Thought for Today
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
Luke 12:35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish;
The author of today’s devotional in These Days wrote, “Generally, we don’t wait well.” That may qualify as one of the greatest understatements ever written. In the U.S.A. and around much of the developed world, the insistence for and focus on instantaneous gratification is the norm. Why? And, how did we get there?
During my seminary training, we were required to take a course that included a series of sessions on meditation and meditative techniques. There are many! Most bookstores and online sites have large arrays of such books, including various eastern practices and a plethora of different types of yoga. The best way I know to describe how I felt taking that course, and how I suspect a large number of my fellow seminarians felt, is ’fidgety.’ We are not used to sitting still, to taking time to be at peace and at ease with our surroundings or even ourselves.
Somehow our culture has evolved (devolved?) into a default setting of being constantly in motion and receiving a constant stream of sensory input and stimulation. Sitting in a quiet space, in silence, breathing calmly and slowly somehow seems wrong.
Try for a moment to understand what it was like at the instant before the Big Bang. What was it like for God before God created Creation? What was the world of Genesis like before 1:1? “1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” When I do try to imagine, the first thing my engineer’s mind focuses on are the words about “the face of the waters” and the fact that the author of Genesis never tells us when, where or how those waters came to be.
Instead of relishing the serenity of the Beginning, the solitude of God before reality existed, my mind goes off on a tangent of looking for scientific inconsistencies in the poetic beauty of the Creation Story. My mind seems to need to be constantly aswirl, continuously occupied, busy in thought. I almost feel guilty when my mind and body are at peace. Why? How did I get to this state?
Interestingly, the author of today’s devotion made a connection between waiting and hope. Reading Psalm 130:5, she reflects, “We learn to listen more fully as we wait for God to come to us anew.” I wonder how well I patiently wait, how carefully I ever listen to anything more than the sound of my own voice. Note to self: be careful not to ask Greta!
Do you ever practice meditation? Do you ever sit in silent contemplation? Do you ever listen to God . . . or to others? Does sitting still make you fidgety? Most of us have computers; many of us have smartphones; some of us have other electronic devices and aids. These tools can make us more productive, more efficient, able to multi-task and get more done. Do any of them make us “at peace, without spot or blemish?” Do any of our devices give us hope for eternity?
Jesus’ words in the Parable of the Wedding encourage us to constantly be ready; but, they also instruct us to wait. When I read those words, my mind adds “patiently.” I hear Jesus reminding me to wait patiently, constantly prepared and ready. I am reminded of another parable, the Parable of the Rich Man in Luke 12. The climatic ending verse rings in my ears, “20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'” I believe that is a relevant question to all of us who scurry about, constantly in motion, continuously busy doing ‘stuff.’
Stay safe, be still and wait for God, trust God,
Pastor Ray