Sometimes my own life feels like one big blur of survival from holiday to birthday to school to doctor’s office to mealtime to bedtime and back again. I am always running, and running late. There is constantly an urgent matter pressing, whether it be the next meal everyone is “starving!” for, the next appointment, the school pickup, or someone having a mini crisis. It is hard to split my attention between four kids, a husband, and a house. It is hard sometimes to just explain what I’ve done all day, or even all month, except to say that it’s been a blur.

And yet, opposed to this mess of madness and mayhem that is life with littles, God calls me into His presence to be still. “Be still, and know that I am God,” He invites (Psalm 46:10). As if I should know how to do that. Oh, I can be still–out cold on the couch during an accidental afternoon nap. But if I’m awake? My mind, and usually my body, are anything but still. I can be still when I’m hidden in my closet, eating the very last piece of chocolate in the house, while a little voice inquires from the bedroom doorway, “Mommy? Are you in here?” I can be still when the kids peek in to see whether I’m awake for the morning. But that’s about all I know of being still. Am I supposed to find time alone (hahaha) to sit somewhere in solitude and silence (HAHAHAHA) for a spell? Well that’s unlikely, except in the bathroom–no, wait, never mind, not even there. . . .

Being still before the Lord sometimes means simply letting go.

This is good news for those of us in mommyland, who find stillness and quiet hard commodities to come by. It means that even if our surroundings are in chaos, our souls can be anchored deep in the stillness that comes from certainty in God’s power.

Human beings were made to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. The truth is that many have become indoor zombies. Too many people in this generation are not getting the benefit of being outdoors. We sit in front of our computers, smartphones, tablets, and TVs. However, this kind of lifestyle increases the risk for sickness and disease. There is healing power in nature; it is God’s physician. Why not make a conscious effort to spend more time in nature? It will improve your physical and mental health. . . .

Air pollution endangers our health. Children and senior citizens are the most vulnerable. Harmful gases are emitted by cars, trucks, buses, trains, and factories, which send carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and methane into the air we breathe. This polluted air, especially in the cities, is a major cause of respiratory problems and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. Those with existing heart disease are at dramatically increased risk of heart attack and stroke. . . .

Our environment is vital to our health. It is either health restoring or health destroying. The more we live in harmony with God’s original plan, the healthier we will be. Spending time outdoors in pure, fresh air makes a difference. Relaxing in nature restores our minds and bodies. It soothes our nerves and restores our health. The sights and sounds of nature are God’s blessings to us. He has provided them to give us health of body, mind, and spirit.

Give your family the freedom and blessings of a weekly Sabbath. You’ve been given divine permission not to think about anything work related (either at the workplace or at home) every seven days for a whole twenty-four hours. In fact, God commands everyone to take this break (Exodus 20:8–11). What an incredible gift God has given to you and your family! An entire twenty-four-hour period to focus on Him and His creation, which includes your mate and your children. You can rest without feeling guilty. It’s kind of like walking into heaven. Celebrate this gift every week; don’t leave it wrapped on the shelf. You need it for maximum productivity and a full love cup. Don’t cheat yourself (or God).

In addition to a weekly time-out, every parent needs a bit of time alone each day. Parents need private places where they can put themselves back together without phone calls, doorbells, text messages, and the TV disturbing them. Healthy parents also need projects, interests, and hobbies that bring them a sense of satisfaction and remind them of their competence.

You are a child of the King. Treat yourself like royalty, even if others forget. “Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

In one of His most famous parables, Jesus told the story of a man who was robbed and beaten up, then left half dead on the side of the road to Jericho, a rugged and barren road through the Judean wilderness. A couple of “respectable” folks passed by without wanting to risk getting involved, staying at a safe distance. Then came the unlikely hero of Jesus’ story–a “despised Samaritan” traveler who noticed the injured man and “felt compassion for him” (Luke 10:33, NLT).

