Rush hour

 

Multi-tasking. Flipping back and forth between two or more activities. But in reality, you are only present for a mere few seconds in one and then the other. And present in one is missing out on the other. And not really giving proper attention to either one because you need to remember to switch back - and soon! Your train of thought constantly interrupted. So distracting, isn’t it? Or aren’t you even aware? And it all feels oh, so, rushed! Like it all has to get done right now! Making you feel edgy, anxious and tired.

One of these distractions can be worry about the future. Worrying about the future causes you to miss out on what God is blessing you with in the right now. Do you really want to miss that?

And what if that which you are worrying about is three weeks away? Do you really want to take that chance of not catching God’s favor, God’s joys and blessings in the now because your focus is way down the road? Do you really want to surrender three weeks of your life to consuming thoughts of what might be?

And the cost of multi-tasking often leads to - mistakes. And having to go back and spend additional time fixing what may not have happened had you been more fully committed in focus. Oops! I forgot to include the attachment. Oops! I made a mistake in my knitting two rows back. Oops! I missed… and now, instead of saving time, you find yourself backtracking and redoing.

Today, let’s stop with the all rushing and hurrying. Let everything be experienced. Let everything be lived out more fully. The Bible says there is a time for everything. And purpose. So let’s trust the Lord to accomplish all that is truly necessary. In His time. Let’s try to be more aware - Where am I? What is happening right now? Can I find God in this? Can I enjoy God while doing this? And trust His timing and completion of the other…

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” - Matthew 11:30 MSG emphasis mine

Safe and Secure

 

Morning time with my cat, Max. He lets me rub his belly. He slings his leg over my arm and settles in. In peace he sleeps. Because He loves me. He knows I am a safe place. He can relax. He wants me near and so I am. He can’t see my hand, but he senses my presence and that’s enough. 

May it be the same for you with Jesus. You love Him. He is your safe place. You can relax. You want Him close by, guarding, protecting, watching - and so He is. Although you can’t see it, His hand is upon you. And it is enough…

“I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“ I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Whether you are lingering in bed dozing in and out before you start your day, or enjoying an afternoon nap, or settling in after a full day - the Lord is near. His hand is upon you (whether you feel it or not) calling you to a safe and secure peace found only in Him.

Open my eyes, Lord

In John 21, the disciples fished all night and didn’t catch a thing.

But then, God…

Jesus enters the scene. And He totally removes the problem, pain, and disappointment. Their nets can barely hold all the fish! I am caught wondering if they prayed. For fish. It doesn’t say so in any translations I have read. In the midst of their tiredness and frustration, Jesus just shows up.

Jesus doesn’t always wait for us to ask. Some answers come after the seeking-prayer, but some come before a word is on our lips.

We’re already in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. - Richard Rohr

When our anxious thoughts get interrupted, we can see the Lord is present - clearly present - and already providing. And we will know it, see it, feel it when we stop focusing on the trouble. The goodness of the Lord is right there the whole time.

Maybe you prayed - but maybe you didn’t. Loud distractions can do that to you. But the Lord Jesus shows up anyway. And whatever thoughts or feelings you had, you are welcomed into His arms of grace.

Are you tired? Overwhelmed? Have you reached your limit in wisdom and strength? The Lord is near - to take over from there. Gladness is near. No more squeaking through. The joy of the Lord, the joy of Him stepping in and finishing it with abundance. Oh, yes! Surely goodness and mercy will follow my attempts at strength.

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Lord, I’m going to believe in Your provision, Your help, and Your abundant response. Great are You, Lord, and greatly to be praised! I will breathe in Your presence. I desire to eagerly seek You with open eyes to all the goodness of having You in my life. Whatever concerns I have, whatever problems may arise, it is already finished by You. They don’t need to consume me. You are the strength beyond my strength.

He Who began a good work in you is not deterred by hiccups along the way. God moves steadily forward to bring it to completion.

“for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Acts 5:38b-39a

Water often

 I’m not very good with plants. I forget to water them. They start to droop; they stop blooming; their vibrant color turns to a dull crusty brown. Leaves and flower petals drop off. And then I give them too much water at one time and they are overwhelmed. They sure seemed fine the other day. Or was that last week? Time sure has a way of slipping through our fingers.

I have done the same thing with myself. I go all day forgetting to drink a sufficient amount of pure, clean water. Reaching instead for morning coffees and afternoon sodas. And it shows. Because I start to droop. My vibrancy diminishes. I become sluggish, irritable and have a hard time thinking clearly. I think I’m just tired and want to call it a day. But really, I’m dehydrated. There’s no living water flowing through my system.

But tomorrow… tomorrow I will do better. I know it’s important. So starting tomorrow…

… and we all know how that scenario plays out. If you wait until you are actually thirsty, your body is crying out because it is already dehydrated. You need to be intentional with supplying your body with life-supporting water on a regular basis.

The same can be said about our spiritual health and well-being.

Are you feeling tired, even exhausted in your service? Is your passion for your calling lackluster? And not quite as alive and vibrant… are you feeling dry, even drained?

Do you wait until you’re in the mood to pray? Do you wait until you are thirsty for His Word before you read your Bible? (Didn’t I just read something from it the other day; or was that last week?) Have you lapsed from hanging out with other Christian believers? Has church become more duty and less about worship? Time sure has a way of slipping through our fingers. But you need to do all these things on a regular basis. And just watch and see your service to the Lord and others be revived! It can happen in just a day. It can happen this very day! 

