All tagged quiet
Do we celebrate the great things we do for the Lord? Is our life dedicated to accomplishing and taking pride in those tasks that we feel will advance the Kingdom of God? Well brothers and sisters the things of real value to our Father are not about what we do to earn eternity or by working to advance ourselves in His eyes, but by maintaining a good relationship with Him, and allowing His will and work to flow quietly, smoothly, and often silently, through us as we glorify Him.
God never forsakes us, but this morning we will contemplate the fear of His abandonment that can drive us. We will think about a particular time of doubt, and the routine nature of our lives that made us feel alone. When we are saved by our Lord Jesus, and God begins to move powerfully in our lives, we feel their grandeur and know intuitively that God has a great plan for us. In times such as this, times of excitement, challenge, and interspersed with suffering, we feel the Lord’s presence in a mighty way. This makes it easy to know God is with us because we feel Him, and are working with Him, but can we handle those times when God desires for us to be still, and why does He ask us to do this? Why is this so important?
This morning, I read about Jesus, as He allowed Peter, James, and John to see Him speak with Elijah and Moses on the mountain before the passion, and as He was transfigured right before their eyes. What a remarkable event, even His clothing glowed... yet He commanded them not to tell anyone of this until He had risen from the dead... why the silence?
This morning my devotional reading took me to Psalms 131, and it spoke to me. This psalm is only three verses long, but what wonderful verses they are. The message delivered here is one of contentment; a humbling that allows us to be with The Lord without feeling the need to perform in our faith, but rather, to find contentment in just being with Him.
This morning I am writing on the topic of wrestling in prayer. We will be contemplating what E.M. Bounds describes as that "inward force or ability planted and inspired by the Holy Spirit" or "the intercession of the Spirit of God in us." Sometimes we yield to the Spirit quite easily, but at others it seems that our pride wrestles with Him for control over our problems, and prayers.
Do we walk with God, or are we still yearning to walk with Him? How close is our relationship, or in its absence, how desperately do we seek His presence? In our desire for salvation and eternal life do we place these goals above simply loving God? If so, do we realize that without that love there will never be a quiet stroll through the garden, or a conversation spent speaking without having to utter a word?
When I was a boy it wasn’t uncommon to see people, and families taking a stroll in the evening. When people would have a problem in their life they wouldn’t go to a psychiatrist, they would take a quiet walk to meditate, think, reason, and if they were Men or women of faith they would discuss these things with God, and Jesus Christ. Somehow over the years we have fallen out of this habit, and come to believe that all our problems are to be addressed by yet more action, not less, and that quiet times of solitude are a waste of time. I invite each of us to ask ourselves a simple question today; “How much time do I spend alone with God, and Jesus, or in meditation versus going about my active life in the world, or even faith?”
We go to our mountains, our upper rooms, and our quiet places to pray because we feel close to God there, and feel like we are doing what Jesus Christ taught us, but something else occurs here… we are transformed spiritually, and often times physically. Jesus was strengthened at Gethsemane, and changed in appearance when on the mountain with Moses and Elijah. What is it about us that is changed in our prayer closets, quiet places, and on our own sacred mountains? What occurs within us in our close moments of prayer with God, and during our peaceful walks with Jesus down our own thoughtful roads to Emmaus? Do we visit these places with great expectation? Do we anticipate the quickening, and joy of an encounter with the divine?
As Christians we spend time in church and in faith based activities with other believers. We also find ourselves surrounded by the fallen world, and sometimes it can feel like both of these activities are having the same effect on us. The hectic nature they share, the imperfect humanness that is there; they wear on us, so let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions today… how much time do we spend alone with God, and do we allow this quiet time to restore us?
We lead incredibly hectic lives these days, so separating ourselves from the turmoil of today’s modern life to a place where we can spend personal time with God, and Jesus Christ, must be intentional, purposeful, and made to be routine. Are we in the habit of doing this? Do we have quiet times, and calm peaceful places, where we can sit praying, waiting, and listening in silence to hear the low still voice of God each day? God calls such places where we are separated unto Him Holy, and when we visit Him there we are asked to remove our shoes, and thus He makes us holy too.
The moments of our greatest strength are not those in which we lash out at our accusers, or argue against the injustice that faces us, but instead, our greatest strength is demonstrated in our silence, in the absolute confidence we have in God, and what is right in Him. The power of silence has never been more pronounced than during those telling minutes when Jesus faced the chief priests before Pilate… and said nothing. Is our faith this strong, and if not, do we pray for the day when it will be?
In this modern world we live in today, our daily lives are in a constant state of hurrying about. We slice our time so thinly that even a small variation can throw our entire day into chaos. By doing this we think we are being productive, but are we really? What about our relationships with family, friends, and God? Relationships take time, and those who are in one with us need to see that they are more than just another small slice of our day. Let me ask one question before we begin… How much time each day do we allot to making our families really feel loved, and more importantly, how much do we dedicate to being quiet, and still, with God?
As we serve the Lord we occasionally need to take a moment to be still, and collect our thoughts. We need to withdraw to a quiet place and wait patiently for Him to refresh us. From the silence of a mountain cave, we need to listen for our Father to speak. Sometimes we walk away to this place, but more often than not He drives us into the quiet of evening like a shepherd moving reluctant sheep to a safe pasture for the night… this is where the shepherd sings, talks, and plays His lyre for his flock. This is where God speaks quietly to us.
So often we seek God in the midst of whatever tempest that we find ourselves in, and then wonder why we can’t hear him. Do we each have a quiet place and time where we can have a conversation with Him? Jesus slipped away from the crowd, went off into the night, or, as He prepared for His time of passion, He went to the quiet of the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. This isn’t because God’s voice is weak, it is because we are distracted by all the turmoil that surrounds us. When we are in a crowd of shouting people, or in the midst of a raging storm, isn’t it difficult to hear even when someone yells our name out loud? Well… it is like this when we pray, or read scripture, too.
Have we set a certain hour, or hours, of prayer aside for ourselves each day? Of course we are told to pray throughout the day without ceasing, but have we designated special times of prayer when we can be alone with God, and speak with Him quietly, secretly, and without interruption? Many Christian denominations have designated certain times as being times of prayer, and the Bible refers to 3:00 in the afternoon as such an hour for the apostles, but are there times that are more suitable for you; times when God doesn’t compete for your attention?