1373) If you live in Maine, close to the Canadian border as I do, having a woodstove is a blessing. Though there is a constant supply of little pieces of wood and bark in the house, the warmth that a wood stove brings when it is freezing out is unbelievable.

Because we have a woodstove, we have several fire detectors installed on the ceiling within our home. For a period of time, one of them, close to the woodstove, would go off and its loud screech would cause me to almost jump out of my skin. It would be several minutes before my heart rate settled down and I could go back to regular breathing. When the alarm goes off and it’s a false alarm, my body longs for calm.

In Exodus, Moses has been in the ring with Pharaoh to let God’s people go. There were ten plagues and then, on the way out of Egypt, the Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea. After God delivered the people from these things, all of which my heart rate would go into over-drive, he provided all that his people needed on their journey to the Promised Land.

Despite all of God’s provisions, God’s people continued to be difficult to lead and Moses, I’m sure, felt worn out. In Exodus 33:14, Moses comes to God, pleading for some calm in his life. It’s interesting here that God does not take these stressful things out of Moses’ life. Instead, God tells him he will go with Moses, wherever he is, and that he will give him rest or calm.

One of the amazing things about God is he can provide calm even amid the most stressful situations. Turn to him and ask for his calm. He promises to provide it.