Take a Seat
Luke 10:38-42 (New International Version)
'39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...(Jesus said) Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Check out the whole passage listed above)
For six summers, from about the time I was seventeen, I went to camp each summer. At camp we were taught about “quiet times” or “devotionals”. A quiet time is a period in the day when you go to be with God alone, either praying, reading, reflecting or being silent. I always struggled with quiet time. I am not a disciplined person by nature. Especially once camp was out having a quiet time during the school year was pretty much impossible for me. After a while I began to to feel pretty guilty about my lack of ability to take up this daily/weekly discipline. Because of my struggle I thought I was a lousy Christian. After a while, during University, I gave up on the idea of quiet times. Or, at least I gave up on caring up about them. This may sound funny but I think “giving up” was actually a good thing for me. Giving up meant that I was no longer strained and held down by my guilt from not being able to pull this devotional thing off. Giving up meant that when I actually found space in my life for this discipline I truly experienced it as a gift. As a youth pastor it would be good and well for me to encourage you to be disciplined, marking out time each day for God. However, beating yourself into submission so you do what you should doesn’t seem to be totally healthy. Yes, there is an arduous road to Christian discipleship that requires discipline and training, which is a good thing that we all need to put ourselves through at times. But today, let’s look to Mary’s example who sits at the feet of Jesus. It sure would be nice to have Jesus come by our house every day so we could hang out in person. I believe it is the absence of God’s physical presence which makes quiet times so difficult yet it is the goal of quiet times to realize that God is more present then we think. So what do we do? Find a place for you in your life that is like sitting at the feet of Jesus. I think the key to quiet times is understanding not only how God works but how we work. Sitting with Jesus was probably so natural for Mary because she just liked hanging out with Jesus. How do you hang out with Jesus best? Figure out what works for you. Here are some ideas: take a walk outside committing that time to God; lay on your bed for fifteen minutes before your sleep, thinking about God, your life and praying; do something you love or your homework focusing on God’s presence with you; read a great Christian book; go for “coffee” with Jesus by yourself. Anyhow, the key is to find something you would love doing with God. And yes, after a while it probably would be a good idea to work spiritual disciplines in there like praying for others and reading scripture. But first just learn to “take a seat” with Jesus. The cool thing about Jesus's resurrection is that he is there waiting for all of us before we even sit down.
'39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...(Jesus said) Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Check out the whole passage listed above)
For six summers, from about the time I was seventeen, I went to camp each summer. At camp we were taught about “quiet times” or “devotionals”. A quiet time is a period in the day when you go to be with God alone, either praying, reading, reflecting or being silent. I always struggled with quiet time. I am not a disciplined person by nature. Especially once camp was out having a quiet time during the school year was pretty much impossible for me. After a while I began to to feel pretty guilty about my lack of ability to take up this daily/weekly discipline. Because of my struggle I thought I was a lousy Christian. After a while, during University, I gave up on the idea of quiet times. Or, at least I gave up on caring up about them. This may sound funny but I think “giving up” was actually a good thing for me. Giving up meant that I was no longer strained and held down by my guilt from not being able to pull this devotional thing off. Giving up meant that when I actually found space in my life for this discipline I truly experienced it as a gift. As a youth pastor it would be good and well for me to encourage you to be disciplined, marking out time each day for God. However, beating yourself into submission so you do what you should doesn’t seem to be totally healthy. Yes, there is an arduous road to Christian discipleship that requires discipline and training, which is a good thing that we all need to put ourselves through at times. But today, let’s look to Mary’s example who sits at the feet of Jesus. It sure would be nice to have Jesus come by our house every day so we could hang out in person. I believe it is the absence of God’s physical presence which makes quiet times so difficult yet it is the goal of quiet times to realize that God is more present then we think. So what do we do? Find a place for you in your life that is like sitting at the feet of Jesus. I think the key to quiet times is understanding not only how God works but how we work. Sitting with Jesus was probably so natural for Mary because she just liked hanging out with Jesus. How do you hang out with Jesus best? Figure out what works for you. Here are some ideas: take a walk outside committing that time to God; lay on your bed for fifteen minutes before your sleep, thinking about God, your life and praying; do something you love or your homework focusing on God’s presence with you; read a great Christian book; go for “coffee” with Jesus by yourself. Anyhow, the key is to find something you would love doing with God. And yes, after a while it probably would be a good idea to work spiritual disciplines in there like praying for others and reading scripture. But first just learn to “take a seat” with Jesus. The cool thing about Jesus's resurrection is that he is there waiting for all of us before we even sit down.
posted by Matt at
7:10 AM
3 Comments:
Hello...someone...leave a comment! ha. Sorry, I'll try to make the posts shorter in case if I can.
Hi Matt,
I hope this email finds you well.
I love what you have posted here:
But first just learn to “take a seat” with Jesus. The cool thing about Jesus's resurrection is that he is there waiting for all of us before we even sit down.
For someone who is just starting out with their journey, this is so reassuring and inspiring. I would like to sit down and have this time with Jesus, because you are right – sometimes God feels distant. Thank you for these words and thoughts. I might just try and sit down for coffee with Jesus myself!
Hey CL,
Thanks so much for your comment! It's great to hear from you, and I believe seeing you Sunday!
You have encouraged me to keep going with this blog, so thank you!
In my last semester of seminary I got to spend a lot of time in prayer due to a prayer course I took. I spent so many mornings by the window in our house with a coffee in hand, just being. I would talk to God, bouncing my thoughts and questions heavenwards. It was always amazing to see how encouraged I'd be after these times. This is something I still love to do. I hope you find the same type of encouragment in your time with the Lord. God bless!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home