While the priest and the Levite would have risked their ceremonial purity to stop to help the beaten man, anyone stopping on that roadside would have been taking a risk that the robbers were still in the area. But motivated by compassion, the Samaritan stopped and set about tending to the man’s wounds. He then went even further, committing to pay the costs of the man’s ongoing care and recovery at the closest inn (see Luke 10:35). In Jesus’ story, the Samaritan risked himself, risked getting involved, risked inconvenience and cost–because he had compassion.

Jesus told this story in response to a leading question from a lawyer about who was the “neighbor” that the law required him to love. Jesus did not quibble. His summary answer was, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Fear and prejudice do not discount our call to love, to serve, and to help. Compassion must be stronger than fear. As outrageous and offensive as it would have been to His original audience, Jesus was telling them to be “a good Samaritan”–before that became a cliché–and insisting that a good Samaritan was someone to keep an eye out for.

There is much in our world that can make us afraid. As we look back and read the accounts of peoples and nations in the past, we see that there has been much in world history that has made people afraid in their respective times and places. Among these, the first few verses of Psalm 46 describe upheaval in the natural world–things like earthquakes and landslides, storms and tsunamis. It is similar to the language that Jesus used in describing the fearful events in the world at the end of time: “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea” (Luke 21:25).

That this was a reality written about in the poetry of ancient Israel, in the teachings of Jesus, and in His expectation of the end times reminds us that our world has been much less stable than we often imagine and that disasters of different kinds have been experienced in all societies across history. They have been something that all people have had to reckon with, live with, and try to explain across human history. People have had to find ways to live well amid the uncertainties of our planet and its sometimes destructive forces.

While Jesus seemed to indicate that there would be a greater intensity of natural and unnatural disasters as the time of His return neared, these are not new experiences for human beings. We can learn from the faith of our spiritual ancestors, who encountered these unnerving phenomena themselves yet found refuge and strength in the same God we follow and serve today. These psalmists would insist that, in the midst of seemingly ever-present trouble, we have an “ever-present help,” so we will not fear.

God made man perfectly holy and happy; and the fair earth, as it came from the Creator’s hand, bore no blight of decay or shadow of the curse. It is transgression of God’s law–the law of love–that has brought woe and death. Yet even amid the suffering that results from sin, God’s love is revealed. It is written that God cursed the ground for man’s sake. Genesis 3:17. The thorn and the thistle–the difficulties and trials that make his life one of toil and care–were appointed for his good as a part of the training needful in God’s plan for his uplifting from the ruin and degradation that sin has wrought. The world, though fallen, is not all sorrow and misery. In nature itself are messages of hope and comfort. There are flowers upon the thistles, and the thorns are covered with roses.

“God is love” is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green–all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy.–Steps to Christ, pp. 9, 10.

In addition to the story of Isaac, Genesis provides us with countless firsts. It is where we first meet the concept of a Creator God. It is where we first see marriage (Genesis 2:23, 24), which not only provides us with God’s ideal for the institution but also points us forward to the ultimate Groom, who becomes “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (verse 23) in the incarnation because of His intense desire to marry us. We meet angels for the first time. We read about prayer for the first time. We see the birth of human government. We are provided with the identity of the great serpent who appears later on in Revelation 12–he is the one who first deceived the human race and will do it one last time prior to Christ’s return. And all of these firsts powerfully inform those concepts throughout the rest of Scripture.

Almost no passage of the Bible, in other words, exists in a vacuum. William Miller discovered that this was the golden key that unlocked even the most mysterious passages found in Daniel and Revelation. This was the powerful tool that propelled the remnant church forward into a global movement: their message clearly stood on the 3,500 years of history provided in the Scriptures. Not one word of Revelation 14 is original; nearly every idea presented in the three angels’ messages is anchored in antiquity, an understanding that provides humble confidence to the believer. The more closely you examine the truth, the more truthful it seems. When you find your understanding of Revelation woven throughout the other sixty-five books, there’s a really good chance that you are on the right path. 

