Did you ever notice how sometimes you go through a season where you are just doing well – you are connected with the Lord, you’re finances are humming along, good friendships happening, and overall you just feel great. Then you start getting busy. Work demands, life demands, schedule changes all start piling up and suddenly you feel disconnected with God, you haven’t “had time” to read the word or engage in worship, and your heart feels thin and stretched, and your attitude reflects that. Been there? I know I have.
One of the words that the Lord gave me at the beginning of the year was “intentionality.” Living life requires a certain amount of intentional living. Some people are hyper-scheduled, and others live every moment off-the-cuff. But being intentional with my time seeking God. Resting. Reading the word. It has been a challenge of ebbs and flows. Bob was speaking about it last night at The Meeting Place. So often, he said, the voice of Jesus is drown out by the pace and busyness of life. We get so busy doing all kinds of things that we stop listening for His voice.
Sometimes it’s even like the story of Mary and Martha. For me, I can get busy doing the work of the ministry – which is a good thing, and helpful to many. But If that becomes the overarching motivation and I don’t sit at His feet and listen, meditate, and rest, then my good works will not be something that produces eternal fruit. It is the sitting at His feet and choosing the “better work” that will reap those eternal rewards. In Revelation 3, Jesus said to the church of Sardis, “I know you have a reputation that you are alive, but the reality is that inside you are dead. There’s no life in you!” We might look good outside – we have our megawatt Sunday smiles, coffee in hand or we have the right advice to give, the timely word to share, that encouraging post on social media … we look so good. People say, “Man, they sure got it together!” But inside…. well that’s a different story. What’s going on in our hearts?
That’s when Jesus is saying, stop with all your busyness and choose me. Just stop. And in the midst of waiting, in the midst of trusting, the Lord will start revealing his heart. We have allowed ourselves to become so busy that we can’t just “be” and we neglect the simple devotion to Christ. We get so caught up in drama [of relationships, friends, work, family, social media] and worrying about this or that. Resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him is a verse that we push aside because it takes to long to wait around. We want quick answers, and we don’t “have time” to stop and sit. But guess what? We NEED to do this. The creator of the universe took a day to sabbath. To breathe. To rest. The deep breath before the plunge, as Gandalf said.
Living in a place of rest brings intimacy with Christ. Intimacy with Christ takes away excuses, and His love brings perspective, healing and opens doors. Being fulfilled happens when we live dependent on Jesus. Being intentional requires us to (Shall I say the word?) be disciplined. Being disciplined to rest. Sounds almost opposite, but in our world today where the stuff of life is quick to consume us, it’s essential.
When you see my picture posts of the beach, or the woods… that’s what I am intentionally trying to do — be with Him. Listening for His voice as I walk. And when he does speak, it’s pretty awesome. So, choose the better. Stop allowing busyness to steal your joy, your passion and your life. Sit at His feet and press in. It’s eternally worth it.