I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

Psalms 91:2

When the alarm rings each morning the Smiths groan, turn over, and press the snooze button. A couple of minutes later, one of them sits bolt upright, looks at the clock and lets out a panicked yell. Both partners roll out of bed. Two bleary-eyed children are yanked from never-never land and commanded to be dressed. After gulping breakfast, everyone is out the door-to jobs, school, volunteer activities, lessons, and sports. Weekends, too, are an endless round of activity. Meanwhile the house is cluttered, the garden produces only exotic varieties of weeds, the Smiths’ “date nights” are a thing of the past. And their stress levels, not surprisingly, are off the chart.

The Smiths have structured their lives without any conscious thought about God. As a result, they are like the pilot who radioed back to his base, “I have no idea where I’m going, but I’m making record time.” Stress comes when we feel alone in the midst of pressure. God didn’t make us to go through the storms of life alone. He offers us a refuge. But we must take time out of our hectic lives to turn to Him.

Prayer:  Lord, I accept you as my source of peace even in the midst of stress.  Be my refuge, my fortress, the source of my security so that I can keep my activities in balance.