waiting for perhaps a delayed reaction, a happy exclamation of “You’re back!” Nothing. They continued interacting with clients and doing a fabulous job of handling, well, their jobs. My heart deflated a little bit, and I melted into my office in silence. My inner thoughts started pinging around my head like a child’s rubber bouncy ball. “Why did I bother coming back early if they don’t care that I’m here?” “Didn’t they miss me?” “Do I even matter?” Instead of peace in my heart, I had turbulence.
Amazing the things the devil can whisper into my heart while sitting on my shoulder. Reality is, several of my staff were excited to see me return early and made a point to say so. In that moment, my pride and emotional insecurities got the better of me. The devil was filling my heart with thoughts that did not belong. In that moment, I was troubled. For a silly reason, it’s true, but it felt very real for a moment standing outside my office watching the bustle of interactions between staff and clients and feeling invisible. It was like every feeling of insecurity and unworthiness camped out next to the devil on my shoulder all at the same time. It was more than I could bear in that moment. Thankfully, even when my heart is being silly and unreasonable, and I’ve lost my peace – such as in that moment – I have an avenue of relief available to me:
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” I Peter 5:7
Peace is not found in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of God. Troubles come in all shapes and sizes, and we all have them. Sometimes we have several at once! They can be tangible – your car breaks down unexpectedly. They can be physical – sickness or pain. They can be emotional or mental – our imagination loves to misconstrue conversations and warp our perspective. They can be spiritual – the devil does love to distract us from reality!
Everyone faces troubles, everyone has cares and burdens that find their way into our lives. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
It’s true, being a Christian does not mean we get a hall pass on life’s troubles – but it does mean we have a Heavenly Father who cares so much for us that he wants to carry those troubles for us. We don’t have to carry them on our own. Big or small, we can takes those troubles to Him and He will carry them for us – if we will let Him.
Letting my heart get deflated because some of my staff didn’t do a happy dance when I returned early is very juvenile. The professional bossy lady side of myself has an eyebrow arched that the inner little girl would be so silly. But it happens. Sometimes the devil knows what button to push. He knows the inner struggles that we face, and he is the master of deception. When those moments come, the answer is to cast our cares on the Lord and then carry on! A children’s song from my days running bus routes for church comes to mind. I’m going to sing it for you… if you know it, sing it with me! If you know the hand motions, don’t be shy!
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul,
In my soul!
(Sing twice)
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul,
In my soul!
(Sing twice)
I’ve got love like the ocean,
I’ve got love like the ocean,
I’ve got love like the ocean in my soul,
In my soul!
(Sing twice)
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got love like the ocean in my soul,
In my soul!
(Sing twice)
