God is all about putting things in perspective and teaching me on this church planting journey.  Actually, just on the journey of following Christ He’s constantly teaching me things . . . if I’m listening and looking out for the lessons.

Today I had one of those lessons that I didn’t have to look very hard to find.  I was milling around before church this morning, getting some things in order and – heads up for some pastoral honesty – worrying about HOW SMALL our crowd would be on a rainy, day before Christmas Eve Sunday morning in a 4 month old church.  That was the extent of my worries – how many and which people would be there for the service – until Jeff caught me in the lobby and said “I thought you were already on your way!  Here’s the diaper bag and my keys, take my truck, Amber’s been in an accident!”

Talk about a total shift in focus.

After a few seconds of Jeff briefing me about where they were and what they needed, I jumped in his truck and headed for the scene of the wreck.  No longer were my prayers wrapped around who God would send to ICC for the morning service or how the music would sound or if I’d done enough sermon prep this week.  My wife and son (and another good friend of ours) had been in an accident and that was my total focus.

About halfway to the scene I collected wildly running mind enough to spend a few moments in prayer before I pulled up.  Thankfully, everyone was fine and the car now has a slight “badge of honor,”  but it was a lesson in priorities.  And it was a lesson in something else. 

I was sharing a message this morning about how Jesus serves as our “Prince Of Peace,” and He spent the morning reminding me of how often I fail to allow His peace to reign in my life.  As backwards as it sounds, I really think there are times when I would rather wallow in a pity party or let myself be worked into a frenzy than to live the victorious life I have available in Jesus – a life complete with a peace that “transcends all understanding.”

God help me to make a concerted effort to hand over my troubles and worries to you and let the Prince of Peace reign in every area of my life