I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! While I greatly enjoyed Thanksgiving, I wasn't as thrilled about my trip yesterday to Atlanta. I helped Nate drive his car back to school, and today I'm flying back to Philly. We left at 8:00 am Sunday morning and I got to the airport hotel a little after midnight - a travel time of just about 16 hours straight. We drove through wind, rain and fog almost all the way - encountering three huge multi-vehicle accidents and several stranded vehicles. Needless to say, it was not a fun drive.
There is one advantage to the drive, however, and that is that there is plenty of time to think. Once you've listened to a few CD's or the radio for a couple of hours, it's great to just have some silence. I find that I often do a lot of thinking about the "big" issues of life while driving a long distance. It's a good time to reflect. (You can't really meditate, as that for me involves closing the eyes, and that would not have been a good idea)
Time. There are some amazing qualities to the mysterious concept known as time. When we want it to go by fast, it crawls. When we want it to slow down, it zooms by us, leaving us breathless. It can seem like an eternity, or spilt second. And none of us, not the most powerful, the most intelligent, the most talented or the most ingenious can stop its progression.
While God is not in any way limited by time or space, it is something that God uses in our lives to accomplish his purposes. Recently, while reading through the book of Exodus, I was struck by the length of time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai before God appeared to him. In Exodus 21 we have the account:
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.
Don't you wonder what Moses did for the first six days? It must have been quite unnerving for Moses - not knowing when God was going to speak to him. I can only imagine, however, that God was preparing Moses with time. Time to reflect. Time to think. Time to plan. Time to consider his leadership of the people of Israel. Time to consider what God was expecting of him.
In this busy world we live in one of the most precious commodities is time. We barely have enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs to be done. So we need to look for those moments - those moments where we can do nothing else but think - and contemplate our relationship to God.
I encourage you today, as an act of personal worship, to take some TIME to reflect on your relationship to God. You may not be driving 16 hours in a car. (I wouldn't if I were you) But you may have 20 minutes waiting for a appointment, or 10 minutes before a meeting, or a few minutes before the kids come home from school. Is doesn't have to be a long slice of time - just enough for God to speak to you.
Right now I'm waiting to board a plane, and according to my watch, I've got about an hour. Looks like God's given me an opportunity today! Hope you get one, too!
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1 comments:
Somebody said "The minutes drag on, but the years fly by." I think he was a State worker. But I digress. Anyway- this summer at a classic service we sang Sweet Hour of Prayer. Who wouldntlike to have a solid hour?-- but that is so tough. Like you said, Ray, 10 or 20 minutes when you can find them, and not be rushed, are great "restorers".
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