What does it mean for the Lord to truly “reign” in our lives?  In the Cambridge English Dictionary, the second definition of the word “reign” is intriguing to me:  “to be the main feeling or quality in a…person.” 

What if our main feelings were about the Lord?  What if the qualities that held the most meaning for us were the Lord’s?  How might that change our experience of life?  I am profoundly grateful for an “Evening Prayer” I have recently encountered in the New Zealand Prayer Book, included here:       

Lord,

it is night.

The night is for stillness.

Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.   

What has been done has been done;

what has not been done has not been done;

Let it be.

The night is dark.

Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives

rest in You.

The night is quiet.

Let the quietness of Your peace enfold us,

all dear to us,

and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.

Let us look expectantly to a new day,

new joys,

new possibilities.

In Your name we pray.

Amen.

Maybe developing my relationship with the Lord is much simpler than I’ve made it in my head all these years.  Maybe it is most of all about remembering Who is the only giver of true peace (a peace that the world cannot give).  Maybe it is about remembering that goals focused on self satisfaction and worldly success alone will not lead to (lasting) peace. 

Peace that lasts is born of trust.  Trust that Divine Providence is leading everything we go through (the good and the challenging) in the opportunities they present for us learn and grow in our reliance on God over self.  Maybe it is time to recommit to building that trust through turning to the Word, seeking the Lord and loving others (this is how Jesus taught that others would know who His true disciples were, after all).  There is a story that Ben Franklin would start his day asking: "What good may may be done today?"  He would end asking: "what good has been done?"

And maybe as I head to bed with this on my mind and heart, I can close this day with gratitude for what has been and joyful anticipation (rather than fear) for what is to come.  Maybe then am I truly letting the Lord reign.

Love and Peace,

Ethan