Just as your body needs food and drink, work and play on a regularly scheduled basis, so your soul requires intentional attention in order to function properly. Like my plants, it doesn’t work to let them go so dry and then try to pour as much as possible into one quick, catch-up moment.

For peak performance, maintain consistent connection with the Lord through daily prayer, His Word, and fellowship with other believers.

Read your Bible, pray every day - and you’ll grow, grow, GROW!

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭42‬ 

Walk in it

 “Take a good look at God’s wonders - they’ll take your breath away. He converted sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot. Now isn’t that cause for a song?” - Psalm 66:5 MSG

Take a close look at this verse. They walked - on foot - across the dried up riverbed. No running, screaming, hurrying, with arms flailing…

They walked. They probably looked all around, taking in the awesome, unbelievable sight. The walls of the life-threatening, death-defying waters held back until all were safely on the other side.

Have you ever faced such a “wall” and thought, “There’s no way…”

Have you been on a rough stretch of road?

Then, oh wow, do I have the God for you!

“Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for His people!” - Psalm 66:5 NLT

God doesn’t completely remove the terrifying circumstance. Why, you’d miss the display of His awesome power - these are His opportunities to reveal Himself to you in miraculous ways. So you can personally experience His unbelieveable, unimaginable greatness.

Take the time to live in it. Don’t panic. Open your eyes to Him. See Him for Who He really is. Walk in it. Be amazed by it. No need to rush through it. Do not be afraid. But stand in awe… take a look around - the Lord is near. 

“He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” - Psalm 18:19 NIV

“Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; His holy arm has shown His saving power!” - Psalm 98:1 NLT

Come, Jesus, come…

Or should I say: you have to come… to Jesus… messy.

You can not wait until everything calms down. Or when you think there’s a lull. And then it really isn’t so you keep plowing ahead telling Jesus, “Soon!” Soon - I will have time. Soon I will be presentable. Not so harried looking. Not so distracted. Not juggling so many things. When things calm down, Lord, we will have a nice visit and I will be able to praise You as I should. Just give me a chance to clear my schedule. And fix a few things before I come before You. I want to look nice and feel good and be fully ready for a nice visit. I don’t want to burden You with any complaints or grumbling. No. That’s not the way to treat someone as special as You. Let me just clear a few things up and I will come with a happy face to make You smile and be pleased with me. I want to look nice for You. I’ll just finish up today’s to-do list and by this evening, I will have a clear mind and some spare time for prayer.

Sound familiar?

And we know what usually happens, right? We fall asleep after working so hard to make everything happen smoothly and successfully and… done. 

Oh, my dear child, says the Lord. I’ll take you any way I can get you. Scruffy. Whiny. Distressed. Scrambled. Sit with Me in the midst of all of that and I will make a place for peace. A time for breath and sighing and releasing all that heavy burden you carry. A real rest. Come. Now. As you are. Empty. Or too full of other things. Off kilter. Or grasping. Whatever it is. Wherever your head is at - I can make space for something better. But you must come to Me. You must let Me in…

Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (Hymn by Joseph Hart, 1712)

 

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, 
weak and wounded, sick and sore; 
Jesus ready stands to save you, 
full of pity, love, and pow'r. 

2 Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify;
true belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings you nigh.

3 Let not conscience make you linger, 
nor of fitness fondly dream; 
all the fitness He requireth 
is to feel your need of Him. 

4 Come, ye weary, heavy laden, 
lost and ruined by the fall; 
if you tarry till you're better, 
you will never come at all. 

5 Lo! th'incarnate God, ascended, 
pleads the merit of His blood; 
venture on Him, venture wholly; 
let no other trust intrude.

A fresh encounter

The apostles all heard it. And from a woman. They probably didn’t believe her but I bet her face shone like the sun; shone like Moses’ did when he encountered God on the mountain. So there might have been a flicker of curiosity in them. But Mary, she was changed forever.

She was changed at her very first encounter with Jesus. He healed her from all those demons that demanded her attention and distracted her. She was healed and her life shifted to following Him. Forever grateful. And now set on staying close to Him. I bet during those years of following Him, with all that He had said and done; with every experience of walking close to Him, turning to Him, keeping her eyes on Him - she changed and grew in faith and love. I have to believe she became softer and gentler with herself and others. More gracious. More understanding. Living in the presence of His example.

I wonder, as she watched Him die, if she thought about all He had taught her and how He loved her, included her, interacted with her, and nurtured her into such a loving, caring person - was she grasping every detail in her memory, thinking she will not encounter Him again?

But wait…

“Come and see…”, says the angel. Matthew 28:6

Heart stopping amazing!

And then He appears before her. Some translations imply she even grabs His feet.

He is here!

Can you imagine what she is thinking now?

He sees me! He remembers me! He knows me and speaks to me! He even calls me by my name! John 20:16

Because He is risen! Risen for all time. Even our time. And your endearing relationship with Him can carry on into eternity.

Go! And tell the others. Matthew 28:10, Mark 16:7, Luke 24:9, John 20:2 They all record this message…

Jesus is alive! And you can renew your relationship with Him. Even now. Your relationship with Him can continue being nurtured by Him. It wasn’t just for Mary, the disciples, and those living in those biblical times when He was first present.

Yes! Jesus is alive and He longs for you. Longs for sweet fellowship with you too.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” - Matthew 28:10

Jesus says, “They will see Me…”

And may your face shine like the sun!