Daniel

Man this Daniel Bible study is gripping. Yesterday we learned about our responses during a crisis. A crisis is going to really reveal your heart. Beth's call yesterday was for us to become so fluent in the Word that our first response is godly. Not stress, anger, fighting, hiding, or resentment, but a calm call to prayer and obedience.

It came to me last night that we don't learn that calm response during the stressful times. Although those times often drive us to the Word, we are too "in the moment" to meditate and digest everything really well. Plus, in the moment it is to late to answer the question. We have to already know what the correct answer is, because the emotions and tension of the moment really cloud our decision making ability. It amazes me what I can justify in the moment and later know was ridiculous.

It is the "ebb" times, the quiet, peaceful almost boring times that allow us the opportunity to grow. I think God allows us these times of quiet for two reasons. One is that they give us a time of rest. Our bodies were not created to be at heightened emotional states for long periods of time. Stress will lead to heart disease if it continues too long. God knows that the Mountain Top experiences with Him are wonderful and faith building, but they need to be balanced with times of rest.

The other reason is that we need time to chew and meditate on new Biblical truths. In a time of stress, we have a hard time sitting still long enough to meditate and truly hide His word in our hearts.

I hope that I can learn to make proper use of the quiet times in life. Not just let them pass, but capture them as times to rest, learn, and memorize so that I am prepared for the next crisis....because we all know it will come.