Preparing for tonight's Bible study, I came across a phrase in a commentary that caught my attention. Working on 1 Peter 5:6-7, the writer suggested that we "relax into God's sovereignty and find peace."
That sounds good to me.
My mind flashes back to a scene in Chalkyitsik, Alaska. I spent four summers in tiny Athabaskan villages as a college student. One of those places was Chalkyitsik, a village just north of the Arctic Circle. One day the village celebrated the birthday of the oldest woman in town. The words of 1 Peter 5:7 were written on her birthday cake: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
In the eyes of a young college student, the old woman looked like she had lived a difficult life. But I still remember the words written on her birthday cake that day, words that invited all of us to relax into God's sovereignty and find peace.
That is not, of course, how most of us live. We do not, in fact, relax into God's sovereignty. And we do not typically find peace. Instead, our lives are more often marked by anxiety and restlessness.
The same commentary that invited me to relax into God's sovereignty quoted a poem. The author of the commentary said that the poem "perfectly captured the anxiety and frenzy of our day." The poem is entitled "Time of the Mad Atom."
The same commentary that invited me to relax into God's sovereignty quoted a poem. The author of the commentary said that the poem "perfectly captured the anxiety and frenzy of our day." The poem is entitled "Time of the Mad Atom."
This is the age
of the half-read page
and the quick hash
and the mad dash
the bright night
with the nerves tight
the plane hop
with the brief stop
the lamp tan
in a short span
the big shot
in a good spot
and the brain strain
and the heart pain
and the cat naps
till the spring snaps
and the fun's done.
And that pretty much says it all.
What's most telling is that this poem . . . was originally published in 1949. Sixty-five years ago, Virginia Brasier's poem was published in The Saturday Evening Post. We can barely imagine that there would have been that kind of anxiety and restlessness in 1949 - at least not compared to the anxiety and restlessness of our world today. But Virginia Brasier would tell us something different.
How interesting that the advice to relax into God's sovereignty and find peace is fitting for both 1949 and 2014.
My suspicion is that anxiety and restlessness are simply part of the human experience, and that people of any day would benefit from the same counsel.
And that counsel is good. And it is true.
When I know that God cares about me, I just might cast my anxiety on him. And if I were to do that, I just might find peace.
That sounds good to me.