There is a part of the sea known as �the cushion of the sea.� It lies beneath the surface that is agitated by storms and churned by the wind. It is so deep that it is a part of the sea that is never stirred.
When the ocean floor in these deep places is dredged of the remains of plant or animal life, it reveals evidence of having remained completely undisturbed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Unaffected by all the turbulence that was above it.
The peace of God is an eternal calm like the �"cushion of the sea."� It lies so deep in our hearts that no circumstance or difficulty can reach it. We can go within and access that place at any time, and in doing so in the midst of difficult circumstances, we draw those around us into the presence of our God whose everlasting arms are beneath all of our stormy seas in life.
Psalm 62:1 says, �"My soul finds rest in God alone."�
We don't find it in eating or shopping. They don't satisfy even for the moment we do them, because we know they are substitutes for what will truly satisfy, and guilt begins to creep in before we finish eating or arrive home with our packages.
Why are we so unsatisfied? Why does there seem to be gulf between us and the love of God? The words are written and spoken that God loves us, but we don't seem to be able to feel it, to touch it, to know it so much that our lives are changed by it.
When we fall in love with somebody it turns our world upside down. We become somebody different and all of life seems wonderful. If we could grasp God's love every day would be grand and magnificent, regardless of what it held.
Is it because we feel unworthy? If you are allowing those thoughts to continually be in your mind, you will not be able to see life with clear vision. You will not be able to see the love of God. You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought. Thoughts are seeds and they have power to grow into an awful harvest of depression if you are planting bad thoughts.
God pardons you! Why won't you let yourself off the hook? You're not a bad girl! You were created by God and He calls you GOOD!
Consider Micah 7:18-19:
�"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
God did that with Jesus. He gave His Son to die for us so we might receive forgiveness. Who are you not to forgive yourself when God forgives you? Do you think you are a better judge than God?
Release the past. Live for the future. Forgive yourself, forgive others! Don't sacrifice your entire life for a few awful moments you endured. Dump those transgressions into the sea and take God's peace!
It will take time to renew your mind, but you can do it with one �"healing moment" at a time. Refuse to listen to those thoughts. When they come, immediately think and visualize a big NO and think God loves me and I love Him, so I will not think badly of His creation. You can do it! Put in on a piece of paper and stick it in your pocket - put it on the mirror - on the kitchen counter, on the refrigerator when you go for something that will not satisfy. Wrap your credit card in it and read it before you make a purchase.
Don't give up the best for what the world offers in place of it. God's love will fill all of your emptiness.
-by Donna L. Watkins
"I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever." (Psalm 52:8)