Windows

I don’t often close the windows of our house in early September, but I found myself doing it this week to keep out the smoke of the nearby wildfires. And this unusual, unseasonal behavior got me thinking about windows. 

Windows. 

I love windows. They can give us wonderful views of the outside world, and where I live, that’s a gift to see. I love watching the trees dance in the wind, the flowers open their petals to the sun, and the stretch of open land filled with greenery that leads down to the nearby river. When I look out my windows, I normally am reminded of the goodness and greatness and creativity of our great God. 

So my windows usually provide a view of a world I want to see. A world of beauty. This week, though, it’s all changed. Smoke from the nearby fires surround and envelop our decades old trees, smoke fills our garden with a yellow tinge to the point where day seems almost like night. Our porch is covered with ash. 

It’s a bit freaky.

And so, I close the windows to keep out the smell of smoke and the soot that easily floats in. And not only do I close the windows, but this week I don’t even like looking out the windows, because it’s depressing to see what’s happening. And the view of what I see reminds me of the tragedy unfolding for those actually caught in the fires. Those who have had to evacuate and face the loss of homes and businesses and precious possessions. 

In some ways, the windows in my house seem to be sort of a metaphor for the windows to my soul. Sometimes, if I’m not careful, I can open my heart’s “windows” to things that are not good for me; to carry soot and ash and smoke and bad smells into the depths of my life. To spend too much time gazing at things that are unlovely and don’t draw me closer to God. 

This week, as I’ve been on social media and talked with people, I’ve heard high levels of anxiety, fear, and anger surface. I understand and feel some of that, too.

It’s so difficult when circumstances seem out of our control. Our personal lives and our community are being deeply affected, and we’re struggling to handle that. Actually, we can’t handle that. We keep our heart “windows” open and worry our way along, trying to figure out how to navigate our distress. Fear causes us to tremble, to believe that the enemy has the more powerful hand and can dump his “soot” all over us.

Perhaps the better way is to close our heart “windows”. Instead of allowing fear, anger and anxiety to permeate us - like ash settling on our roofs and cars - we can choose to lean heavily on God. We can choose to trust him despite the world that swirls around us. We can choose to believe that he will make beauty from ashes, and can fill us instead with his peace and hope. Faith reminds us that God never will abandon us; that he will guide us through whatever comes our way. 

Let me pray for you:
Dearest Lord, please draw those reading this closer to You. Help them to be honest, not trying to hide their heart’s concerns from you, but asking you to fill them instead with your thoughts and your love. Reveal those areas that need Your healing touch, and lead them more and more into your peace and hope in this moment. May we all close the windows of our hearts against the insidious onslaught of fear and despair, and instead open that inner window to you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

I invite you to take a look at this list below. Are any of these feelings coming into the window of your heart and soul? If so, close them by meditating on the listed Scriptures so God can help you lay aside your burden, and experience the peace of Jesus. 

A Critical Spirit
Isaiah 11:1-5   Luke 6:37-38   Romans 14:9-13   Hebrews 10:19-25   James 4:11-12

A Fearful Heart
Psalm 27:1-6   Psalm 91   Isaiah 41:10-16   2 Timothy 1:7   1 John 4:16-21

An Unforgiving Heart
Psalm 86   Matthew 6:9-15   2 Corinthians 2:5-11   Colossians 3:12-17

Downright Depression
Psalm 13   Psalm 51:10-19   Psalm 73:21-26   Lamentations 3:17-24   John 12:23-29

Family Worries
Psalm 9:7-10   Matthew 6:25-34   Matthew 10:37-39   Ephesians 3:14–21   1 Timothy 5:1–8

Irritable Impatience
Psalm 131   Isaiah 30:15-18   Colossians 1:9-14   1 Timothy 1:15-17   James 5:7-12

Insecurity
Exodus 3:13-14   Psalm 16:5-11   Psalm 112:1–9   Jeremiah 1:6-8, 17–19; 17:7–8

Tension from Uncertainty
Psalm 31:19-24   Psalm 130   Habakkuk 3:17-19   1 Timothy 6:6-16

Uneasy Anxiety
Psalm 32:10   Psalm 94:16-19   Proverbs 3:5   Jeremiah 15:15-21   Romans 15:13   1 Peter 5:7

Unbelief
Gen. 15:1-6   Luke 1:45-55   Luke 22:31-32   2 Tim. 2:13   1 John 5:1-5

Weariness
Isaiah 40:25-31   Isaiah 50:4-5   Matthew 11:28-30   Galatians 6:7-10   Ephesians 1:17-23