Ungripping

Happy New Year!!  I can't believe it's 2011!  I am starting off the new year in grand style, let me tell ya.  Oh yeah, I'm taking care of some long-overdue dental work.  Aren't you jealous?

Honestly, I can't think of anything that causes me more stress and anxiety than a trip to the dentist.  I even hate going for a simple cleaning.  This morning's visit, however, was no simple cleaning.  Apparently the molar pain I had been experiencing recently was partly due to some decay beneath a crown, so the crown had to be removed and the decay cleared out.  By the time I arrived for my appointment this morning, I was such a nervous wreck I was actually becoming nauseous!

I don't know if you've ever had a crown removed, but it is a very noisy process.  The dentist had to drill through both porcelain and metal in order to break it apart so he could take it out in pieces.  While there was no pain involved (fortunately), it sounded like a jackhammer inside my head!

As I lay there focusing on that horrific noise and the worst-case scenario ( i.e. the numbness wearing off and the jackhammer pounding into a nerve), I gripped the arms of the chair until I was sure my fingers would pierce the vinyl!  In that moment, with every muscle in my body tensed beyond belief, my mind drifted to words I recently heard my Bible study leader speak. 

"When we can see God in our circumstances, we experience an out-of-circumstances peace."

So I decided to look for God from my vantage point of the dentist chair.  The best way to do that, I figured, was to just start "singing" praise songs in my head.  Over and over I "sang" whatever lyrics I could recall through the cacophony in my head.  I closed my eyes and sang and sang, until eventually I became aware of an amazing thing.  As I lay there praising God, his peace had descended into my very being.  My hands were no longer trying to puncture vinyl, my legs were relaxed and I was actually breathing normally instead of just taking in tiny, shallow breaths when I remembered to.  I was experiencing an out-of-circumstances peace because I had decided to shift my focus to the Lord instead of the dentist's drill!  Once I had ungripped  my hands from the chair, God was able to grip them in His!  Meanwhile, time passed much more quickly and before I knew it the temporary crown was in place and Dr. Drill (uh, I mean Schnecker) was sending me on my way! 

So what circumstances in your life have you feeling desperate for peace?  What do you think would happen if you made a conscious effort to shift your focus from those circumstances to God, praising Him for who He is and for His blessings in your life?  Will you let go of your grip and let Him hold you in His?

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."  Philippians 4:6-9