Skip to main content

The Power of a PAUSE


God and I have a history.

Over 35 years ago I decided that I wanted to follow Jesus in a tiny, little church in Southwestern Ohio. I'm quite certain that at eight years old, I didn't understand how my faith would be sustained as I continued to grow deeper roots. Jesus had captured my heart and I knew I wanted to give my life to following Him. I'm also quite certain that I don't fully understand all it means to give my life to Him today. Yet, I absolutely know that I do!

I tend to think in questions. The ones swirling around my mind now include:
What does it look like to fully give my life to Jesus?
What is required of me to follow hard after Him?
How can I best reveal God to this world I live in?

Jesus kept it pretty simple when he responded to a group of Pharisees. Here's how the encounter went... (Matthew 22:35-40)

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."


Loving God and loving others. That seems pretty straightforward, and it is. But living it, living it can be a bit more difficult.

There is a verse that has sustained me. Actually, a few weeks ago when I was teaching a course on The Good and Beautiful God based on the book by James Bryan Smith -- I noticed something NEW about this verse. It may seem rather inconsequential to you, but for me it was as if God was whispering in my ear.

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10


This time as I read this passage, I noticed the comma. Be still, {PAUSE} and know that I am God. In that moment and even now, I smile as I better understand the power of a punctuation mark and am reminded to PAUSE.

I have a natural tendency to get ahead of myself and overcomplicate things. So, today and probably for the rest of my life, God and I will return to this life verse as He reminds me of the POWER of a PAUSE.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown22/12/10 1:46 PM

    That verse is one of my favorites in Scripture. I have a tendency to get all keyed about worries and fears, and this verse always reminds me to just pause and remember that I am not in control, and even more, that I shouldn't WANT to be in control. He is GOD! Why would I ever want to compete with that? Admittedly, reminding myself of this doesn't always quite work, but at least this scripture is there like a little message from God telling me I worry too much :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shaking the System

Here at Grace Community Church we just finished a four week series entitled Shaking the System. If you missed any of these -- you can listen online at www.gracecc.org/sermons.html How did this weekend series stir you? What questions or concerns did it raise in your heart and mind? This past week Dave Rod gave us some ideas for personal engagement -- have you or are you planning to take any steps to personally get engaged in social justice issues?
18 comments
Read more

Praying as We Breathe In & Out

By offering a simple prayer with every breath, we can be reminded "for in him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). Although rather simple, this practice requires a connection between the unconscious act of breathing and a conscious expression to God. A Bit of History The church has practiced breath prayer or "prayer of the heart" for millennia . The Eastern Orthodox Church, in particular, has seen breath prayer as a way of living out Paul's instruction to "pray without ceasing."         Examples Jesus Prayer Take a moment to become aware of your breathing. It might help to find a quiet place -- close your eyes and notice your breathing. As you breath in -- bring your thoughts to Jesus. As you breath out -- express a word of gratitude or need. For example, breath in -- saying "Lord, Jesus Christ" -- breath out saying "have mercy on me." Throughout your day -- as you notice your breathing -- take note an...
11 comments
Read more

The Shack and Room of Marvels

I love to read. I enjoy hearing what others are thinking and processing. I go through spurts of reading fiction and honestly I don't read very much christian fiction. BUT, a few years ago I read a book called Room of Marvels and just recently picked up a copy of the book, The Shack . Both books are fiction. Both books press in on really hard subjects of pain and loss. Both books profoundly impacted my view of God, our world, and eternity. Any readers out there? Have you read either of these books? Would love to hear your thoughts?
9 comments
Read more