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Doing nothing with God
Are you good at doing nothing with God?
As we approach the Christmas holidays, many of us are looking forward to time off from work, school, family taxidriving etc. Many of us will also have a break from church activities - small groups, discipleship triangles, mission focused groups, sunday service rosters etc. Having a break from these things is important and very good.
However, when you take a break from church activities, do you also take a break from God?
If we find that we do, that may indicate that our relationship with God is based on too much doing and not enough being.
In a healthy family, people can enjoy just being together without having to work on some project or complete some task. They have a relationship which transcends the things they do together, in fact it comes before and lasts after the tasks that they do.
That is what it should be like with our relationship with God, we are after all, His children.
We need to experience that it is ok to be with God, in His presence, without having to plan the next mission trip, complete the bible reading program, or intercede for unsaved people.
You may find some of these things helpful:
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Get out into nature and just marvel at the magnificence of God's creation - more diverse and beautiful than any human tourist attraction - and it is God's free gift for all his children to enjoy - NO ENTRY FEES. Enjoy sitting under a tree, walking along the beach, swimming in a river and just be thankful for God's gift to us.
- Read a short passage from the bible that only focuses on God's love for us, and what he gives us without charge, earning or merit (eg Romans 8:31-32, 1 John 3:1-2)
- Have a prayer time when you don't ask God for anything - just tell Him about your day and give thanks for things and listen quietly to Him.
- When you find yourself drifting into asking God for things and planning things just say to yourself and God, lets leave that til tomorrow I just want to BE with you now, not DO with you now.
Remember - God invented the idea of holidays, he is the expert on holidays, and our holidays will be much richer if we learn to holiday with God.
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David Wanstall, 02/12/2009
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