Every year, in January, I attend a pastors’ study break. Normally I would do this at Trout Lake Camps, north of Brainard, MN, but this year is different. Instead of driving north I drove south to Pine Lake Camps in Eldora, Iowa. When I arrived I discovered that all the other pastors who had signed up for the retreat had cancelled. So my study break has been transformed into a silence and study retreat.
I always have high expectations for study break. I have a long list of things that I want to accomplish. This year is no exception. Consequently, I find myself in a hurry from the very minute I arrive. I feel the self-imposed pressure to produce. Unfortunately this pressure often makes me less productive instead of more productive. Instead of taking the time to reflect and contemplate, I push ahead trying to force inspiration to come. You can imagine how effective that is.
What this reminds me of is that we live our lives in fast forward. We find it difficult to slow down. If we are not filling our time with some activity then we feel disoriented and uncomfortable. We don’t even have to be productive; we just have to be busy. We are so busy racing from one thing to the next that we are in danger of missing life itself.
As I write I can look out of the window and see barren trees surrounding a partially frozen lake. Every inch of open water is occupied by noisy Canadian geese telling all their friends to hurry up. A bald eagle lazily soars over the scene and then lands in a dead tree. As he gazes down onto the densely packed flock of geese, he probably wonders what all the fuss is about. I’m wondering the same thing.
God did not create us to live at light speed. He created us to live with space in our lives that gives us time to stop, relax and reflect. I don’t think it was by accident that Jesus came into our world at a time when the chief mode of transportation was walking. Although the gospels depict a life filled with activity, we know that Jesus intentionally took time to slow down. There had to be long hours of walking from place to place with his disciples. These would have been times to talk and laugh and observe the world and to be silent. On a regular basis Jesus excused himself from the crowds and went to quiet places to pray and be alone. Jesus refused to live life in a hurry. At the end of his life he was able to pray, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)
I routinely get gift catalogues that offer things with catchy phrases on them. Some of these phrases are funny, some are profound and some are insightful. There is a common phrase that keeps showing up. It is this. “Be still and know that I am.” If you recognize the phrase you know that it is taken from Psalm 46 and that it is incomplete. The phrase actually says, “Be still and know that I am God.” What makes this phrase so challenging is that it comes in the context of frantic activity. The rest of the Psalm speaks of turmoil and conflict. In the midst of all of this frantic activity God says “STOP!”
We all need to stop regularly and reflect upon our lives. From the beginning God designed us to take regular times of rest. He felt it was so important that He dedicated one of the Ten Commandments to rest. "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.” [Deuteronomy 5:12-14 (NIV)]
When we live our lives in a hurry we miss so much of what is most important. We miss connecting in meaningful ways with God. We cannot develop a close relationship with God on the run. It takes time dedicated to prayer, study of His Word, and spiritual reflection. If we are always on the run, we miss developing deep relationships with others. We settle for superficial encounters. In order to really get to know another person we have to invest unhurried time. Another thing we miss is this amazing world that God has given us to delight in. Nature has become just a backdrop to our lives. We have reduced this amazing world to a scene saver on our computer. To really appreciate this amazing world you have to get out and encounter it first hand; and that takes time.
For Christmas this year we purchased Michael Palin’s series “Around the World in 80 Days.” At the beginning of the series Michael makes a profound observation. When all you do is travel by airplane you never see the world; you only see the inside of airports. So Michael embarked on an around the world adventure using whatever transportation he could find except airplanes. What he has done for the rest of us is he has helped us to see the world at ground level.
I believe God wants us to be productive in life. The Bible is very clear about us not wasting the opportunities God gives to us. But I also believe God wants us to see the world at ground level; preferably at a walking pace. If we will do that we will be pleasantly surprised by what we discover. God is patiently waiting to engage us in powerful ways. We’re the ones in a hurry.
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