By Doug Redford
Some cities have installed a special form of speed bumps to try to control traffic, especially in residential areas where many children live. Two or three such speed bumps (sometimes referred to as “cushions”) are strategically placed in a line across the street to slow cars down, but they allow wider emergency vehicles to straddle them so as not to slow emergency response times.
Usually, just before you get to the portion of the street where the cushions have been placed, a sign is posted that reads, “Traffic Calming Devices Ahead.” (And hopefully drivers will take note and adjust speed accordingly.)
City streets are not the only places where we need “calming devices.” Living in today’s world, with all the turmoil and “traffic” that disrupts our lives on an almost daily basis, can create a kind of spiritual road rage. We become impatient and frustrated with the people whom we think are interfering with our progress. We need some encouragement to, as one expression puts it, “keep calm and carry on.”
Our Creator knows best what we need to navigate through this sin-infested world. He has provided countless Scriptures to calm us; they offer assurance and a sense of balance and order when life gets “out of order” (as it often does).
Yes, God knows what is coming ahead of us—but he also stays “over” us (Psalm 5:11), “underneath” us (Deuteronomy 33:27), and behind us (Psalm 23:6); in fact, he promises to “surround” us (Psalm 125:2). (Take time to read each of these Scriptures, perhaps daily, and let these words from the Word serve as calming devices when life’s traffic gets overwhelming.)
Communion also has an important calming effect each Lord’s Day. We come before the table spread by the One who tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). While Jesus did not speak these words when he instituted the Lord’s Supper, they do call attention to one of the blessings we receive from this time in our worship. In contrast to all the “fast food” that can be part of our routine during a busy week, this simple meal encourages each of us to take the time necessary to “find rest for your souls” (v. 29).
Use this time of Communion as your calming device each Lord’s Day before you merge with the traffic of another week.
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities come.
Interesting. In Mexico those are called “tope.” Here in Texas they are called “speed bumps.” Sends a whole different message than “calming device.”