I struggle immensely with the concept of being. Certainly there are times when I desire and
take rest, but I often feel guilty for occupying my time with anything less
than busyness. I justify this view of time by the fact that life is short, and
there is much work to done. Making the
most of the time is unquestionably a biblical virtue.
But sometimes, just being in God’s presence, just existing
as the person He created me to be, is
the best use of time. Sometimes, busyness is wasting time that God wants to
spend with me. God reminded me of this
lesson on our sunrise hike this morning.
“God, I want to do
more. I feel like I’m wasting time.”
Remain in Me.
“God, you don’t
understand. I just spent half a day on the lake doing nothing! I want to
be an abolitionist; I want to do big things! I want to spend every moment
serving you!”
Rest in Me.
“God, I know that rest
is important. I know that learning is important, and I’ve learned so much! I’m
ready to be your servant, but it seems like we spend all our time just waiting
for food, or walking from place to place, or reading about you, or learning
about the culture. I know those things are important, but I want to be doing!”
Be still and know
that I am God.
The top of the mountain is beautiful and well worth the
hike, but I can’t help but wish that we had taken the journey up more slowly. I
would have liked to stop at every step along the way and capture the beauty of
that particular moment instead of hurrying on to accomplish our mission of
arriving at the top.
As I sat atop the mountain, plenty of time now to spare, I
realized that maybe that’s how God feels about our relationship. Maybe He doesn’t
want to get to the top in the fastest manner possible and have me complete a
list of tasks. Maybe he wants a step-by-step friendship where sometimes we stop
and just are.
I should never settle for a side view, but that doesn’t mean
that I can’t stop and enjoy the view
of the on the way up. Maybe being is even a part of God’s mission for me:
bringing Him glory by delighting in His presence.
1 comment:
This made me cry. There is so much truth in it. I love you!
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