A Circle of Quiet.

“How blessed the man you train, God, the woman you instruct in your Word, providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil.” -Psalm 94:12

We live in a dog eat dog world, but we also live in world in which the God of Love is sovereign. This paradox sets my mind to considering, what is Love - true Love? What does perfect, unchangeable love look like?

George MacDonald writes, “Nothing is inexorable but love. Love which will yield to prayer is imperfect and poor. Nor is it then the love that yields, but its alloy… For love loves unto purity. Love has ever in view the absolute loveliness of that which it beholds. Where loveliness is incomplete, and love cannot love its fill of loving, it spends itself to make more lovely, that it may love more; it strives for perfection, even that itself may be perfected - not in itself, but in the object… Therefore all that is not beautiful in the beloved, all that comes between and is not of love’s kind, must be destroyed. And our God is a consuming fire.”

Love always loves to the same end, more love.

We are pushed and squeezed from the outside, distractions upon distractions upon expectations upon fears, and many times, our first reaction is to blame. Find someone or something to blame and go after them or it… This is evil’s diversion… always distraction… because the truth is, Love is allowing this squeezing,… why? Because, Love is teaching us to walk by faith and not by sight. He is teaching us to trust. He is freeing us from ourselves. He is teaching us to lean not on our own understanding - He knows what lies in the heart of man… but He will make us Good. He payed a high price to love us into more Love, into Himself. Will we believe He is Good no matter our circumstances? Jesus did. And we are asked to follow Him. Lord, create in us a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil. Amen.