I cannot say, with certainty, where this calm place is located – a place which existed only in my mind. It is nearby a living brook which is flowing with the natural taste of sweet water. With small fishes and crabs, swimming and roaming around, in their best possible fashion as designed by the Creator.
The calm place, if existed in reality, must be hiding in between the folds of small hills, probably facing towards the place where I made my first cry, kick-starting my lungs. In the humble dwelling of ours which no longer exists, my thunderous first cry was a way of signaling my families that I have came alive and well.
In the slope of the beautiful hills, there is an ‘Aidaak-buuk’ facing towards the east. Aidaak-buuk, in my native language, is a makeshift hut with thatched roof mostly sloping on one side, where the weary cultivators would take rest at noontime and retired from the day’s work. It, usually, is made to last for one crop season, where next generations learned the art of building their home in the past.
Now as for me, I am retreating into this makeshift hut in my search for a calm place. I take moments to meditate on the verses, humming few choruses along the way. As I look around, adoring the creations of the creator, I know that God had cared so much for wayward people like us. God put a functioning ecosystem which suited our living but we tend to destroy it, as we put our insufficient mind to work.
For a weak person who is in need of consistent care, although not physically, sometimes I wanted to escape in such places. When your mind gets easily tired in the fast moving world, we desired for such calm places.
Even between the siblings, our ideologies and inspirations can grow wide beyond we can imagine, which could yield us a heavy heart. However, as we aged a bit, we need intermingling with people for good. We need to lay the foundations of building a new family as our failure in this matter would cost big in our lives.
Meditating on the Deeds of God:
We know that our journey cannot be as smooth as we wanted it to be. Since the day we started our journey, we have been submerged in a plethora of emotions: good and bad. We have been honk-upon discreetly at times, yet there are times we joyfully whispered to ourselves, ‘there couldn’t be better gift than this life’!
I am privileged to encounter certain periods in my life, which let me know that I am still living because there is God. There are people who can administer well calculated drugs yet it’s the grace of God which makes me lie down and wakes me up in my dark days. We’re no one to mess with the authority of the Lord.
We may groan in pain, we may grew faint, troubled, possessed a doubtful heart, as we are still a functioning human. Yet we are to meditate on the mighty deeds of the Lord in our lives; remembering the deeds of the Most High. The miracles of long ago, or not-so-long ago, and the miracles we saw in our lives: for, our life itself is a miracle! (Psalms 77: 10-12)
Self-Retiring in Calm Place:
After witnessing the work of the Lord in Mount Carmel, the bold and courageous Elijah wanted to retired in his journey. He seems less willing to fight more, at this juncture. He ran for his life as the evil person Jezebel tried to hunt him down. In the wilderness, he remained aloof for a while. (1 Kings 19)
He found a retreating calm place for himself. He lay down under the broom bush and after a brief talk with God he had fallen asleep. This time he acted upon his will not as directed by God; once he’d retreated nearby a brook, as directed by God, where the ravens fed him. It seems he wanted to escape, at least for a while from the hullabaloo of life.
In his hideout, however, the Lord told him that he cannot simply retire as yet. God comforted Elijah not to be discouraged because there are thousands God had reserved in Israel who still stand true in His name. He was assuring Elijah, more importantly, that he was not alone in his stand for God. When we feel we’re alone, standing
in the midst of storms, we easily gets discourage.
That’s me, and may be, you too. So, there are times, when I wanted to retire in that place which only existed in my mind. It is necessary, however, to take courage and strengthen ourselves in the name of the Lord so that I’d be able to perform my duties and obligations in life.
Surrendering While Waiting:
Here in Psalms 46:10a, we have a very familiar verse which stated “Be still, and know that I am God;” It is more than difficult to remain still in burdensome situations. Since we possessed or attained some knowledge in our life, we wanted to act upon and solve the situations as we deem fit. And that’s a good thing to do than simply remaining as a mere spectator.
Yet there’s one thing we must remember in this situations- to remain calm waiting, meditating on the Lord, waiting for an instruction, and not reacting very fast. Reacting too fast in any situation could cause further damage in difficult situations.
By saying, ‘this is my problem; I give it to you Jesus Christ, please handle this situation as you please. In any way, if this doubtful heart in my tumultuous situation could be a channel of showing your glory, let it be. And give me peace and calmness of my wandering mind.’ In this way we will get calmness in the midst of storm!
Surrendering, in any case, can be dangerous. Surrendering to the Lord applies the same thing. Yet in some situations, surrendering is the only way out. To surrender before God is to surrender the will of self.
Stillness Before Christ:
By being me retiring into my so called Aidaak-buuk, the storms in my life will not simply fade away. Yet remains a wish when I find it hard to keep balance with the flow of life. In these circumstances, the Lord wanted me to stay still.
And I stand still before Jesus of Nazareth; amazed at the love and grace showered upon me. For, He had given me calmness and peace in my wandering mind, easily troubled, hopeless, and doubtful, which no entity on earth could bestow.
It is here in my short journey on earth, I long for a calm place, from time to time. In that short period before I rested in my Saviors’ loving arm in eternity. We have been tempted to search for such calm environment in our selfish human nature.
Further, the intensity of unavoidable circumstances in life may also coerce us to search with deep longing for such calm place, at least for some time. It is the place, however, that can gives us rest but acknowledging the presence of God and communing with Him in our tense moments of life.
In the end, although we might be longing for resting in calm places, in the midst of our life, it is better to wait for the Lord’s, with stillness.
