You have no idea what a change of pace is until you are in a different environment. Also, you have no idea how much you miss seeing people's smiles until you have not seen them for almost two years.
The bottom line is you have no idea what it is like to miss the joy of the Lord until it has dwindled into a simmer in your heart.
Here's the thing, the Lord wants to fill us with His joy, with His presence and the grace that abounds all things. We just need to seek Him and have a hunger and thirst for more of God not just what is within His hands.
The point is, in our relationship with God is a balanced relationship. It is both sides working together to draw closer and stay connected to be in unity.
For instance, if we seek God and rest in His presence He will give us rest. But, that also means we have to be willing to be present in His presence. That means we have to take the distractions away from ourselves and be in the moment with God.
It is also about being in the moment with God and being able to be quiet and listen to God speak. This goes for me too. Sometimes I like to speak more than listen. That is when I need to take a step back and rest in the presence of God to listen more intently.
So if anything is hindering you from sitting in the presence of God let it go. Stop worrying about what is beyond your control and stop sulking about what you think people think about you.
The bottom line is we cannot control what people think about us or how they perceive us as human beings. We have to leave it in the hands of Jesus.
Don't get me wrong leaving things in the hands of Jesus is hard at times because I want to control things or have them my way. But God's way is greater and I have to keep reminding myself of this. And I also have to remind myself that resting in the presence of God is more important than the minor things in life.
Here is something I have learned recently is if you seek and ask God for time to rest He will give it to you, but you have to be willing and obedient to take it and enjoy the rest. Instead of wandering around like a busy bee, it is more important to take time to rest and worship in God's presence.
Here's another thing, sitting quietly instead of rushing to fill space with words or doing things will not rest our weary souls. The only thing that satisfies us is God Himself and hearing His voice speak over us.
Thus, do not be afraid of silence and sitting in a quiet place to hear God. The more we incline our hearts and ears to hear God the more clear His voice becomes. However, if we are trying to fill space with our own words, then we will be less likely to hear God with clarity.
Be still in the moment and let the joy of the Lord fill you to the brim.
So one of the important things I have learned recently in being outside my comfort zone is to rest for our souls and resting in God's presence does not mean we have to do it alone. Sometimes resting means having time with friends to gain perspective and see things differently.
Sometimes resting means worshiping together and not being alone all the time.
Sometimes resting means resting in the fact we are justified by faith through Christ. That we do not earn salvation or enteral life but that it is a gift given to us freely from God through Jesus Christ.
Sometimes resting means knowing grace reigns through righteousness and abounds all the more.
Yet, there are times when resting is being alone with God or worshiping alone to hear Him.
Whatever season of resting you are in at this time does not mean you are behind in your journey of faith. It just means you are right where God wants you. What I mean is we need to quit thinking we are always behind in things or life.
The reason I say this is, as a western culture we get this mentality that we are behind if someone is ahead of us getting a breakthrough or accomplishing something great.
There is a place for each of us and we do not have to trample over each other to get to the end of the race. I say a thing because I have let my insecurity rob me of realizing God has placed me right where I need to be with a message that someone else needs to hear which is bigger than my little insecurity.
See it is not just insecurity that can rob us of these things but also comparison and competition can get in the way of championing each other instead. But these things can also distract us from seeing the joy of the Lord because we are blind to grumbling or complaining or something that is not God-honoring.
However, if we seek God with all of our hearts and seek His joy we will find it and not come back empty. God will never leave us empty but fills us to the brim of what we need.
Let me also point out that the joy of the Lord is different from happiness. Happiness comes and goes it does not stay and is anything but consistent. Whereas the joy of the Lord stays with us, now it can dwindle but the Lord's joy cannot leave us because Jesus is in us.
Happiness is like buying a new pair of shoes and then two days later they are not as shiny then we become less enthused about them and move onto something else to make us happy. Where in contrast the joy of the Lord comes from within our relationship with God and our hearts.
See the joy of the Lord brings peace and rest. Thus, we do not have to worry about what is around the corner because we have the joy of the Lord and His peace. It is within us because Christ is in us.
This brings me to the next point that we do not have to get caught up in worrying about what is ahead of us when we need to be present in the now where God has placed us.
See I share this because, before I was outside of my comfort zone recently, I was letting my routine get in the way of pressing into the presence of God. Once I realized this I knew that I needed to get outside of my comfort to find a fresh perspective on things and even my relationship with God.
Let me tell you, it is super easy to get caught up in routines. Now do not get me wrong routines are good. But sometimes you need to get outside of your comfort zone to see God with fresh eyes and with a renewed spirit.
Sometimes God is calling you out to speak something new over you!
I am going to end this blog post by encouraging you to go read the Bible for yourself and if you need a reference of where to go. I urge you to go look at Romans 1-5, and 15.
References:
English Standard Version Study Bible (2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton ILL,
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