There were many gems of wisdom in this book, but what resonated with me the most was this
quote:
"Standing still, on some occasions, is the paramount duty of the Christ follower."
Most of the time I don't struggle with believing that God has a perfect plan for my life if I trust and follow Him. There is just something in me that believes this and has hope because of it. What I do struggle with is the waiting. I am a doer. I like to get things done and move on to the next. Patience is not something that comes naturally to me. I have to be very intentional about being patient and constantly have to give this up to the Lord. Part of my issue with always needing to do, is that I feel like I am being selfish with my time if I am not always doing. But when I actually do take the time to sit and be still, it is reassuring to know that this is sometimes exactly what God wants me to do.
Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God."
Psalm 37:7 - "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..."
WOW. That is profound. VERY profound. We all have this idea that to BE a good Christian we have to DO all these good things: ministry, giving, mentoring, helping, serving, going, DOING. God does NOT want our busyness. God wants US. And He wants us to STOP for a minute and BE WITH HIM, in the stillness, in the quiet...just BE. AMEN sister! You nailed it!
ReplyDeleteI pray that as you continue to LIVE this out, this stillness and patience that you will come to find DEEP and SATISFYING revelation in your time spent with Him.
My leader asked me the other day as I pondered this EXACT same question...Are you willing to look selfish in order to spend time with Jesus? In other words, am I willing to not DO the things that are good things, are ministry things, are nice things in order to set time apart for nothing other than Him?! I am still working towards that...but I want my WHOLE HEARTED answer to be YES! I am willing to appear selfish to others and NOT make presents and cards for everyone I have ever met for Christmas, or go carolling to evangelize, or make bracelets to give away if that time can be used to BE WITH JESUS. Sorry that was so long! This posting touched my heart! I LOVE YOU! Thank you for sharing my friend!
Ange, your words always encourage me or make me smile. Thanks for following along my life on here. It touches my heart, that this post was able to touch your heart :) I love you!
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