Meditation: Finding Quietness in Ultra Busy Times If we carefully examine Jesus’ life in the Scriptures, we find He was always quiet, composed, and led by the Spirit even when living a super full, ultra busy, demanding life.21 He perfectly lived the human life—even in the midst of a whirlwind of activity. Consider what daily life was like for Him: He was constantly eating, walking, talking, and sleeping with twelve men who never seemed to leave Him alone. Vast crowds and desperate individuals continually sought Him out. His life was so full of people and ministry He often lacked sufficient time to stop and eat. He was chided, rebuked, and even scoffed at by His own family. He was the personal target of Satan who tempted Him, tried to derail Him, and even entered people to drive them to destroy Jesus. He was attacked by every demon that could be rounded up to scream at Him, thrash around in front of Him, and bother Him. Civil and religious authorities fiercely hounded Jesus, always plot- ting to catch Him and take Him off for punishment and execution. Yet, in spite of all that, how was He? CHRISTS SERENITY Peaceful, calm, focused, and confidently following God’s will. What kept His human life so strong? What was His secret to finding quietness in His ultra busy times? He constantly spent time alone with God, in solitude, away from everything and everyone else. Jesus had to be alone with God—Jesus wanted to be alone with God. Thus, He found times (no matter what was going on) and places (no matter where He was) to be alone with His Father! Though we can never be sinless like Jesus, we can learn to follow His pattern for a perfect life, in step with God’s will—beginning with choosing to … exercise [ourselves] toward godliness (1Timothy 4:7). To experience the power of a Word filled live, this is absolutely essential. Remember: through the first step, establishing “the discipline of the Scriptures,” God not only shows His perfect path for our lives, but He will also walk with us every step of the way (Psalm 16:11). “The discipline of Spirit-filled living” is then the “valve opener” to let the Holy Spirit’s mighty “rivers of living water” flow freely through us (John 7:38). The Holy Spirit is our lifeline to all we will ever need on earth. As the Holy Spirit helps us … understand the way of [God’s] precepts, and … meditate on [His] wonderful works (Psalm 119:27), we can more and more follow Christ’s words in Matthew 4:4: … “Man shall … live by … every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Practicing Matthew 4:4 is the essence of “the discipline of meditation”—the third of “the disciplines of a godly life.” This will be our main focus for the next few chapters as we study three topics: (1) finding quietness in ultra busy times; (2) finding hope in fearful times; and (3) finding comfort in painful times. Understanding how to apply these timely topics to our lives is like a “survival kit” for this ultra fast-paced and highly stressful twenty- first-century. And finding quietness in the midst of busyness and other distractions is probably at the top of most people’s “Wish List.” So then, let’s move on to discover how God can make that “wish” come true! AN INVISIBLE KILLER: STRESS What happens to us as Christians when we are first gloriously liberated from sin’s shackles? We … mount up with wings like eagles… (Isaiah 40:31)—and soar in the heavens with our God! But sadly, if we fail to remain alert to the dangers from natural predators, our wings are soon clipped, and we become earthbound again. As a result, our lives are anything but peaceful, quiet, and assured. We worry for our safety, future, jobs, health … the list can go on and on. Why does that happen? There is a deadly yet invisible predator—a killer on the loose! It first steals our joy, then our time, later our strength, and finally, even gives a fatal blow to any real purpose in life. What is the name of that invisible killer? OVERLOAD. What weapon is used to administer the fatal blow? STRESS. In his insightful book, The Overload Syndrome, Dr. Richard Swenson has a lot to say about this deadly problem. (This section on “overload” has been adapted from Richard Swenson’s The Overload Syndrome (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998).) Prayerfully consider where you might show up on this diagnostic test that detects the critical condition “overload.” Do you have any of these symptoms? Activity Overload: Often manifested by booking our lives weeks into the future, and often, in the desire to be more efficient, book several things into the same time period. But think on this: “Activity overload takes away the pleasure of anticipation and the delight of reminiscence.” (See Psalm 46:10.) Change Overload: “… Nothing defines our age more than the furious and relentless increase in the rate of change,” summarizes historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. For thousands of recorded years of history, change came in a slow, controlled, and at an understand- able rate, but we now brutally jerk forward at warp speed—whether we like it or not. (See Jeremiah 6:16.) Commitment Overload: Most of us make more commitments than we have available time. In his great book, Balancing Life’s Demands, Dr. J. Grant Howard says, “Some people can’t say no. They take on too many relationships and too many responsibilities. They enroll in too many courses, hold down too many jobs, volunteer for too many tasks, make too many appointments, serve on too many committees, and have too many friends. They are trying to be all things to all men all at once, all by themselves!” (See Psalm 27:4.) Competition Overload: This is part of the American dream. To compete is American, and is constantly emphasized in school, business, and athletics. But is it spiritually healthy? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught a non-aggressive, non-self asserting, non-self promoting lifestyle for His children. (See Matthew 5.) Debt Overload: From the White House to the bungalow on your street, most of America is awash in red ink, but this is debilitating and unbiblical. (See Romans 13:8.) Decision Overload: Every day we have more tough decisions to make and less time to do it in. The trivial ones are objectionable just because of how many there are [what flavor, which topping, mint or tartar control, low fat, low sodium, diet or regular …]. But we also are facing new choices generations past never dreamed of: whether or not to wait to have children; whether to move and change jobs; whether both dad and mom should work outside the home; whether we should put grandma in a home or not. Too many decisions, trivial or not, in too short a time is vintage overload. (See Matthew 6:25-34.) Education Overload: Each decade the education level of the general populace rises. While agreeing education is important, we must ask the heretical question: how much is enough? (See Ecclesiastes 12:12-14.) Fatigue Overload: We are a tired society. Even leisure is often exhausting. With our generator indicator flashing “discharge,” little wonder our batteries are drained. Our weary, withered state is not God’s plan. It’s not the fault of activities or friends, but the result of overload. (See Matthew 11:28.) Hurry Overload: Haste is a modern ailment. It is also fashion- ably American. Our lives are nonstop, lived at a breathless pace. We walk fast, talk fast, eat fast and then excuse ourselves by saying, ‘I must run.’ ” Alexander Solzhenitsyn accusingly said, “Hastiness and superficiality—these are the psychic diseases of the 20th century.” Wait patiently for the Lord! (See Psalms 25:5; 27:14; 37:7, 9, 34; 62:5; 123:2.) Information Overload: A single edition of The New York Times contains more information than a seventeenth-century resident of Britain would have encountered in a lifetime. Media Overload: In America, 98 percent of our homes have a television. In fact, the average family in the United States has two TVs, and both are on seven hours a day. Possession Overload: We have more “things-per-person” than any other nation in history. Closets are full, storage space used up, and cars can’t fit into garages. Having first imprisoned us with debt, possessions take over our houses and occupy our time. It begins to sound like an invasion. Everything I own owns me. Why should I want more? Jesus warned that the care of things will make our hearts grow cold! Drawn for Chapter 3 of my book on Spiritual Disciplines: amazon/Discipline-Yourself-Godliness-Disciplines-Investing-ebook/dp/B00P1UVWHO/ref=la_B001K8Y0SE_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420650170&sr=1-1
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 17:06:55 +0000
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