“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” Psalm 46:10 (MSG)
Today
we live in a world that is so complex.
The hustle and bustle of our society tends to drown out the inner voice inside
us this is trying so hard to get out.
We all long to be free. Not
just free of our worries and cares, but to be totally free. The way God intended us to be, but how
do we get there? How do we
navigate our way through this maze called life? In Psalm 46, we hear the voice of God calling us to “Be
Still”. For some of us that is
hard. In our society, we have been
conditioned to be busy with our work and even our free time. We are even so busy on what we call
“Vacations” that we come back more tired than when we left. We return to work tired and more
drained instead of refreshed and relaxed.
How do we fix this habit of busyness?
God
calls us to be still and know that He is God. This may seem like a strange phrase, but it is very
profound. David knew all too well
the busyness of life. As he wrote
Psalm 46, he was busy fleeing for his life. Saul was chasing after him and David spent most of this time
in hiding. He begins this Psalm by
acknowledging that God is our hiding place and refuge; a place where we can
find rest and peace. We try to
find peace in a lot of things. Our
jobs, our bank accounts, and even our church, but God is our true source of
peace. We must seek time to be
silent and be alone with God to truly know who He is. Then and only then will we find true peace.
I
like the way the Message uses the phrase “Step out of traffic” in Psalm
46:10. Doesn’t it seem like we are
in this never-ending rush of traffic as we make our way through life. We feel like we must keep up with the
flow of life around us and at times the pace is more that we can take. We look back at our life and the pace
that we have been traveling, only to realize that we have missed some of the
most beautiful sights along the journey.
God wants us to step out traffic and rest in Him for a while, but what
does that look like.
In Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas looks at
several paths that people journey on as they connect with God. Most of the pathways align with our
unique personality. God has wired
us a certain way, thus we each connect with Him in a unique way. As we connect with God, we undergo a moral reformation of character, brought about by the
power of the truth. It is
the work of the Holy Spirit bringing our lives more and more under the
influences of the new principles placed in the soul at salvation. In other words, the way we
connect to God facilitates the process of perfecting the work begun at
salvation, and it extends to the whole man. It is the special function of the Holy Spirit in the plan of
redemption to carry on this work.
Faith is instrumental in how we connect with God. It secures union to Christ, and brings
the believer into living contact with the truth, where he is led to yield to
obedience and to embrace the promises of God for this life and that which is to
come. After reading this book, I
realize that the Contemplative Path is really the building block for the other
paths that were discussed. For us
to be able to connect with God, we must think and contemplate about this God
that we are trying to connect with.
This idea of contemplation is the basic DNA or “building block” that the
other paths build from. It is not
necessarily the best path, but it is foundational. I feel that we have not really put enough emphasis on the
contemplative process. We plan our
services, Bible Studies, and Small Groups around a curriculum that focuses on
facts and intellectual knowledge, but leaves very little room for people to sit
in silence and contemplate who God is.
We have a created an entire culture that worships a God that very few
have taken the time to get to know.
One thing that I am trying to do in our Student Ministry is to
intentionally create some time for our students to connect with God and hear
from Him on a new level. Each
quarter we have a Contemplative Prayer Service. Students go from station to station as music plays. They participate in the service by
interacting with what is written on the signs at each station. These services have been very
meaningful for our students. Many
for the first time felt as if they connected with God. I believe we need to create environments
like this because we can be about the “busy work” of ministry and forget to
help people, or even ourselves, connect with the God we serve. Take some time this week and get alone
with God. Connect with God of the
universe, be still, and fall in love with the One who created you.
Comments