It Starts with You

Often when individuals come into a religious institution, others focus on making them conform to the ways of the community. This works itself out in the ‘doing’ of life: what you say, how you dress, how often you show up to events.

For followers of Jesus, this should be a foreign concept. When Jesus called his first disciples, the first thing he called them to do was to follow him. Out of following would come a new way of life.

Has that been your experience in your faith?

If not, it might be time to reorient your life into new rhythms: practicing being before doing enables you to have an emotional and spiritual fullness. You are aware of yourself, those around you, and God. From that place, you can serve God out of an abundance of life.

Practice: In the Stillness

Before you can be still with God, you need to make the choice to carve out time and prioritize being with Him moving forward. At first, this may feel really foreign, because we may have confused our being with our doing.

This week, commit to spending 15 minutes in silence with God.

This is a time to be still before God, no devices, no phone calls, no agenda. This isn’t something you do while moving, or driving – but it is intentionally stopping your life to sit with God. You’ve made this appointment with your Creator, and it’s an opportunity to look into one another’s eyes and talk. 

You may need to get away from the bustle of your everyday life to make this happen. As someone with two kids under 3 at home, I empathize.

You’ll notice how loudly your will starts to come through, and it will give you the opportunity to surrender it to God. 

Your agenda will become clear very quickly, and by letting that go we can experience communion with God. Your prayer life might consist almost entirely of requests of God, and this is reshaping your concept of prayer: being with God in silence is prayer.

God will excavate your soul, and begin to transform you. Your worries, fears, anxieties, and insecurities will quickly become evident. Listen to them, feel them, and release them.

Lastly, and this may take some time, you will begin to hear God speak. This is the foundation that will allow you to move back into doing from a healthy place of being.

I’ll be praying with you as you move through this week. Let me know what you notice!