Soaking Up God
Dear Friends and Family of HBC,
I’m going to be honest with you. As I write this, I find myself in the middle of a lousy week. I’ve had some tough conversations, I’ve had to face my own ‘changes and challenges’, some things have not gone the way I’d hoped, I’m concerned about Karen going back to school with Covid still hanging around, I’m discouraged with the state of our culture, I’m disgruntled with our politicians, I’ve had some restless nights and the dog woke me up early.
So, if I am being truthful, I haven’t felt very ‘spiritual’ or ‘pastoral’ and the idea of writing this article was not appealing to me at all. It was difficult to be in a reflective and inspiring mood when all I really wanted to do was escape to the woods to be alone. And then… this morning happened.
Before leaving for a meeting Karen asked me to water her outdoor plants and flowers. She said “I haven’t watered them in days and they are probably bone dry”. Being the ever loving and devoted husband, I was happy to do this for her.
She was right; her plants were in need of some H2O. The dirt was dry and the flowers looked limp, frail and dehydrated. The sun had definitely caused the poor plants some stress and they needed water to refresh and revive them. I made sure to soak the plants and flowers with the joy of knowing they will perk back up in a few hours. It was at that moment God “spoke” to me.
I realized I had not taken the time I needed to “soak up” God. I allowed my worries, concerns, stress, disappointments to crowd out my time daily time with God. I would do one of two things: (1) I would rush through my time in prayer and Bible reading to convince myself I had “done my duty” or (2) I would tell myself “I’ll get to it later” only to find I was too tired or disinterested to spend my time with God.
And what was the result? A soul that was stressed, dry, limp, frail and dehydrated. I got the message and made the decision to spend some intentional time soaking in the presence of God.
I know I am not alone in allowing the stresses of life to crowd out my time with the Lord. Read through the lives of the saints or simply spend some time with fellow believers and you’ll soon discover how easy it is to allow worries, concerns and disappointments rob us of refreshing time with God. Even Jesus himself recognized this tendency in the parable of the sower (see Mark 4:1-20).
I wonder how is it with your own soul? Are you taking the time to intentionally be present with the Lord? Is your heart soaking up time with God or is it more like a fast-food drive through? Or is it worse, and you’ve spent very little time with Jesus?
Take it from one who knows, time away from Jesus will lead to a soul that feels limp, dry, frail and dehydrated. Allowing yourself to become busier will only make matters worse, so it is important you take the time to “Be Still” (Hmmm… where have I heard that before?).
So, make the time today to be present, to soak in the presence of God, and above all – Be Still!
Much Peace and Grace,
Dan
Categories: Pastors Message