The common Hebrew word used for repentance is interesting. The word is shub, which means “to turn back.” Repentance is turning in the opposite direction from evil and moving toward God. Time after time, the Bible speaks of this turn from evil toward God (see Ezekiel 33:11; Jeremiah 31:18, 19; and Hosea 14:1, 2). The message of repentance has always been expressed in terms of hope and trust for the repentant sinner. Repentance is always accessible. There may be moments in which you wonder whether the doors of heaven are closed to your prayers because you don’t receive the answer you desire, but never wonder whether the doors to repentance are closed to you. There may be repentance as long as there is life. The hand of God stretches to take the hand of the penitent and save him from the wrath of justice. As Martin Luther is credited with saying, “Between the mud and the mount, thy mercy I sought, and thy mercy I found.” No one has walked so far that he cannot repent and turn to God. Let no man say, “Because I have sinned, there is no hope for me,” but trust in God and repent, and God will receive him. 

Jesus invites His followers to seek an intimate relationship with God so they could grow spiritually. This spiritual growth is not based on religious rites or ceremonies; rather, it is a gift that is gained through grace. The development of a passionate relationship with God goes further than practicing spiritual disciplines, even though these are an excellent start. Therefore, spirituality is not merely about morality, good conduct, living a sinless life (perfectionism), or a pious life with holy verbal or corporal language. It is not only about doctrinal purity, biblical knowledge, or spiritual disciplines. Neither does it have to do with membership, church positions, or lifestyle choices such as diet, dress, and exercise. It’s not necessarily manifested in signs and wonders, speaking in tongues, or performing miracles. It bears no connection to a sanguine temperament or a certain level of friendliness or generosity. Neither does it have to do with seriousness, marital status, age, gender, or race.

Instead, as Ellen G. White expresses: “Constantly we must submit our will to God’s will, our way to God’s way. Our peculiar ideas will strive constantly for the supremacy, but we must make God all and in all. We are not free from the failings of humanity, but we must constantly strive to be free from these failings, not to be perfect in our own eyes, but perfect in every good work.” 

Jesus’ obedience is demonstrated when, after the Last Supper and before the crucifixion, He prayed in Gethsemane, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Just as Christ fully submitted to the will of God, Christians discover that the secret to success relies exclusively on developing a spirit of obedience and reverent fear so that they, too, can say, “Father . . . not my will but Yours be done.” This reliance is achieved step by step as Christians learn to listen to God and understand His purpose. Taking small steps of faith will prepare you for the decisive hour when you have to completely surrender your will to the will of God.

Real transformation is a journey that will lead you through prayer, suffering, tears, and spiritual defeats to a Gethsemane where you will have to finally surrender in obedience to your personal Savior. Only when you understand what it means to say “not my will, but Yours be done” will you be glorified in the same way Jesus was glorified. 

The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only of ridicule or contempt.

The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering. We don’t deserve it

It came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. 2 Chron. 12:1.

The pen of inspiration has traced the sad record of Solomon’s successor as one who failed to exert a strong influence for loyalty to Jehovah. Naturally headstrong, confident, self-willed, and inclined to idolatry, nevertheless, had he placed his trust wholly in God, he would have developed strength of character, steadfast faith, and submission to the divine requirements. But as time passed, the king put his trust in the power of position and in the strongholds he had fortified. Little by little he gave way to inherited weaknesses, until he threw his influence wholly on the side of idolatry. . . .

How sad, how filled with significance, the words, “And all Israel with him”! The people whom God had chosen to stand as a light to the surrounding nations were turning from their Source of strength and seeking to become like the nations about them. As with Solomon, so with Rehoboam–the influence of wrong example led many astray. And as with them, so to a greater or less degree is it today with everyone who gives himself up to work evil–the influence of wrongdoing is not confined to the doer. No man liveth unto himself. None perish alone in their iniquity. Every life is a light that brightens and cheers the pathway of others, or a dark and desolating influence that tends toward despair and ruin. We lead others either upward to happiness and immortal life, or downward to sorrow and eternal death. And if by our deeds we strengthen or force into activity the evil powers of those around us, we share their sin.