Have you ever sat down for a moment of quiet, only to notice that your mind keeps racing at breakneck speed? Do you ever try to hear the voice of the Spirit, only to be overwhelmed with dozens of other voices, including your own, and those of your parents, friends, colleagues, not to mention the culture? It's no wonder that we find it hard to hear the Spirit's voice, or that we mistakenly attribute some random thought to God. If we are going to be ready to hear the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit, then somehow we have to quiet our hearts and learn to focus upon God. For most of us, this is much easier said than done.
[after describing his first silent retreat]
I began to discover why so many spiritually mature Christians set aside regular times for extended silence and solitude, and resolved to do so more myself.
This is a quote from Mark Robert's blog (he is a paster in CA somewhere and an articulate blogger). Just another voice highlighting the value of solitude and silence for developing "ears to hear."
In our diagram, this relates to that intersection between our heart and God. We may have responded to God's grace by giving our consent for him to come live within us, but then there is the whole issue of being able to sense his presence and direction. We live a distracted life. One where we do not sense or "hear" the presence of God within and around us. It does not appear that merely being "saved" suddenly eliminates life's distractions. You just need to check out the parable of the sower. There Jesus was describing life in the kingdom. Check out the third soil. That is where we, as Jesus followers, are at most risk.
Personally, I have been thinking hard about simplicity. I need and want to simplify my life. This will mean a different way of operating for me. Some things will need to go. This will give me more space for solitude and silence.
3 comments:
You got it right. There needs to be a balance. The point here is that most of us do not have time to practice the spiritual disciplines, like solitude and silence. It is kind of like the person who thinks exercise would be good for him/her but can't find the time. This is probably the most common excuse for not doing more in our spiritual life and for the apparent lack of transformation seen.
Simplicity, as a spiritual discipline, attempts to unclutter our lives in order to free up some time for what is important and to reduce the distractions in our lives.
You are right, Jesus was busy. But you just have to read the black letters to notice that he made efforts to not let things get too busy or to distract him away from his purpose.
Just read through Mark and you will see that Jesus frequently was telling people not to tell anyone. For example, in Mark 9:30-31 it says: "They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples."
Jesus is constantly trying to not let the crowds and the miracles deter him from his primary purpose, which was to preach the kingdom and teach his disciples (Mark 1:38). He would often perform a miracle only to tell people not to tell anyone (Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:24; 7:36; 8:26; one reason probably was that the crowds quickly become overwhelming - see Mark 1:45- and preoccupied with the miracles). He even began intentionally doing miracles away from people (see Mark 7:33). He often would get away from the crowd after a time or go up to a high mountain by himself or with a few key disciples (Mark 1:35; 3:7; 4:35; 6:31; 6:46; 9:2; - you will look up these verses, won't you?)
So, Jesus did not become too busy that he was not able to do what he was meant to do. That is simplicity. Overcommitment is not a virtue. God is not concerned with how much we are doing, but who we are becoming. Busyness and overcommitment (these are the weeds in the parable of the sower) choke out transformation.
Man standing before God: "God, look at all the good things I have done for you!"
God: "Get away from me, I do not know you." (see Mat 7:22-23).
Pretty powerful stuff. Do you see the narrow road?
What do you mean where do I get them? We have been working though Mark on Monday nights. Have you kept up in Mark? We are on chapter 10 this week.
You need to read it slowly and reflectively. If you do you can begin to see some of the patterns in his life. Don't just skip over the black letters and go to the big story. We need to learn from Jesus' examples as well as his teachings. We need to note how he was (being) in the world.
About 2.5 years ago when I started my spiritual journey to climb the mountain, I took the advice of one of my mentors (Richard Foster) to spend 6 months going through the gospels. 2.5 years later I am still in them. It is part of my apprenticeship. I am learning from the master.
thats right...and no..i havnt done that good of job...but i will try to keep up now...how is monday nights going btw...sorry i havnt been able to make it...
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